The Rangers must win a Vincent Trocheck trade after falling short in the Artemi Panarin deal

Exactly one week after the Rangers pulled Artemi Panarin from the lineup for “roster management” purposes, the inevitable happened.

As predicted, he was moved before the NHL Olympic roster freeze — shipped to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a conditional 2026 third‑round pick, a 2028 fourth‑round pick, and prospect Liam Greentree. The Rangers are also reportedly retaining 50% of Panarin’s salary for the remainder of the season.

For Rangers fans — myself included — who had no idea who Liam Greentree was before today, here are the essentials: Greentree is a 20‑year‑old, 6’3” right winger weighing 191 pounds. He was selected 26th overall by the Kings in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft.

You can read more about the Rangers' newest prospect here.

Even with Greentree’s résumé, this return leaves Rangers fans wanting more. A player of Artemi Panarin’s stature typically commands a first‑round pick, a top prospect, and an NHL‑ready roster piece. That didn’t happen here.

Maybe Panarin’s trade value wasn’t as high as we assumed. Or maybe the swarm of “insiders” didn’t know nearly as much as they claimed.

Because according to Rangers beat writer Mollie Walker, the Kings were the only team Panarin was willing to waive his no‑move clause for. That report gained even more credibility when Panarin immediately signed a team‑friendly two‑year extension worth $11 million per season — a deal his agent almost certainly negotiated with Los Angeles before the freeze.

This two-year deal that Panarin signed with the Kings is a bit of a head-scratcher. Why couldn’t Artemi Panarin have signed this deal with the New York Rangers? The prevailing thought was that he wanted a long-term, big-money contract with the Rangers, and that was what made trading Panarin an easier pill to swallow. There seems to be a story behind the scenes here that we are not privy to.

The fact of the matter is that “The Letter 2.0” absolutely shaped and shifted the trajectory of the Breadman’s thinking about trying to work things out with Chris Drury and the New York Rangers. In my opinion, this was his last straw and highly influenced his decision toward accepting his fate away from the Rangers.

Furthermore, another carrot dangling in front of any potential Artemi Panarin trade was the Rangers opportunity to poach a 2026 first-round pick from a desperate team. This draft is supposed to be loaded with talent, and obtaining a pick in that draft for a player of Panarin’s pedigree should have been paramount. But that simply didn’t happen.

Now more than ever before, Chris Drury needs to win Vincent Trocheck trade

Given the light return, it now becomes imperative for Chris Drury to maximize whatever he can get for Vincent Trocheck to balance the scales. And Trocheck, with his versatility and extremely manageable $5.625 million AAV, could be a sneaky difference‑maker for any playoff contender.

We’ll see how Trocheck’s situation unfolds as we approach the post‑Olympic deadline on March 3. The Rangers’ trade spotlight now swings toward him, lighting up the sky like the Bat Signal for every win‑hungry NHL GM to chase.

There are plenty of teams in the hunt for Trocheck’s services, and it’s incumbent on the Rangers’ much‑maligned general manager to squeeze every last drop of juice from this orange to make any of this worth it.

Panarin, meanwhile, dramatically boosts the Kings’ roster and gives a jolt to a power play that desperately needs him. Los Angeles has one of the worst power plays in the league, scoring just 25 goals on 158 opportunities.

This truly marks the end of an era. He was arguably the most productive free‑agent signing in Rangers history: 205 goals, 402 assists, and 607 points in 482 games. He left an indelible mark on the franchise and delivered countless memories and game‑breaking performances — the kind that linger for years, even if, to borrow from Sam Rosen, “not a lifetime.” Aside from Henrik Lundqvist, who was born and raised a Ranger, Panarin will go down as one of the greatest Blueshirts ever to leave without winning a Stanley Cup here.

I sincerely wish him well in Los Angeles and hope he brings the Kings even half the joy he gave the Blueshirts faithful. And when he returns to The Garden on March 16, he’ll be met with a deafening ovation from the fans he thrilled for so many years.

From Broadway to Hollywood, farewell, Breadman.