NHL Rumors: Artemi Panarin Turned Down Massive Offer From Kraken

Friday, February 06, 2026 , ,

New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin stretches during 2026 game.

Artemi Panarin had the Seattle Kraken ready to blow the doors off the market, and he still said no. 

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Seattle put a four-year extension on the table with an average annual value higher than Leon Draisaitl’s $14 million, a jaw-dropping pitch that would have made Panarin one of the league’s top-paid players.

Kraken’s offer was massive, Panarin still stayed on his track

The wild part is how close things apparently came to falling apart with Los Angeles before the finish line. 

Friedman reported the Kings and Panarin’s camp talked numbers in the $45 million range before term became the sticking point, which opened the door for Seattle to try to steal him with that “higher than Draisaitl” AAV. 

Kraken GM Jason Botterill did not confirm figures, but acknowledged discussions with Panarin’s agent Paul Theofanous while declining to go deeper. 

Why Panarin chose Los Angeles anyway

Panarin ultimately landed with the Los Angeles Kings on a two-year extension worth $22 million total, $11 million AAV, even though Friedman suggested he may have left roughly $30 million on the table to make the Kings happen. 

The 34-year-old is still an elite producer, with 57 points in 52 games this season, and he has been a top-end scorer for years with multiple 80-plus point seasons and that monster 120-point campaign in 2023–24 still fresh in everyone’s mind.

The New York Rangers never had clean leverage here, and Panarin’s preference clearly decided the outcome, with Panarin even joking that 'it was the Kings, or back to Russia.' 

Seattle’s swing shows how badly the Kraken want to level up fast, but this one is going to sting because they were willing to pay superstar money and still could not change his mind.

Photo Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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