The Los Angeles Kings have won the Artemi Panarin sweepstakes, but they certainly weren’t the only team with interest in the scoring winger. Reports have surfaced stating the Washington Capitals were extremely interested in adding Panarin ahead of the Olympic roster freeze, and were willing to give him a contract extension to stick around.

Panarin’s agent made it known to New York Rangers’ GM Chris Drury that his client was only interested in heading to Los Angeles not long ago, taking out the Capitals, among many other interested teams.

Panarin went on to sign a two-year extension with the Kings for $11 million AAV, and now the Capitals are loading up plan B once the Olympic roster freeze concludes, and ahead of the March 6 trade deadline. Robert Thomas or Jordan Kyrou off the St. Louis Blues could be targets. 

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. pic.twitter.com/2PuTENRhEH

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 4, 2026

Washington enters the break five points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and don’t expect them to be spending huge assets on pure rentals. They were interested in Panarin only if a contract extension was in place.

The Capitals have $5.8 million in cap space to work with, and they have their 2026 first-round pick that they could dangle in trade talks. Once the Rangers and Caps were linked, many Rangers’ faithful were hoping to see Ryan Leonard heading the other way, but there’s no chance Washington moves on any of their top prospects, as they are creeping closer to life without Alex Ovechkin.

The @LAKings made a massive move in acquiring Artemi Panarin. @FriedgeHNIC stopped by #NHLNow to talk about the trade.

📺: #NHLNow weekdays at 5p ET on NHL Network https://t.co/ugAskSu9To pic.twitter.com/QP26BHDwJz

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) February 4, 2026

Photo credit:  Hannah Foslien-Imagn Images