Panarin traded to Kings, signs two-year extension
The Los Angeles Kings have acquired star winger Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers in exchange for prospect Liam Greentree and a conditional third-round draft pick.
Panarin, 34, subsequently signed a two-year contract extension with the Kings worth $11 million per season. The Russian winger had been held out of the Rangers’ lineup since Jan. 26 in anticipation of a trade.
Greentree, 20, has 23 goals and 45 points in 34 games with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires this season. The Kings originally selected the 6’3″ right wing in the first round (No. 26 overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Emily Kaplan were the first to report the news of the trade on Wednesday afternoon.
ESPN sources: The LA Kings have acquired standout forward Artemi Panarin from the NY Rangers in exchange for a conditional third-round pick and prospect Liam Greentree, per me and @emilymkaplan.
According to The Athletic‘s Vince Z. Mercogliano, the Rangers will receive the better of the Kings’ two 2026 third-round picks in the deal. If the Kings win a playoff round, the pick will become a 2026 second-round pick; if they win a second playoff round, they’ll also send the Rangers a 2028 fourth-round pick.
Panarin has scored 19 goals and registered 57 points in 52 games with the Rangers this season. He is in the final year of his previous contract, which carries a $11.6 million cap hit, and had been set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer; the Rangers also retained 50 percent of his remaining cap hit in this trade.
Originally signed by the Chicago Blackhawks as an undrafted free agent in 2015, Panarin immediately burst on the scene as one of the best wingers in the NHL, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy over Connor McDavid after scoring 77 points in his first season.
After two productive seasons in Chicago, Panarin was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2017, where he set consecutive franchise records for points in a single season. His high-end playmaking and offensive awareness helped lead the Blue Jackets to their first-ever playoff series sweep in 2019 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Breadman’s tenure in the Big Apple has been defined by massive production. After signing with the club in 2019, he became the fastest Ranger to reach 400 points, doing so in 310 games. He was also a Hart Trophy finalist in 2020. During the 2023–24 season, he set a personal high of 120 points, including 49 goals.
The two-time first-team NHL All-Star has tallied 321 goals and 927 points in 804 career games. He’s added 21 goals and 61 points in 73 playoff contests.
The NHL’s pre-Olympic trade freeze kicked in at 3:00 PM ET, with the Panarin trade coming in just under the wire.