Carolina Hurricanes
4 Teams to Watch in Artemi Panarin Trade Deadline Sweepstakes
Artemi Panarin’s trade possibilities are opening up as new teams enter the sweepstakes.
The New York Rangers, shockingly, released another letter to fans from general manager Chris Drury earlier this week, announcing a retool. It was clear that the team was going nowhere fast, and it isn’t all that surprising. However, the Rangers have been here before, and shortchanged the rebuild once Artemi Panarin fell into their laps.
Ironically, Panarin is now one of the players that Chris Drury will look to move out to accelerate the new retool. They’ve already told the Russian star that they won’t be re-signing him in the offseason, which means trading him before the deadline is the only logical next step.
The Athletic’s Vince Mercogliano has been following the Panarin story and reported that some front-runners are emerging in the sweepstakes.
Mercogliano posted on X:
“Artemi Panarin declined to go into specifics about what comes next, but two front-runners we believe have engaged in trade talks are COL and WAS. “DAL and CAR are among others to watch, with FLA an appealing destination but cap an issue.”
Avalanche, Capitals, Hurricanes, and Stars in Panarin Sweepstakes
The Colorado Avalanche were players in the Panarin sweepstakes when the Rangers originally acquired him. A move to the Washington Capitals also makes sense, as the organization is attempting to give Alex Ovechkin one last run at a Stanley Cup before the end of his career.
It also comes as no surprise that the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars are sniffing around the Rangers’ star. They are two teams that seemingly always get involved when there are big fish on the market, and the Hurricanes could use a game-breaking offensive star to get them over the hump after failing to hold on to Mikko Rantanen last season.
A deal to the Hurricanes would be an interesting story to watch. Carolina used the same strategy last season with Rantanen, then flipped him to Dallas when it became clear the Finnish winger didn’t want to sign a long-term extension. Would Tom Dundon and Eric Tulsky have the stomach to go through the same ordeal in back-to-back years?
While it seems like a matter of when and not if Panarin leaves the Big Apple over the next two months, one thing is for sure: whichever contending team acquires him will dramatically increase its offensive depth before the postseason.
Next: Artemi Panarin Trade Buzz Grows — But Oilers Not in the Mix
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