After a great season last year, the whiplash back to reality for the Washington Capitals this season has been tough.

A year removed from leading the Eastern Conference (and vying for the President's Trophy), the Capitals sit at 57 points as of Thursday morning, still six points behind the New York Islanders for the third spot in the Metro Division and eight points behind both the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens for a Wild Card spot. 

It's still a tight race, and there's still plenty of hockey to be played this season. I also believe several teams in the (arguably) much stronger Eastern Conference will come back down to Earth after the Olympic break and the playoff picture comes into focus. A playoff spot is still very possible, and something Washington should still be pushing for.

Recent struggles however have made this push all the more difficult for the Capitals, who are 3-6-1 in their last 10 and haven't won two games in a row since the start of December. It doesn't help that the offense has taken a nosedive, either.

Enter New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin, who is on the trade block and will not dress again before the Olympic break as the team and his agent work to find him a change in scenery amid the Rangers' retool.

For a team like Washington struggling to find consistent scoring and entering the end of the Alex Ovechkin era, it seems to make sense; Panarin is a marquee forward, a proven goal scorer and would no doubt add much-needed scoring depth to a Capitals team plagued with injury and inconsistency all season. 

Since breaking out for 30 goals and 47 assists in his rookie season for the Chicago Blackhawks, Panarin has been consistently good for about 25-30 goals and 70-plus points a season; even in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign, he managed 58 points in 42 games.

This year, through 52 games, he has 19 goals and 57 points, and has already put himself on the map with the top scorers in New York Rangers franchise history.

Panarin is certainly the kind of player who could revamp the Capitals' top-6, and add another X-Factor to the ailing power play.

Then again, there are other reasons that D.C. may not be the perfect fit, and the biggest reason is the price.

Panarin is in the final year of his contract, which carries an AAV of $11.6 million and has a full no-movement clause, meaning Panarin has the ability to veto any potential trade.

Considering the Rangers are a sinking ship this season, he will likely be looking to play for a team that gives him the best chance at a Stanley Cup. Insider Chris Johnston also reported that Panarin is looking for a trade that includes a contract extension. 

While there's no report on what the 34-year-old forward's asking price would be, this also doesn't include whatever New York itself looking to get in a potential trade. 

Let's examine one such potential trade package, as reported by Bleacher Report, which consisted of a 2026 first round, 2027 second round pick, and Aliaksei Protas, with NYR retaining some of Panarin's salary.

Protas is nearly 10 years younger than Panarin...still on the rise and with a lot of potential. While he has cooled this season, his career-best 30 goals and 36 assists last season were a big reason the Capitals enjoyed so much success last year. Selling off a forward still coming into his prime for another forward who is likely about to start declining out his prime is a bit tough...even if Panarin continues to score at his current pace this season, it's quite likely his numbers will go down as he ages (they can't all keep scoring like Ovechkin). 

All of this also says nothing about giving up prospects or future draft picks. The Capitals need to consider that Alex Ovechkin is quite likely playing his final season of NHL hockey. Even if he sticks around another year, this team needs to be planning for life after the Great Eight.

Remember: the Capitals were fully expected to be in the middle of their own rebuild with the departures of stalwart Capitals like T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom. Yet they've been lucky to see several of their younger players catch fire early, keeping them playoff contenders. 

But since we're talking about the Rangers, they are a prime example of a team rushing through a rebuild and having to scrap it and start back over. Even teams who are considered among the league's best who then sell the future to shoot for the stars now can crash and burn...just ask Toronto, who hedged their futures multiple times over to try to make a push, and are now staring down a retool of their own.

Selling off a couple of draft picks (not to mention tying up a large chunk of salary cap space) could be a tough pill to swallow...especially if the Capitals aren't where they want to be statistically in 3-5 years.

It's easy to look at last season's performance and make a determination now. On one hand, last year was well above expectations, so adding Panarin could be what this team needs now to make a push. 

On the other hand, adding Panarin, at the cost of a prospect or an up-and-coming forward and draft picks could be painful if Panarin doesn't add that spark they're looking for.

It's always a gamble of course. Either option could lead to glory or heartache. Such is life, I suppose. 

The Capitals don't necessarily have to sell off such valuable assets to make a push for this season; Columbus is rumored to be looking for suiters for Boone Jenner, Charlie Coyle, and Mason Marchment. And St. Louis' Brayden Schenn is another rumored trade deadline target that may be a good fit in a Capitals' uniform; he is the same age as Panarin, carries a much lower cap hit ($6.5 million), and has playoff success of his own (he won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019). 

And if the Capitals are set on making a deal with the Rangers, Vincent Trocheck is a more palatable option; the 33 year old forward is a scoring threat in his own right, with a much more attractive $5.625 million cap hit. 

Considering the inevitable return of Pierre-Luc Dubois from injury, and the other players rumored to be on the trade block that could also provide some additional scoring for Washington, at a lower cost of entry, I personally don't think it's worth selling off assets now to buy in on Panarin is worth it.

If Panarin was a few years younger, I could probably get behind it, but making him younger is probably not something than can make happen in a trade deal.