By now I’m sure you’ve seen Elliote Freidman’s
31 Thoughts blog that mentioned Artemi Panarin’s preferences for places to play are Los Angeles, New York and Florida.
Freidman reiterated that during an NHL Network hit on Monday night, which was transcribed by Chris Nichols.
Friedman mentioned that New York could mean either the Islanders or Rangers, and with Florida he is unsure if that means the Panthers or Lightning, he “just heard Florida.”
Panarin does not have a no-trade clause so he could be traded anywhere, but by having some preferences he would be more willing to negotiate an extension with those teams, thus increasing his value in a potential trade.
When making a trade of this magnitude the best thing to do is to get one quality piece in return rather than multiple lesser pieces. Meaning should the Jackets trade with any of these teams they should be looking at that teams top prospect or better young NHL players. Given that I think that takes Tampa out of the mix. They really don’t have that elite level prospect or young player, unless they are willing to part with Mikhail Sergachev, which seems unlikely. They also, as of today, don’t have the cap space per
Cap Friendly to fit Panarin.
The Kings don’t have the cap space and also may not have the same desire for Panarin after signing Ilya Kovalchuk. The Rangers have some high end young players, but they seem to be in a re-build of sorts and Panarin may not fit that timeline even with an extension. The Islanders or Panthers look like the best fit right now.
The Islanders have some good prospects in Kieffer Bellows, Oliver Wahlstrom and Noah Dobson. They also have Anthony Beauvillier playing in the NHL. (They also have Mathew Barzal, but after the season he just had it’s hard to imagine the Islanders parting with him.) Those players on their own likely wouldn’t be enough to headline a trade for Panarin but two of them might be of interest to Columbus. The Islanders also have the most projected cap space right now, at just over $32M, more than enough room to add Panarin. They also might be motivated to make a splash depending on how things go with John Tavares. If they get Tavares back they may want to show they are committed to winning by adding a big name winger. If he goes elsewhere they may look at Panarin as someone who could be a replacement for Tavares.
The best trading partner however has to be the Panthers. After adding Mike Hoffman, Florida clearly wants to try and win. It’s tight but they have the cap space to add in Panarin. They have high end young players outside of their two cornerstones in Alexander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad. Vincent Trocheck is an extremely good player on a very good contract; he could easily headline a trade of this size. As well, the Panthers have two mega-prospects in Henrik Borgstrom and Owen Tippett, both of whom have already had a couple games in the NHL. Florida also has a couple of mid-tier prospects who could interest the Jackets. Aleksi Heponiemi just put up 118 points in the WHL, and Jonathan Ang, who was voted by the OHL Coaches as the Eastern Conference’s best skater in 2016-17, and finished in a tie for second in 2015-16. Maybe you get one of them thrown into a trade with one those top end players, and you start to have deal that looks good for both sides, provided Panarin signs long-term with the Panthers.
Personally I still believe the Jackets should keep Panarin and look to build a Cup contender around him. If they opt to go in a different direction the Islanders or Panthers look like the best matches. They have the young pieces and the need/want for a player of this calibre.
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