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New York Rangers fans faced the ultimate insult from Artemi Panarin’s extension signed with the LA Kings following the massive trade.
The Artemi Panarin trade wasn’t enough of an insult to New York Rangers fans. The paltry return completely underwhelmed, leaving fans calling for GM Chris Drury’s head.
While Drury can’t solely bear the blame, a good chunk of it has to go to Panarin himself. All right, Panarin was within his right to control his destiny. Anyone in his situation would have looked out for number one.
But what became the ultimate insult to Rangers fans was his contract extension. Throughout this entire ordeal, the talk was that Panarin wanted a massive, long-term contract extension. Panarin had been open about not giving any hometown discounts and wasn’t willing to take a short-term deal.
Well, that’s just what he did by extending with the LA Kings for two years at $11 million per season. While he didn’t really back down from his asking price, he actually took a pay cut. Panarin’s cap hit for this season is $11.64 million. Sure, $600K may not be such a big deal to Panarin.
Panarin extends with LA:
2 x $11M AAV
But to Rangers fans, it might as well have $600 billion.
The extension proves that Panarin didn’t want to be in New York anymore. And he spared no expense in letting fans know that as he walked out the door.
Panarin has completely tarnished his legacy in New York. Rangers fans will never let him forget it.
Kings Get Major Steal Much to Rangers Fans’ Chagrin
As for the LA Kings, this deal has to be a major coup. They got the hottest player on the trade market without blowing major assets.
Sure, it helped that Panarin was hellbent on LA. But the fact is that the Kings made away like gangbusters with this deal. While $11 million isn’t exactly cheap, they’ll have cap space opening up next season.
$7 million will be coming off the books from Anze Kopitar’s retirement. The rising cap will also offset a fair chunk of Panarin’s cap hit.
Plus, the Kings are only on the hook for two seasons. That’s a far cry from the four or five-year deal the Russian star supposedly demanded earlier this season.
That’s something that may be hard for Rangers fans to swallow. But the fact remains that Panarin just didn’t want to be in New York anymore, and he made that crystal clear.
Blueshirts Must Now Move On
With the Panarin saga in the rearview, the Rangers must now move on. They have a decent prospect in Liam Greentree, plus potentially multiple draft picks if the conditions are met on the third-rounder sent in the trade.
The Rangers now have cap space and some more assets to work with. It would be a surprise to see the Blueshirts try to take a big swing on the free agent market next summer. Granted, plenty of big names are already off the board. But with cap space to play with, the Rangers can go after multiple players hitting the market.
The sell-off in New York is not likely to be done. But the club could end up in much better shape when everything is said and done.
Nestor Quixtan Seasoned NHL analyst and baseball writer focused on covering clubs across each league with news, analysis, and insights. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Nestor’s singular experiences and background have enabled him to bring a different take on the sports world as a whole. Nestor’s fondness for baseball and hockey set the tone for his love and passion for writing about sports. More about Nestor Quixtan
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