Atlantic Division Contender Team to Watch in Artemi Panarin Sweepstakes

The Artemi Panarin sweepstakes are in full force as GM Chris Drury and the New York Rangers head toward a retool with just under six weeks to go until the March 6 NHL trade deadline.

Usual suspects in Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Carolina, Dallas, and even Washington have been mentioned most often as potential landing spots for the superstar winger. However, one team that many might be writing off that could very well end up landing him: the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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Rangers reporter Johnny Lazarus certainly sees it that way, as he recently named the Bolts as the best destination for Panarin during an appearance on Daily Faceoff Live.

Lazarus said:

“I feel like it’s Tampa, right, because Tampa’s window is probably closing more than it is opening. But they’re still incredibly competitive. You know, Hedman’s obviously on the back nine of his career, Vasilevskiy is getting a little bit older, they just got Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point’s hurt. I mean, they’re loaded with talent — if you add Artemi Panarin to that roster, that’s a scary team,”

The 34-year-old Panarin is, of course, a pending UFA in the seventh and final season of the seven-year, $81,499,999 contract he signed to go to New York in free agency of 2019. He’s tallied 56 points (19 goals, 37 assists) across 51 games in 2025-26.

How Could Tampa Bay Make an Artemi Panarin Trade Work?

This is the obvious question whenever a cap-strapped team like the Lightning gets linked to a star of Panarin’s caliber. That said, it’s actually quite plausible for them to pull off such a move.

While Tampa Bay currently has no cap space to speak of, sending fellow pending UFA Oliver Bjorkstrand — and his $5.4 million cap hit — to New York in a deal for Panarin at 50 percent retention (which would bring his cap hit down to $5,821,428.5) would nearly even out the money.

GM Julien BriseBois would, of course, then have to add picks and/or prospects to make it worth Drury’s while. The Lightning might not own a first-round pick until 2028, but they do have all of their second-round picks, along with intriguing prospects like Conor Geekie and Sam O’Reilly, who could potentially be dangled in trade talks.

It should also be emphasized that the ball is entirely in Panarin’s court due to his full no-movement clause. Given that Tampa Bay is a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, is a warm-weather market, and features Russian superstars like Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy, you’d have to imagine they’d be near the top of his list.

Not to mention, there were plenty of rumors back in 2019 suggesting Panarin was seriously considering taking his talents to Tampa Bay in the first place.

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