Panarin Turned Down 4 Teams That Made 'Competitive Extension Offers'

Former Rangers forward Artemi Panarin skates against the LA Kings

The Artemi Panarin Sweepstakes are over, as we saw earlier this week, as the New York Rangers traded the pending UFA to the Los Angeles Kings. He then immediately signed a two-year extension with LA with an $11M AAV.

We learned that on the morning of the trade, Panarin informed the Rangers that the Kings were the only team he would accept a trade to. But that doesn't mean that others didn't try. In fact, with a rich extension being one of his prerequisites for accepting a trade, there were four other teams that threw gobs of money at the star Russian forward. But Panarin turned down those four clubs in favor of the Kings, in some cases in lieu of much more cash.

Elliotte Friedman explained on the 32 Thoughts podcast on Friday:

I think the (Carolina) Hurricanes made a competitive financial offer. I think the (Washington) Capitals made a competitive financial offer. I think the (Utah) Mammoth made a competitive financial offer. But the biggest financial offer was the (Seattle) Kraken.

Friedman had earlier reported that the Kraken had made an offer to Panarin worth well over double the contract that he got from LA. In fact, at about $56 million over four years, it blew his final Kings $22M offer out of the water. But The Bread Man obviously wanted to do his baking in LA, not Seattle. And not Raleigh, not D.C., and not Salt Lake.

Kings turned down richer request from Panarin, got him to accept 2 yrs/$22M

Friedman also reported that the Panarin camp tried to pry more out of LA, suggesting on The Fan Hockey Show that "they were talking about a $45 million extension, I think it was 5 (yrs) x $9M, but I don't know for sure... LA just said, 'We're not comfortable doing that'.

Nevertheless, Panarin takes his 57 points in 52 games with him from Broadway to Hollywood, where he'll write what could be the final chapter of his storied career over the next few years.

At his audio press conference, the Russian explained that Los Angeles was the only place he wanted to go. And he got some help on that decision from a former Kings defenseman that he spent time with on the Rangers this year.

"I tried to find a team for myself where I want to be," he said. "So, it's kind of about feeling. Obviously, you look at players, and I was speaking with (ex-Rangers teammate Vladislav) Gavrikov the last couple of days a lot. He introduced L.A., great organization, great teammates there, and obviously a great spot to live. It's hard to explain, I just want to play for these guys, for that organization. Other teams were on the list obviously, too, but I actually didn't want to go anywhere else."