The Washington Capitals were one of many teams linked to the possibility of an Artemi Panarin trade.

It sounds like there’s at least one player they decided they would not give the New York Rangers to acquire the 34-year old winger in a deal.

That player: Ryan Leonard.

His off-limits status was reported by NHL insider Jimmy Murphy in a new article on Wednesday, just hours before the Olympic roster freeze.

It does make sense that Leonard wouldn’t be going anywhere.

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The right winger is just 21 years old as of Jan. 21. He was the Capitals’ No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft out of Boston College.

Leonard skated in nine NHL games last season to debut, scoring a single goal.

This season, Leonard has now played in 51 games. He has 10 goals and 20 assists. He has also dished out 72 hits.

It makes sense that the Rangers would want a guy like Leonard in return for Panarin. They’re looking toward the future, and it’d be a 13-year gain at a wing position as far as bringing in youth for an aging veteran.

The Capitals, though, aren’t such all-out contenders that they’d want to give up Leonard for Panarin, even if they could get a contract extension done with the proven scorer.

Leonard has too much upside, too bright a future, to risk on a player who is likely already into his career decline.

The Rangers will surely trade Panarin somewhere, but it sounds like Leonard won’t be leaving the nation’s capital anytime soon.

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