EAST MEADOW, N.Y. (AP) — Getting traded to the Los Angeles Kings from the New York Rangers just before the NHL's Olympic break in early February did not help Artemi Panarin adjust as quickly as he would have hoped.
“I was thinking too much," Panarin said. "I have trouble when I start thinking.”
Panarin has also been thinking about his first game back at Madison Square Garden, his home arena since 2019, on Monday night — so soon after a cross-country move that pushed him right into the thick of the race in the Western Conference after languishing in last in the East.
After this surreal, strange return, the Kings need Panarin to stop thinking and just play hockey because the skilled Russian winger is the best chance they have of making the playoffs following a rocky few months.
“There’s a lot of excitement when you add a guy like that,” said goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who is four years removed from backstopping Colorado to the Stanley Cup. “The energy that it boosts into a team, into a locker room, when you have a guy like that, you feel like you have a chance to win every night. I feel like it makes everybody play harder, buy in a little bit more and he just leads by being such a great player out there.”
Panarin recorded 12 points in his first 10 games with his new team. L.A. was three points away from the second and final wild card spot in the West before he arrived and is just one out after losing at New Jersey on Saturday night.
The Kings have scored almost a half a goal a game more with Panarin than without, when they ranked second-worse in the league on offense. A seemingly overdue coaching change, firing Jim Hiller and promoting assistant D.J. Smith, has a lot to do with a whole different brand of hockey being played and the vibes improving.
General manager Ken Holland also changed the roster mix ahead of the March 6 trade deadline, sending out Corey Perry and Warren Foegele and adding forward Scott Laughton.
He got the best player available a month earlier, paying the modest price of a conditional third-round pick and prospect Liam Greentree for Panarin, whose 939 points in 814 regular-season games is fifth-best in the NHL since he made his debut. With full trade protection, Panarin got to choose his destination and as part of the trade signed a two-year, $22 million extension to keep him under contract through 2028.
So far, Panarin loves L.A.
“I tried to be without expectations," the 34-year-old said after practice Friday at the Islanders' facility. “I think it’s better than what I expected. The team is better than what I expected. We have pretty good forwards, defensemen, goalies. Looking forward, I’m pretty excited.”
The Kings are excited to have him. And while Panarin is far better at offensive aspects of the game than the defensive ones, the staff is trying to let Artemi be Artemi.
“He’s able to make a lot of plays, and he’s able to make plays that other guys can’t - and you’ve got to give him the freedom to do so," said Smith, who's now in his second head-coaching job after four-plus seasons with the Ottawa Senators from 2019-23.
"He’s been in the league a long time, and we know what he can do. I think as a coach you have to play to your players’ strengths. And for me to be harping on him 24/7 about things, it’s only going to take away from his strengths. We’re going to let him be creative. Obviously, we want him to be responsible, but we need him to provide offense for us.”
Panarin led the Rangers in scoring every season since joining them on a seven-year, $81.5 million contract as the top free agent on the market in 2019. With that deal coming to an end and the team again on track to miss the playoffs, GM Chris Drury committed to a retooling process, telling fans it “may mean saying goodbye to players that have brought us and our fans great moments over the years."
That included Panarin, who wanted long-term security but was not getting that in New York, where Drury is steering the ship after getting an extension last spring.
“They did not make any offer,” Panarin said. “That’s the difference.”
The Kings offered a situation with the salary cap space to fit Panarin and talented players he wanted to share the ice with to make the arrangement work. Just like choosing to sign with Chicago as an undrafted late bloomer in 2015 before winning rookie of the year honors, he trusted a feeling and is embracing at least most of his new life in Southern California.
“Especially in my situation at 34, I should live a few years somewhere if I want it,” Panarin said. "I don’t want to put myself in the position where I get home from the hockey rink being sad about city, about team, or something. Now I’m sad about taxes only.”
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