The Seattle Kraken reportedly offered Artemi Panarin a four-year contract with an average annual value that exceeded $14 million, but he turned it down to sign with their rivals, the Los Angeles Kings.
Less than 24 hours after the Los Angeles Kings traded for New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin, reports shared by Elliotte Friedman suggest the Seattle Kraken were strongly pursuing the Russian superstar.
Ultimately, Panarin was traded to the Kraken’s rivals for prospect Liam Greentree and conditional third and fourth-round picks, a package the Kraken could have easily matched or bested.
The issue for the Kraken was that Panarin was in control of his next stop in his career, and he wanted to go to California, not Seattle.
In his article, Friedman noted that several of his sources indicated that the Kraken offered Panarin a four-year contract with an average annual value that exceeded Leon Draisaitl’s. Draisaitl signed an eight-year, $14-million contract with the Edmonton Oilers that began this season.
Friedman was wowed by the offer, but did say that “I’m not surprised they’d do it. It’s bold, and it fits what they’re looking to do.”
He also relayed a quote that came from Kraken GM Jason Botterill.
“We had discussions with Paul Theofanous (Panarin’s agent)…just like numerous other teams,” Botterill said early Thursday morning. “We will continue to be aggressive at improving our team. But we won’t comment on discussions with agents/players.”
For a while now, there have been reports or rumors about the organization’s hunger to make a big splash and upgrade the team’s offense. Routinely, though, the Kraken end up never being involved in a big deal. But for possibly the first time, the Kraken were serious contenders to land the big fish in the trade market.
In this circumstance, the 34-year-old had his eyes set on warm weather, as he was only interested in playing and signing with the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, and the Kings.
Friedman did not share what trade package the Kraken were willing to offer to acquire Panarin, just the details of what the contract extension would have looked like. If the Kraken landed Panarin, he would have instantly become their leading scorer, as he’s notched 19 goals and 57 points in 52 games this season.
In the end, Panarin left $30 million behind to sign with the Kings, rather than the Kraken. It will be interesting to see how the Panarin acquisition affects the Kings and the Kraken’s playoff chances.
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