LA Kings acquire high-scoring Artemi Panarin in a trade with the New York Rangers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Artemi Panarin needed a new home after 6 1/2 seasons with the New York Rangers.

The Los Angeles Kings have needed a scorer of Panarin's stature for a whole lot longer than that.

And a few minutes before the NHL's Olympic trade freeze Wednesday, Panarin and the Kings both got what they wanted.

After the Kings sent a conditional third-round draft pick and prospect Liam Greentree to the Rangers in a trade for the high-scoring left wing, they swiftly locked down Panarin with a two-year, $22 million contract that will keep the Russian forward in Los Angeles through the 2027-28 season.

“Players of Panarin's skill, hockey sense, resume ... hard to find those players,” general manager Ken Holland said after pulling off one of the biggest in-season trades in Kings history. “He's an elite offensive producing machine. Does it year in and year out, year after year. Talking to him, he's really excited to come to LA. I think this was his No. 1 destination, so you're getting a player motivated, that wants to come out here.”

The trade ends weeks of uncertainty around the 34-year-old Panarin, who hadn't played since Jan. 26 while the Rangers held him out in anticipation of moving their top scorer in each of the past seven consecutive seasons. Panarin has 57 points in 52 games this season for last-place New York, which has embarked on what general manager Chris Drury describes as a retooling process less than two years after making the Eastern Conference final.

That's decidedly not what Holland has in mind for the Kings, who have stayed in contention for their fifth consecutive playoff appearance this season despite ranking 31st in the NHL with 139 goals and 29th in power-play success.

Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala are the only Kings with more than 13 goals or 30 points this season, so Panarin represents a significant upgrade in their offensive potency.

“You either compete, or you enter this long-term rebuild,” Holland said. “Well, I’m not interested in a long-term rebuild. I think some of the people that we signed are not interested in that, so we’re trying to compete.”

Los Angeles has been committed to defense-first hockey for more than a decade, and coach Jim Hiller has kept that mentality despite four consecutive first-round playoff exits to the Edmonton Oilers. While Holland said the Kings don't intend to change their style of play, Panarin and the Kings both believe he can fit into their system while injecting excitement into a team that needs it.

“In the O-zone, he's going to have the freedom to do what he wants to do, but when you don't have the puck, you've got to defend,” Holland said. “I think that's the same for all 32 teams. We don't score, or haven't scored as much as some other teams, so we've had to make sure we're good on the defensive side.”

That lack of offense is a big reason the Kings haven't been able to separate from the six-team pack in the Pacific Division. Holland noted the Kings have 14 overtime losses this season, tied for the most in the NHL.

“We're competitive, (but) we just need an extra goal here and there to win a few more games,” Holland said.

Panarin is the NHL's seventh-leading scorer over the past five seasons, putting up 156 goals and 298 assists for New York. He scored at least 25 goals in eight of his first 10 seasons, including a career-high 49 goals and 120 points two seasons ago. Holland pointed out that Panarin is scoring more than a point per game in his ninth consecutive season.

Panarin’s departure is the biggest deal yet in Drury's reconstruction of the last-place Rangers. In a letter to fans on Jan. 16, Drury said the focus would be on “obtaining young players, draft picks and cap space to allow us flexibility moving forward.”

But because Panarin had a full no-movement clause, he was able to control his destination. Holland said the sides still had “quite a gap” about an hour before the Olympic trade freeze kicked in at midday, but the GM managed to land the best player likely to be available this season more than a month before the trade deadline on March 6.

The Rangers retained half of Panarin's $11.6 million salary cap hit while acquiring Greentree, the 20-year-old Windsor Spitfires forward taken late in the first round of the 2024 draft.

If the Kings win a playoff round, the pick becomes a second-rounder. If they reach the Western Conference final, the Rangers also get a 2028 fourth-round pick.

Panarin is the third pillar of the Rangers' recent teams to be traded to Southern California in the past 14 months. Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider are both thriving with the Anaheim Ducks, who are in contention for their first playoff appearance since 2018.

The Rangers already traded depth defenseman Carson Soucy to the crosstown rival New York Islanders for a third-round pick since Drury's rebuilding letter went out.

Vincent Trocheck, who is 32 and signed for three more seasons at a reasonable salary cap hit of $5.625 million, could fetch more than Panarin if he gets dealt.

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