On the Artemi Panarin/San Jose Sharks rumors

Artemi Panarin is likely the first trade domino to fall for the New York Rangers. He’s also the only player we know for sure the Rangers will trade. With that in mind, we have some interesting rumors surrounding Panarin, as Elliotte Friedman has suggested San Jose as a potential team to watch. While Friedman was spitballing, legs were growing. Panarin to San Jose would certainly be surprising, so let’s break this down a bit.

1. The sharks are buyers. They sent a prospect and two second-round picks to Vancouver for Kiefer Sherwood to add depth, putting them on the map as buyers. Panarin to San Jose would add another elite talent up front as the Sharks look to compete in a weak Pacific Division, where they currently sit in third place. For all their firepower, San Jose has only 152 goals, a distant third behind Vegas and Edmonton, both ahead of them in the standings. In theory there is a fit.

2. San Jose is certainly a nice team, but they also lack real depth at the moment. Panarin to San Jose, in an extension, gives them a bona fide star on the ice next to Macklin Celebrini. On the surface, it doesn’t make much sense for the Sharks to trade for Panarin, but there’s more to it than that. Outside of Celebrini, San Jose’s highest scorer is Alex Wennberg with 10 goals and 33 points. Will Smith missed time and has 31 points in 33 games, but both Colin Graf and William Eklund are under a point per game.

That doesn’t mean Graf and Eklund are bad, it just means they are still developing.

If you dive deeper, Panarin to San Jose makes sense. San Jose needs more top scores, pushing others down the lineup.

3. In terms of trade cost, Panarin to San Jose would also get an extension. This means that it is not a rental property, which increases the purchase costs. I immediately think of the comparisons to the Derick Brassard/Mika Zibanejad trade. The Rangers sent Brassard – the best player in the deal at the time – to Ottawa for Zibanejad and a second-round pick. While we know that Ottawa didn’t want to pay Zibanejad, things seemed to be stagnant in Ottawa at the time and Brassard was seen as the better player at the time.

We all know what happened when Zibanejad hit his ceiling and the Rangers took a short-term hit to find success later. This is important information as San Jose is looking for an immediate boost and the Rangers are now willing to take a hit to be better going forward.

4. Would Mike Grier be willing to take one of Graf or Eklund for Panarin, plus Edmonton’s first-round pick this year? The Rangers probably need to add a sweetener to this, perhaps a C prospect or a mid-round pick.

But food for thought: What if the Rangers were to pick up Logan Couture’s $8 million cap hit next season? Would that raise the bar a bit, and maybe San Jose will include Filip Bystedt, a former first-round pick and a center?

5. Or maybe Panarin to San Jose isn’t as easy as we think. San Jose certainly needs defensemen. What if the Rangers package Panarin and Braden Schneider? Is that enough to pry Michael Misa (doubtful) loose? Will Smith? What if Panarin and Schneider all take on Couture’s contract? That’s a significant trade value.

There are many options here with Panarin to San Jose.

6. A case can certainly be made that Panarin and San Jose would be a good match. There is a need, the GMs have a history together and the Sharks have pieces the Rangers would covet. The only wild card is Panarin’s no-move clause and whether he likes the San Jose area, including San Francisco and the wine country above. Few teams have what the Sharks have: young talent with high potential.