NY Rangers Asked Pending UFA Artemi Panarin to Take Discount on Extension
Panarin was the highest-paid winger in the NHL last season at $11.65 million (that crown will be held by Mikko Rantanen and Mitch Marner this season, at $12 million).
Insider Elliotte Friedman has dropped some intel on Panarin's potential future on his 32 Thoughts podcast. He relayed the story of how two years ago the LA Kings asked—and got—Anze Kopitar to take a discount on his last deal to help the team out with its cap situation. Friedman says the New York Rangers tried to take a page out of that book this summer.
I understand at some point this offseason, the Rangers had that kind of a conceptual discussion with Panarin. Is there a way that you could do for the Rangers what Kopitar did for the Kings? Obviously at this point in time, that hasn't happened.
Panarin, about to turn 34, is a couple of years younger than Kopitar was when he gave LA the hometown discount, so perhaps that's a factor that's playing into this. But it doesn't seem like that's a route, at this point, that Panarin is interested in. Does that mean that the Breadman is toast in New York after this season?
The Rangers, by all accounts, are hoping to take a big swing in the free agent market next summer, with any of the huge superstar names, some of them listed above, that don't extend with their current teams. They want to have all their ducks in a row to be able to poach one of those UFAs, and therefore, are hoping to keep their cap space as clear as they can.
Panarin had 37 goals and 89 points last season in 80 games, and in his 10-year career, has 870 points in 752 games.
Photo: © Danny Wild-Imagn Images
