Blockbuster trade rumblings surround Artemi Panarin

The biggest name on next summer’s free-agent market might not even make it that far.

New York Rangers star winger Artemi Panarin, now 34 and entering the final season of his seven-year, $11.6-million-per-year contract, is suddenly at the center of major trade chatter. And according to multiple insiders, the situation is far more serious than the Rangers hoped it would be.

Sportsnet’s Luke Fox reports that Panarin has /no intention/ of accepting a pay cut to stay in New York, even as his production begins to dip with age. The Rangers, for their part, aren’t interested in carrying his current salary structure into his late thirties. With both sides dug in, the future looks increasingly uncertain.

Fox believes the Rangers could ride out the season with Panarin only if they’re firmly in a playoff position by the March 6 trade deadline. But if they’re on the bubble or slipping, New York may have no choice but to ask Panarin to waive his no-movement clause and open the door to a deadline blockbuster.

And according to Fox’s colleague Nick Kypreos, two contenders have already emerged: the Carolina Hurricanes and the Minnesota Wild.

Carolina has a long history of swinging big, chasing elite talent whenever the window opens around the deadline. They’re firmly in win-now mode and could view Panarin as a high-end rental, even after last season’s roller-coaster attempt at acquiring Mitch Marner and their brief experiment with Mikko Rantanen, who they went from acquiring to trading away to the Dallas Stars within weeks.

Minnesota, meanwhile, sees Panarin as a potential second-line fit on the left side, but insiders believe the Wild may ultimately prefer a center or a player they can control beyond one spring.

Either way, Panarin is shaping up to be the most intriguing name on the board, and the next few months in New York will determine whether this story becomes the season’s biggest trade saga.