Artemi Panarin Contract Ask Revealed

While teams all over the NHL scramble for position to try to win the Artemi Panarin Sweepstakes, we're getting new intel on just exactly what the New York Rangers' pending UFA is looking for on a new contract. And it might eliminate some contenders.

Elliotte Friedman has dropped this nugget on his 32 Thoughts podcast on Friday:

As we all know now, the agent, Paul Theofanous is driving a lot of this bus, because it's been made pretty clear that he wants this to happen with an extension.
I think everybody understands that if you're going to get Panarin, he is going to try to hit a contract home run, even though he's 34 years old. And the number I was hearing, and a few teams backed me on this, was $50 million. Teams could break it down (however they want).

So whether it's a five-year deal at $10M AAV, or four years at $12.5M, or something else, it's up to the team.

Obviously, Theofanous is "a guy who likes to hit big homers," and he certainly did with another of his biggest clients, Kirill Kaprizov, earlier this year. The Minnesota Wild forward signed the richest contract in NHL history, with a $17M AAV deal.

Whether or not Panarin can get to his $50M number going into his age-35 season next year, remains to be seen.

Some Cup contenders could be eliminated from Panarin sweepstakes

But the insistence on an extension could eliminate some Stanley Cup contenders from the talks. The Colorado Avalanche, for instance, can not afford to give Panarin an extension, they can only take him as a rental.

For Dallas, "as long as it's their goal to re-sign Jason Robertson, and right now I believe it is, they can't do this," added Friedman.

The Bread Man is baking again this year, with 19 goals and 57 points in 52 games, while playing a career-high 20:55 average ice time per night.

The Rangers informed Panarin earlier this month that they will not be offering him an extension, and gave him permission to try to find a new destination. He has a full no-move clause, so the decision is all up to him.