Why the Canadiens Are Keeping a Close Eye on Panarin and the Rangers
Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
The start of the season for the New York Rangers is among the most disappointing. If they keep going like this, there could very well be a cleanup in the Big Apple.
And Kent Hughes might be able to take advantage of it to help his young rookie, Ivan Demidov.
The player that the Canadiens could target, even though he's not a center, is Artemi Panarin.
The forward, who is in the final year of his contract with the Rangers, could very well leave the team that has paid him nearly $81.5M over the past few years.
From what we understand, Chris Drury does not want to extend the Russian.
So it's no surprise that rumors are sending him elsewhere for next season.
Elliotte Friedman (FAN Hockey Show) and Frank Seravalli (Insider Notebook) have both talked about it recently in the past few days.
"They went to him and said, would you be willing to take a Kopitar kind of deal and the answer was no; you know it's gonna be a big number; you just wonder where this is all gonna go."
- Elliotte Friedman
- Elliotte Friedman
"I'm not down on Artemi Panarin at all, but I don't think the Rangers are signing up for more years of it if they don't at least have tangible success in front of them - Insider Notebook."
- Frank Seravalli
- Frank Seravalli
Artemi Panarin is the perfect candidate to help Ivan Demidov with the Montreal Canadiens
It didn't take long for the Canadiens to be linked to this situation.
And it's not just the Russian connection that makes Panarin a perfect teammate for Demidov's first steps in the league.
The reasoning goes even further.
At this stage, I think the Canadiens are ready to welcome a major impact player into its ranks, whether through a trade or the free-agent market.
The Hughes/Gorton duo will also have a lot of salary cap space next summer to make a big move.
Let's not forget that it was the current president of hockey operations for the Canadiens, Jeff Gorton, who managed to attract Panarin to New York in 2019.
On top of that, as Marc-Olivier Cook from the site DLC reminds us, Montreal was genuinely of interest to Panarin when he left the KHL to play in North America in 2015.
Imagine how much more the city could interest him now, with the team progressing rapidly and the opportunity to play alongside a highly talented Russian teammate.
Demidov could very well extend the veteran's career - even though at 33 years old, he doesn't seem to be slowing down.
But then again, that's pretty much the story for the entire New York squad, which has scored only 11 goals in 6 games so far.
A motivated Panarin playing on a team on the rise would be a huge boost for the Canadiens moving forward.
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