A major mid-season trade shifted the course of Artemi Panarin’s career and sparked discussion in the NHL community. Several teams had initially shown interest when the veteran winger became available.
The Washington Capitals were one of the teams that explored a move for him. However, Panarin eventually chose Los Angeles, and one of his close friends has now explained how that decision came together.
Why Artemi Panarin Rejected the Capitals and Joined the Los Angeles Kings
Panarin joined the Los Angeles Kings after the New York Rangers traded him on Feb. 4. The move followed weeks of discussion after the Rangers signaled a roster reset and kept Panarin out of the lineup late in January.
The veteran winger agreed to waive his full no-movement clause to complete the trade. Soon after arriving in Los Angeles, he signed a two-year contract extension worth $22 million with an average annual value of $11 million, beginning in the 2026-27 season.
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New York also retained 50% of Panarin’s remaining salary from the contract he signed with the team in 2019.
Before the deal, Panarin recorded 57 points in 52 games during the 2025-26 season. Once his availability became clear, several teams explored ways to acquire him before the trade deadline.
The Capitals were among the most serious teams in those discussions because they wanted to add offense around captain Alex Ovechkin for a playoff push.
Reports indicated that Washington discussed a contract extension worth around $12 million per season as part of the pursuit. Negotiations slowed when the Rangers asked for 21-year-old winger Ryan Leonard in return.
The Capitals considered Leonard untouchable and decided not to include him in the package, which prevented the talks from progressing further.
Panarin’s full no-movement clause also gave him control over the final destination if a trade occurred. Former NHL forward Nikita Filatov later shared details on “This is Hockey, Bro. NHL” after speaking directly with Panarin about the situation. According to Filatov, the decision largely came down to the city and the opportunity presented by Los Angeles.
Filatov said, “I asked him about this one too. Why he didn’t choose Washington? And honestly, it’s pretty straightforward. And we’ve talked about this. If you compare Washington and Los Angeles as cities, well, obviously, he is picking Los Angeles.”
Filatov added that Panarin did not see a major difference between the two teams when it came to their current position in the Stanley Cup race.
“And if you compare Washington and L.A. as Clubs in terms of being contenders for the Stanley Cup right here and now, they are pretty much equally far off. They’re comparably far from being contenders. They’re kind of in the same tier. And that’s pretty much it,” Filatov said.
He also explained that the Kings presented Panarin with a clear idea about his role in the organization as the roster changes in the coming years.
“He really wanted, like we all said, to play in a great, beautiful city, for a club with history. The franchise, the brand. Plus, a factor that played a big role was that the management and coaches made it very clear to him that with Kopitar leaving the team and Doughty nearing the end of his career, they see Panarin becoming the centerpiece. The face of the entire organisation,” Filatov said.
