The Los Angeles Kings pulled off a blockbuster trade with the acquisition of New York Rangers star left winger Artemi Panarin. And the price the Kings paid to bring in Panarin is a low-risk, high-reward move.
A little less than two weeks ago, we explained why it was the right move for the Los Angeles Kings to trade for New York Rangers star left winger Artemi Panarin. It felt like it should have happened already by then.
Well, on Wednesday afternoon, the Kings' trade for Panarin actually happened. L.A. sent a conditional third-round draft pick, conditional fourth-round pick and prospect Liam Greentree to the Rangers in return for the Russian star, who then signed a two-year contract extension worth $11 million annually with the Kings.
The deal was rather underwhelming from a Rangers perspective, although you have to understand Blueshirts GM Chris Drury had zero leverage given that Panarin had a full no-trade clause that allowed him to dictate where Drury could move him to.
However, the Panarin trade sure looks like a home run from a Kings perspective.
For one thing, L.A.'s offense – which currently ranks 28th in the NHL at 2.57 goals-for per game – gets an instant boost from Panarin, who has 38 assists and 57 points in 52 games.
Panarin has never had fewer than 52 assists and 89 points in the past four seasons, and he's going to be an integral part of the Kings' offensive blueprint for success the rest of this season and beyond.
But the price to pay was fantastic for the Kings. Greentree was their top-ranked prospect, but GM Ken Holland did not have to give up a first-round draft pick for Panarin, and he also got Drury to retain 50 percent of Panarin's $11.6-million salary. Any way you cut it, paying Panarin only about $5.8 million this season is a huge victory for Holland & Co.
This is not to argue the Kings don't have some risk in acquiring Panarin. If Panarin's offensive output takes a hit in the next two seasons, giving him that much money could wind up looking like a major miscalculation.
But even then, you have to give Holland credit for making a savvy calculated gamble. The Kings are going to have the $7-million cap hit of captain Anze Kopitar come off the books this summer when he retires, and with the rising salary cap ceiling, using Kopitar's cap space and another $4 million per year isn't going to break the bank.
And that brings us to the final reason that L.A.'s trade for Panarin is a clear win: even with the salary they'll take on with Panarin this season, the Kings still have about $8.4 million in cap space to continue adding pieces by or before this year's March 6 trade deadline. That means Holland can still be a player in the trade market and address any need his team may have in the next month.
Thus, it's difficult to see any downside for the Kings making a play for Panarin. They're getting an experienced star who still has plenty of game left in him, and they didn't have to pay the sun and the moon to acquire him. And they're getting a motivated veteran who hasn't been able to play meaningful hockey with the sad-sack Rangers in the past two seasons. Moving to the warm California climate and the low-media-density L.A. market could be exactly what Panarin needs to jump-start his offensive totals.
The Kings currently sit ninth in the Western Conference, just one point behind the Seattle Kraken, with L.A. having a game in hand. That gave Holland all the motivation he needed to get a deal done now.
And if it all works out and the Kings finally get out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time since they won a Cup in 2013-14, the price they had to pay for Panarin will be well worthwhile.
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