Islanders masterfully navigated a trade for Nelson, securing top prospects. Rangers, however, face a vastly different UFA scenario with Panarin.
One year ago, the New York Islanders found themselves at an inflection point. They were not going to make the playoffs, and had been dumped out in round one two straight seasons prior by the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Islanders' then-General Manager Lou Lamoriello needed to chart a new path forward. Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri were pending unrestricted free agents, with no extensions in place.
After an appearance for Team USA at the 4 Nations' Face-Off, three straight seasons of 30+ goals and steady two-way play, Nelson's trade value would never be higher.
After attempting to re-sign Nelson, Lamoriello pulled the trigger on a franchise-altering trade, shipping Nelson and William Dufour to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Calum Ritchie, a 2026 first-round pick, a conditional 2028 third-round pick (conditions not met [COL needed to win the Stanley Cup in 2025]), and defenseman Oliver Kylington.
Ritchie immediately became the Islanders' top prospect, while the first-round pick added to the magnitude of the return. At the time, Ritchie was a consensus top-50 prospect in the NHL, and by far Colorado's top prospect.
Nelson possessed just a 16-team no-trade clause, so he did not control his destination, nor did the receiving team. What's more, publicly, nobody knew what Lamoriello would do up until about an hour prior to the deal, when word finally leaked out that Lamoriello intended to deal Nelson.
Lamoriello displayed a masterclass in controlling the situation, thereby giving him all the leverage over the situation. It helped that Nelson only held a 16-team no-trade clause, too.
Nelson's reported destinations were always out west, but it remains unclear how much of a factor his 16-team no-trade clause was.
Fast-forward one year. The New York Rangers are stuck in reverse. They publicly declared they'll be shipping out just about anyone not named Adam Fox, J.T. Miller, or Igor Shesterkin.
Immediately, questions turned to the pending UFA Artemi Panarin, the Rangers' best forward since signing in free agency in July 2019. Reportedly, the Rangers told Panarin they wouldn't be re-signing him, and told the forward to prepare for a trade.
Panarin, however, holds a full no-movement clause. That clause gives him all the control and leverage privately, as he can hand-pick his destination.
In years past, similar versions of this have gone down, such as Taylor Hall hand-picking the Boston Bruins at the 2021 Trade Deadline, with the Buffalo Sabres only receiving a minimal package for the forward.
Rangers' General Manager Chris Drury lost public control of the narrative the second the letter hit the world. Panarin and his agent privately were granted permission to talk extension with multiple potential trade suitors.
The Rangers decided to healthy-scratch Panarin until a trade, setting an internal deadline by the Olympic Roster Freeze.
Panarin decided on his future the day of that deadline, reportedly telling the Rangers he'd only waive for the Los Angeles Kings.
So the deal was made shortly thereafter. In return, the Rangers received the Kings' top prospect, Liam Greentree, and a conditional third-round pick.
While Greentree is the Kings' top prospect, he is not viewed as a top-100 prospect in the league. The third-round pick becomes a second if the Kings win a playoff series, something they've failed to do with four straight losses in round one to the Edmonton Oilers.
Two franchises in one city publicly needed a new direction. One maintained discipline and control over the situation, the other had no control and no leverage.
That's why, despite both teams retaining 50% of the cap hit, Panarin being considered a tier (or three) above Nelson as a player, the Islanders did so much better than the Rangers did at a retool-starting trade.