Could Artemi Panarin Test Free Agency?
Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period was on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio with Steve Kouleas and Craig Button and was asked if Artemi Panarin could be the top player come July 1st? In addition, he was asked if the New York Rangers could trade him if they were out of playoff contention.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Steve Kouleas: “With Dave Pagnotta, Sirius XM Insider, so we’ve seen a lot of the signings, and we’ve talked about the kids and talked about Lane Hutson as well. So, where we are right now with someone like an Artemi Panarin and what the Rangers are going through.
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I mean imagine if this continues another year, and he’s now in play. And does he want to leave? Who knows with what happens in New York? It’s still very early, and we are October 15, and you and I talked about Carter Hart. So where are we with what may happen with Vegas and him and Artemi Panarin and two very front topic subjects?”
Dave Pagnotta: “Yeah, I think, I think with Panarin, pending unrestricted free agent, there’s an opportunity for him to be potentially at the top of the UFA class like he was when he first signed with, with the Rangers. I think a lot of it is dependent on how their season goes. If they’re a bubble team, and bubble by wildcard standards, if they’re a bubble team, then I think they take a serious look if they don’t have an indication that he’s willing to stay there, or at least sign an extension.
I think if they’re kind of hovering, that they’re going to be, or worse, then they would take a serious look at moving him, if he’s not willing to commit there. And they may want to go in a totally different direction as well, if things don’t work out, and it’s not working out with him. Well, you may want to rejig your roster a little bit and collect assets by moving him, because there would be, again, with teams with extra cap space and more wiggle room there’s going to be a little bit more of a game plan into, or, excuse me, of a market for him.
So depending how the Rangers kind of game plan this, they may be able to cash in on generating some solid assets, kind of back and again, as I mentioned, there’s another chance he’s going to be one of the top tier guys, if not the top guy in his free agent pool next July, because we know that (Adrian) Kempe wants to stay in LA. And those talks are still on pause for the time being, but they will reconvene.
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The Sabres and Alex Tuch, they’ve also pressed the pause button on their negotiations. Tough start to the season for Buffalo again. Let’s just kind of cool our jets a little bit and see if they can get back on track. Reconvene negotiations later, but right now, those talks in Buffalo are on hold. They’re put on the back burner. So let’s see kind of how these things kind of play out.
Martin Necas in Colorado, we know he’s looking for a big ticket, but Artemi Panarin, if he has a good season, and the Rangers are kind of hovering, I would not be shocked if they start taking serious inquiries about that player.”
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