The NHL trade deadline is less than two months away (March 6), and with the Olympic pause (and subsequent roster freeze) fast approaching, teams are running out of time to decide whether to buy or sell.
With the leaderboard still tightly packed, there are few clear sellers among them as of January 12th. That said, the playoff hopes of some clubs are already waning, including the New York Rangers, who as a result have boosted the trade buzz surrounding Artemi Panarin.
Extension talks between Panarin and the Rangers don’t appear to be that close, so any loss makes it more likely that the superstar winger could be turned in the coming weeks.
Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman provided the latest insight into the situation during Monday’s episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, which highlighted four contenders as potential landing spots.
said Friedman:
“If you wave the white flag this season – and I’m not sure if they still do – I think at some point you have to go to him and his representatives and say, are there any teams we can work with here? Are there places you would like to go? Obviously you always wonder about a team like Florida. You wonder about a team like Washington. You think about places where you think Russian players might want to go. Since the beginning of the year we’ve been wondering about Minnesota, because Kaprizov is here, and they are represented by the same agent. The other team I’m really concerned about is Colorado. Remember, when he signed with New York, Colorado offered him something like 4 x $13 million.
The 34-year-old Panarin has again been very productive in the 2025/26 season, with 49 points (16 goals, 33 assists) in the 45 games played so far. He is, of course, a UFA awaiting the seventh and final season of the seven-year, $81,499,999 contract he signed to join the Rangers in 2019 free agency.
Who else could Artemi Panarin target?
While Florida, Washington, Minnesota and Colorado all make sense for Panarin, the list of interested teams certainly doesn’t stop there.
Carolina is always in the mix when a big name becomes available, Dallas the same, and Detroit has the allure of a reunion with Patrick Kane. Not to mention landing spots like Los Angeles, Montreal and Buffalo, all of which are lurking in the weeds looking for more talent.
Given his consistent elite production through his mid-30s, it’s safe to say more teams want Panarin than don’t. New York harbored hopes for a turnaround, but injuries to Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin largely derailed those plans. Therefore, there is a very good chance we see one of the game’s best wingers on the move before the trade deadline.
Next: Part 2: 5 other superstars who could be on the way in the near future
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