A day later, there was some more breakdown on how Artemi Panarin became an LA King in a trade that netted top prospect Liam Greentree along with a conditional third pick in 2026 and a conditional fourth pick in 2028.

Sportsnet’s own Elliotte Friedman explained in detail what transpired over the past 48 hours. Despite Panarin having a desire for Florida and Tampa Bay to get involved, it never materialized. The Panthers never seriously considered it while the Lightning backed out due to Panarin being a potential rental due to the extension part of the negotiations.

Related: Rangers Trade Panarin To Kings: Signs Extension As Fans Stew

That left California as a preferred choice. Having played before for head coach Joel Quenneville with the Blackhawks, he liked the idea of a potential reunion in Anaheim. However, the Ducks weren’t crazy about extending the 34-year-old star. If the reports are true that Rangers team president and general manager Chris Drury asked for Will Smith back, there was no way the Sharks were doing that. There was also a rumor that he wanted Ryan Leonard from the Caps.

Eventually, the Kings became the team. Friedman had some interesting insight into how talks nearly broke off due to Panarin’s contract demands. It sounds like his agent overplayed things.

When it first got out that the Rangers weren’t going to re-sign Panarin, there were rumours of the Kings trading for Evander Kane. They were treading water at that point, and openly wondered if giving up assets made any sense at all. Then, the Panarin possibility dropped on their laps, and they had to consider it. 

They felt their greatest need was a centre. But when a talented offensive player indicates he’d like to come your way, you can’t ignore it. I called the possibility of him going there “a fresh coat of paint,” and honestly, they needed it. 

Here’s where it gets goofy. According to multiple sources, the Kings’ Panarin pursuit almost fell apart over the last couple of days. From the beginning, they were nervous about term on an extension for the 34-year-old winger. But the two sides were discussing something in the $45 million range. (My guess is five years at a $9 million AAV, but don’t know that for sure.)

On Tuesday, that fell apart. Los Angeles wasn’t willing to go there. Panarin’s agent, Paul Theofanous (who could not be reached for comment) contacted several teams to juice the bidding. Only he knows what he really told people, but word spread like wildfire that he’d indicated Panarin was going to Carolina and someone else was willing to pay $60 million (a four-year contract with a $15 million AAV).

All of this was denied by anyone we asked (for good reason, as it turned out) but it certainly created a couple hours of craziness. Everyone heard the same rumours, and no one could figure out what was happening.

Apparently, the Kraken had serious interest in Panarin and even were offering over $14 million AAV over four years. However, once he told Drury that he wanted to go to the Kings early Wednesday morning, he had no choice but to get back on the phone and work it out.

Carolina lurked. So did Washington, and, I suspect, Utah. But Panarin, as evidenced Wednesday when he told the Rangers he would only go to LA, wanted the Kings. So they re-engaged and got to the two-year, $22-million zone they were comfortable with. 

Panarin wanted LA so badly he may have left $30 million behind. 

That explains why he only signed a two-year extension worth $11 million AAV through 2027-28. Panarin will join the Kings, who are locked in a battle with both the Kraken and Ducks for third in the Northwest Division. They trail each by three points a day before the Olympic break.

The Kings are in action later tonight when they visit the Golden Knights in a key divisional matchup at 10 EST. A win would pull them within one point of third place and the final wild card that the Ducks occupy. Six points separate first place Vegas from Los Angeles. The Kings have the fewest regulation wins (14) of the teams in the hunt. In fact, only the 32nd overall Canucks have less regulation wins with 12. Ironically enough, the 30th overall Rangers also have 14 regulation wins, speaking to how far they’ve fallen over the past two months.

Panarin hasn’t played since Jan. 26 when he picked up an assist in the Rangers’ last win. If he suits up and makes his Kings’ debut, the Bread Man could wear number 72 due to Corey Perry, who wears number 10. Both are listed with number 10 on the official team site.

In an acknowledgment, the Rangers said goodbye to Panarin with a video montage. It would’ve been nice if they’d shown his overtime winner in Game 7 of the first round in 2022. I guess even that’s too much to expect from a very strange organization that hardly has a social media presence. I liked what the Kings did with their post welcoming the Bread Man.

Now, Panarin will try to help the Kings make the playoffs for a fifth straight season. They’ve had some good teams, but have run into the Oilers the past four postseasons in the first round. If they make it again, the chances of a fifth consecutive meeting with Connor McDavid is very likely.

Drury Takes Questions

Instead of ducking the media like he usually does, Drury fielded questions last night in a rare conference call at 7:30 PM. Taking full responsibility for an underachieving roster, he discussed both trading a very popular player in Panarin and what he wants to do to fix the Rangers.

“Artemi’s an incredible player, arguably the best free agent signing in the 100-year history of the franchise. He deserves a chance to win and we wanted to give him that chance as we retool the team. It’s never easy to move a player of Artemi’s caliber, but it’s provided us an opportunity to accumulate valuable assets for the future.

As I stated in the letter to our fans, no one is happy with the way we have performed this year. As the president and GM, this is ultimately my responsibility. Coming into this year, we were viewed collectively, internally and externally, as a playoff-caliber team, and we have underachieved. I have great faith in Sully, he is one of the premiere coaches in this league, also a very accomplished group of assistants. It’s my job to work with them to fully understand why we have underachieved and how we all improve moving forward.

Our fans deserve a Stanley Cup, not a team just hoping to get in as the last wild card. So we felt it was best to start this organizational shift sooner than later. That will be the guiding principle of every decision we make as an organization. How does this help us return to a Stanley Cup contender? We are going to work tirelessly at this every day to continue to improve and push towards that goal.”

It’s a lot to unpack. His admission about the roster is an indictment on what did last summer. When I had my preview, I tentatively picked the Rangers to squeak in as the second wild card where I had them getting dumped out rather quickly by the Devils, who have their own issues with another clueless GM. I knew that the roster Drury constructed was very top heavy. They were overly reliant on veterans with Panarin headlining a list that included Adam Fox, Vladislav Gavrikov, J.T. Miller, Igor Shesterkin, Vincent Trocheck, and Mika Zibanejad. Once injuries to Fox and Miller occured, it severely limited them.

The final blow was when both Fox and Shesterkin went down against the Mammoth on Jan. 5. Since then, the Rangers have won only twice. After defeating the Panthers in the Winter Classic on Jan. 2, they’ve gone 2-10-1 over the last 13 games to sink like the Titanic. Once the losses piled up, it was a matter of time before the organization decided to move on from Panarin and other vets, with Soucy switching allegiances to the Islanders a week ago. A move Drury made to keep Soucy’s family close to home.

As we know, more changes are coming following the roster freeze in late February until the March 6 trade deadline. Players who could be impacted include Braden Schneider, Trocheck, and maybe Sam Carrick, whose tenacity could help a contender.

Drury really likes Greentree, who he thinks very highly of due to his skill and hockey IQ. The part about valuing him over a 2026 or 2027 first round pick sounds absurd. I understood what he was trying to say, but come on. You’re telling me he couldn’t have waited it out longer. Perhaps they could’ve gotten more for Panarin if the trade was closer to the deadline. A point Jonny Lazarus made in a very poignant post last night.

K’Andre Miller Excited For MSG Return

Looking ahead, tonight marks the MSG return for K’Andre Miller. A key top four defenseman who was part of some good teams, Miller was traded to the Hurricanes last July 1 for Scott Morrow, a 2026 first round pick and second round pick. He immediately signed for seven years at $7.5 million AAV with Carolina.

A good player who was best known for partnering with Jacob Trouba as part of a matchup tandem, the 26-year-old Miller never fulfilled his potential after the Rangers selected him number 22 in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He had some good moments, scoring on a few breakaways while contributing two goals and five assists for seven points during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. His best season came in 2022-23 under former coach Gerard Gallant when he set career highs in goals (9), assists (34), and points (43).

However, he never found that extra gear. Under Peter Laviolette, Miller’s game stagnated due to a man-to-man system that wasn’t a good fit. He struggled with inconsistencies and even took a short break due to mental health issues in late December 2024.

In 2025-26 as a Hurricane, he enters tonight’s match with four goals and 19 assists for 23 points in 48 games. He missed the earlier matchup at MSG due to an injury in November. The Hurricanes still won 3-0 on Nov. 4. After defeating the Rangers 4-2 on Nov. 26, they came back to win 3-2 at home on Dec. 29. Miller picked up a secondary assist on the tying goal for his first point versus his former team. He’s looking forward to tonight’s game as a visitor.

“Obviously, I’m super excited. One more big game before break. Hopefully, we close out this first half the right way.”

“I’m very motivated [to get 2 points tonight]. Had this game obviously circled on the calendar for a little bit. Bummed out I couldn’t play in that first game and help the guys get a win, but I’m excited to get back in the lineup tonight.”

Miller seems pretty happy being where he’s at, which is away from the circus. The Hurricanes sit in first place with 76 points, tying them with the Lightning for the most in the East. They’re again on their way to another postseason, with the goal to finally exorcise the demons and play for the Stanley Cup.

On the flip side, the Rangers have 50 points to rank 30th in the league. That means they’re comfortably in the lottery, which could put them in position to land either Ivar Stenberg or Gavin McKenna, who was involved in an incident at a Pennsylvania bar in which he slugged a disrespectful man who harassed his Mom following a game on Saturday, Jan. 31 at State College. The news certainly made the rounds due to McKenna facing a felony aggravated assault charge from the state due to what happened. From the stories available, it sounds like he was justified. Hopefully, the charges are dropped.

If there’s one life lesson here, it’s to be extremely careful if you’re a star athlete in public. McKenna is expected to go either first or second in the 2026 NHL Draft. Hopefully, he’s learned something from a very uncomfortable experience in which he was provoked by a nobody.

The 18-year-old Canadian top prospect has 11 goals and 21 assists for 32 points with 34 penalty minutes in his freshman year for Penn State. He’s tied for the team lead in scoring on the Nittany Lions. At the 2026 World Junior Championships, McKenna finished with four goals and 10 helpers for 14 points to help Canada to a bronze medal.

Morrow A Healthy Scratch

When the Rangers host the Hurricanes, Morrow will be a healthy scratch. Instead, recent waiver pickup Vincent Iorio will make his Broadway debut. What’s baffling is that it counters what Drury emphasized about wanting to see what the youngers on the roster can bring.

Morrow hasn’t been good lately with his defensive game slipping. However, what’s the point of sitting him? The team is completely out of it before Valentine’s Day. He should keep playing so he can learn from his mistakes. This falls on head coach Mike Sullivan, who always makes examples out of young players, but never holds veterans accountable.

Of course, Brennan Othmann will also sit out for Anton Blidh. A 30-year-old journeyman who will play on the fourth line. Othmann remains Drury’s first pick from the 2021 Draft. Sullivan clearly doesn’t like him. Explain to me how having either Blidh or an ineffective Matt Rempe in the lineup over Othmann makes any sense. Jonny Brodzinski was moved up to the third line as well. For what purpose?

Honestly, there’s no reason for fans to watch this dog and pony show. The centennial anniversary will go down as the most embarrassing season in franchise history.