The New York Rangers should trade Artemi Panarin to the Washington Capitals in a package for the Caps top prospect Ryan Leonard.
Doesn’t Artemi Panarin have a Full No-Move Clause?
He does, and there has been zero indication that he is unhappy with the Rangers or that the Rangers have considered shopping him. However, this could be the one opportunity that would get Panarin to consider waiving. The Capitals are first overall in the Eastern Conference, just three points back of the Winnipeg Jets in the race for the President’s Trophy. Alexander Ovechkin is not only bearing down on Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals scored record, but he is also having a renaissance season at the age of 39. Ovie is signed through next season, just like Panarin, and hasn’t had a pure setup man since Nicklas Backstrom started to struggle with injuries a few years back. From the outside looking in, teaming the two Russian superstars for two shots at the Cup seems like pure theater.
Keep in mind, it is a matter of public knowledge that Ovie has taken a pro-Putin stance, and Panarin an anti-Putin stance in the past. For the purposes of this exercise, we are going to assume that their difference of opinion doesn’t rise to the JT Miller/Elias Pettersson level.
Why Ryan Leonard
Fan can continue to dream up scenarios in which either the Ottawa Senators or Florida Panthers gift the Rangers a Tkachuk brother, but it’s not going to happen. The Rangers have done a good job in the last 5 years of drafting players that have an edge in Adam Edstrom (2019, 6th Round) Will Cuylle (2020, 2nd Round), Brett Berard (2020, 5th Round), Matt Rempe (2020, 6th Round), Brennan Othmann (2021, 1st Round), and Adam Sykora (2022, 2nd Round).
Cuylle and Othmann have the potential to blossom into top 6 players. However, it is unlikely that either will approach the combination of skill, toughness, grit and leadership of the Tkachuk brothers who excel at “carrying their team into the fight”.
Enter Leonard, who two months before the “4 Nations Face-Off”, captained Team USA in the World Junior U-20 Championships to their second consecutive gold medal. In the tournament, Leonard had 5 goals, 5 assists, 12 penalty minutes and was a plus 10 despite breaking his nose in the quarterfinals.
The Capitals selected Leonard 8th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, 15 selections prior to the Rangers drafting Gabe Perreault, his teammate and linemate the last 4 seasons on the US National Development Team, Boston College and Team USA in the World Juniors. Both players are likely playing their last seasons at BC and would have instant chemistry if they were in the Rangers organization preparing to play on Broadway together.
Leonard is not quite as big as the Tkachuk’s:
- Brady Tkachuk is 6’4”, 225
- Matthew Tkachuk is 6’2”, 202
- Ryan Leonard is 6’, 201.
However, he makes up for it with his effort and attitude. Team USA World Juniors coach David Carle was quoted by NHL.com after this year’s tournament saying that Leonard was his team’s “emotional leader”, who remained “calm, steady on the bench, in the locker room”. He said Leonard possessed “a quiet confidence” and was a “total gamer”.
Keith “Big Walt” Tkachuk and his wife Chantal do not have any more sons on the way, though their daughter Taryn plays Field Hockey at the University of Virginia because, of course she does. Therefore, teams are on their own.
Leonard is the Capitals prized prospect. Would they be willing to give him up for two cracks at the Cup before Ovie retires?
Why Trade Artemi Panarin?
Chris Drury has been reworking the Rangers core for the last couple of months, but so far, they are just getting older. The Rangers have traded Jacob Trouba (30), Filip Chytil (25), Kaapo Kakko (23) and Victor Mancini (22) for veterans JT Miller (31), Will Borgen (28) and Urho Vaakanainen (26). They need to find a way to add someone young and impactful to their core.
There’s no denying that Panarin is one of the most skilled forwards in the NHL and is in the process of posting his 6th consecutive productive season with the Rangers. However, he has not produced at the same clip in the playoffs. Furthermore, one thing that has not changed during his tenure is the call from David Quinn, Gerard Gallant and Peter Laviolette for the Rangers to play simpler, north-south hockey. Panarin is the ultimate east-west, tic-tac-toe player. When he is on, it’s fun to watch. But if the Rangers want to try and change their identity, perhaps it’s time to start at the top.
How Would a Deal Like This Work?
First, the teams would have to agree to the framework of a deal surrounding Panarin for Leonard. Both teams would probably want to explore expanding the deal as the Rangers would be sure to have interest in Boston University’s Cole Hutson, a defensemen who also starred at the World Juniors and is the younger brother of the Montreal Canadiens rookie-of-the-year candidate Lane Hutson. The Capitals might have interest in their goaltender Charlie Lindgren’s younger brother Ryan to shore up their defense for the stretch run. Having said that, between Panarin’s NMC and the cap restraints, it’s already a complicated deal so let’s keep it simple.
New York Rangers Trade
Artemi Panarin, LW
Reilly Smith, RW
Louis Domingue, G
Plus, the Rangers retain 50% of Panarin’s $11,642,857 salary (pro-rated for the remainder of this season and all of 2025-26) and 50% of pending UFA Smith’s $3.75m contract (Smith’s actual salary is $5m but the Pittsburgh Penguins are covering $1.25m). Domingue would be in the AHL as insurance for the Capitals in case of an injury to Lindgren or Logan Thompson.
Washington Capitals Trade
Ryan Leonard, RW
Andrew Mangiapane, C
2025 2nd round pick (conditional)
2026 2nd round pick (conditional)
The Capitals are expected to have $3.65m in cap room at the deadline, which would roughly be cut in half after swapping Mangiapane’s $5.8m for the $5.82m the Capitals will pay Panarin, and the $1.875m they will pay Smith. Meaning the Capitals could still make a further upgrade if they choose.
The Rangers could move pending UFA Mangiapane for picks if they go into full sell mode, but he would be a good placeholder at 3rd line center until the summer when interesting options like the Boston Bruins Trent Frederick and the San Jose Sharks Luke Kunin are expected to hit free agency. The Rangers could line up as follows down the stretch:
Miller-Trocheck-Lafreniere
Kreider-Zibanejad-Othmann
Cuylle-Mangiapane-Berard
Vesey-Carrick-Rempe
Final Analysis
While this mock trade would enable the Rangers to still pursue a playoff spot this season, it’s really about the future. Removing Panarin and injecting another gritty north-south player would help the Rangers change their identity and hopefully their playoff chances.
The Rangers currently do not have a 2nd round pick until 2028, and both conditional picks could flip to a 1st rounders if the Ovie/Panarin combo leads the Capitals to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Plus, while the Rangers would still be on the hook for 50% of Panarin’s salary for one more season, the cap room that his departure creates comes at a good time with a rising cap and a handful of superstars on their way to free agency including Mikko Rantanen and Mitch Marner this summer, and Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Kirill Kaprizov in 2026.
(Mock Trade Alerts are entirely fabricated by the team at SportsRantNY to spark conversation and get on the radar of New York’s ruling General Managers.)
