The New York Rangers traded away the cornerstone piece of their offense core, Artemi Panarin, to the Los Angeles Kings ahead of this year's trade deadline.
The Blueshirts got back forward prospect Liam Greentree, a 2026 third-round pick, and a conditional 2028 fourth-round pick for "The Breadman". After seven seasons in New York, it is hard to believe that No. 10 is gone.
Let's go over his partial season with the Rangers, and give him a proper grade. This certainly was a hard one to type up.
Expectations
Going into the 2025-26 season, there was very little idea to think that Panarin would be traded away. With a contract expiration looming following this past season, there were rumblings that President and General Manager Chris Drury would explore his options.
With all things considered, whatever the price would be might have been worth it for the best player on this team. Sure, Panarin's age was starting to reach that tipping point, but he is still playing point-per-game hockey.
Performance
In 52 games, he scored 19 goals and added 38 assists for 57 points for the Rangers. Before moving on to LA, he was a prominent part of the Blueshirts offense and was on his way to earning whatever contract he wanted.
Unfortunately, it did not work out that way. And now, the Rangers have to face him a couple of times a year for the next two seasons.
Grade: A-
Where do they go from here?
From here, he is on the Kings for the foreseeable future. Maybe, just maybe, when that two-year contract extension runs out, the door could open back up for Panarin. His production dipped slightly in the regular season with LA (27 points in 26 games 1.04 P/GP vs. 1.10 P/GP with NY) and he had just three points in four playoff games. What happens next is anyone's guess.
All eyes are going to be on the now Rangers prospect Liam Greentree, and when his emergence will be. He won't be another Panrain, at least not now.
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