Kings acquire F Artemi Panarin in blockbuster swap with Rangers

Field Level Media|published: Wed 4th February, 17:17 2026

Jan 20, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin (10) moves the puck against Los Angeles Kings right wing Quinton Byfield (55) during the third period at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Kings acquired superstar forward Artemi Panarin in a trade with the New York Rangers and signed him to a two-year, $22 million extension, the Kings announced Wednesday.

The Rangers received prospect Liam Greentree and conditional third-round and fourth-round draft picks. They agreed to retain 50% of Panarin's $11.6 million cap hit for the rest of the season.

New York opted to ship out the 34-year-old Panarin, the team's leading scorer, after plummeting to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

Panarin tallied 19 goals and 57 points in 52 games before being scratched toward the end of January to guard against injury. He had been scheduled to reach unrestricted free agency this summer.

A four-time All-Star, Panarin was a cornerstone player for the Rangers for six-plus seasons and has 927 career points (321 goals, 606 assists) in 804 regular-season games with New York, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Chicago Blackhawks. He has 61 career points (21 goals, 40 assists) in 73 playoff games.

An undrafted free agent out of Russia, Panarin signed his current seven-year, $81.5 million contract with the Rangers in 2019. It contained a full no-movement clause that he waived to facilitate the move to Los Angeles, which was one point out of the Western Conference's second wild-card spot on Wednesday.

The Kings were the only team Panarin wanted to join, according to the New York Post, which reported the conditional 2026 third-round pick will become a second-rounder if Los Angeles wins a playoff round this season.

The Rangers will receive the conditional fourth-rounder in 2028 if the Kings win multiple playoff rounds.

Greentree, a 20-year-old forward, was the No. 26 overall draft pick in 2024. He has 45 points (23 goals, 22 assists) in 34 games this season with the Ontario Hockey League's Windsor Spitfires. Last season, he posted 119 points (49 goals, 70 assists) in 64 games.

A league-wide roster freeze kicked in Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET for the duration of the Winter Olympics.

Trade activity can resume Feb. 23 ahead of the March 6 deadline.

--Field Level Media

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