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Sean Allen
Multiple Authors
Artemi Panarin landing in Los Angeles is one of those trades that feels seismic in real life and immediately uncomfortable in fantasy.
On the surface, the appeal is obvious. Since he joined the New York Rangers in 2019-20, only five players have more assists and only five have more power-play points than Panarin. Those drivers of his fantasy value aren’t changing with Los Angeles Kings.
The Kings; power play, which is tied for second worst with only 25 goals this season, is going to get better. The Kings’ scoring at five-on-five, which is tied for third last with 91 goals, is going to improve. Panarin lifts all boats.
The uncomfortable feeling comes from knowing, for an absolute fact, that fantasy fortunes are going to increase sharply for some players, but not immediately knowing which ones. There are multiple scenarios possible based on the current depth chart on offer from the Kings.
The trickle down starts with the most pressing question: Do the Kings put their current top offensive driver, Adrian Kempe, on the same line as Panarin or keep them separated? Kempe has the unfortunate distinction of leading the Kings in both goals and assists — a sign of how thin the offense has been. So a primary setup man, who is more reliable than a retiring Anze Kopitar and more experienced than a burgeoning Quinton Byfield, would be most welcome to help drive Kempe’s scoring.
But the Rangers had a lot of success while keeping their top offensive weapons, Mika Zibanejad and Panarin, on separate lines at even strength. In fact, Panarin almost never saw Zibanejad at five-on-five during his most successful season in 2023-24. So there is an argument to follow that formula, putting Panarin and Kempe on different lines.
Next on the list of questions we will have to wait to answer after the Olympic break: Which center is going to benefit most? Kopitar, in his final NHL season, hasn’t shown the offensive shine we’ve been accustomed to. Meanwhile, Byfield, whom the baton is being passed to as the team’s top pivot, has not managed to fill that void. Based on total playing time with Kempe, Kopitar is the No. 1 center still, but neither has been with Kempe of late. If you want to speculate with an acquisition now, Byfield is more available (70.3%) and the one the Kings would benefit the most from forming chemistry with Panarin. But Kopitar has been dropped in a lot of leagues, too, and is available in more than half now (53.8%). In shallow leagues, this is where you can win the Panarin trade without ever touching Panarin.
Finally, if it’s not Kempe flanking Panarin at even strength, who is it? Kevin Fiala, Alex Laferriere, Trevor Moore, Andrei Kuzmenko and Corey Perry have been the other main suspects on the Kings scoring lines this season. Honestly, any of them would get a boost with Panarin, but some are better suited to benefit from the playmaking side of Panarin’s game. Fiala likes to shoot and has room for improvement on his current 1.7 fantasy points per game, but Moore is a sleeper for the same profile. It was only two seasons ago that he exploded for 31 goals.
On the power play, the Kings can’t help but be better with Panarin on puck distribution. Brandt Clarke has pushed into fantasy relevance already this season, but this addition could drive him up even further, assuming the Kings don’t resort to a five-forward attack again.
Back in New York, who knows if the team is done shipping out players. But, with what we know is there now, a pre-emptive pickup of Alexis Lafreniere isn’t the worst move if you are struggling to find offense on your team. This will be a sink or swim stretch run for the 24-year-old forward, who will find himself with a locked-in role on the power play for the first time in a while. For what it’s worth, Vincent Trocheck has played in only six games in which Panarin did not appear this season and last season, notching only 9.4 fantasy points. It’s a small sample, but life will be rough if he stays with the Rangers without his star winger.