The Los Angeles Kings won the Artemi Panarin sweepstakes — perhaps by default — sending Liam Greentree and two draft picks to New York before signing the star winger to a two-year, $22 million extension beyond 2025–26.
Both the trade and contract are widely seen as a huge win for GM Ken Holland and the Kings, though some have wondered why the extension was only for two years. There could be several reasons, with Panarin’s age, 34, at the forefront. However, one insider suggested it might be a move to maintain cap flexibility for a potentially star-studded 2028 free-agent class.
Greg Wyshynski of ESPN floated the idea that LA might have held firm on a two-year deal with their sights set on superstars Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews, who could hit the market at the end of it.
“In thinking more about why the @LAKings held firm on a two-year extension for Artemi Panarin, I guess there are a couple of reasons why they might want that money off their cap in 2028 … #NHL,”
The 29-year-old McDavid’s two-year, $25 million extension with the Oilers, signed in October, kicks in at the start of the 2026–27 season and expires after the 2027–28 campaign. Meanwhile, Matthews, 28, is in year two of a four-year, $53 million extension signed to stay in Toronto in 2023, also set to expire following the 2027–28 season.
Smart Move by Ken Holland and the Kings
While two and a half years is a lifetime in sports — and so much can change with both McDavid and Matthews in that time — there’s no doubt that Holland’s decision to limit the term on Panarin’s extension was a savvy one.
Maintaining flexibility for even the slightest possibility that two of the world’s best players could become available is a no-brainer, especially for a team like Los Angeles, which is always an attractive destination for stars hitting the open market.
Holland, of course, already has a connection with McDavid, having spent five years as GM of the Oilers, while Matthews has often been linked to the Kings whenever trade chatter arises, partly because he was born in San Ramon, California, and grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona — not far from the City of Angels.
It makes a lot of sense to connect all of these dots, and it’s certainly something for hockey fans to keep an eye on in the years ahead, depending on how things unfold in Edmonton and Toronto.
All of that being said, the odds of LA landing even one of them remain low. At the same time, that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth constructing your roster with the possibility in mind — quite frankly, not doing so would be malpractice.
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