{"id":143663,"date":"2026-02-04T18:31:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T18:31:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/143663\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T18:31:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T18:31:22","slug":"report-tampa-bay-lightning-emerging-as-favorites-for-artemi-panarin-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/143663\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Tampa Bay Lightning Emerging as Favorites for Artemi Panarin Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A\"A<\/a>As NHL trade rumors heat up ahead of the Olympic freeze, this concept image visualizes what Rangers superstar Artemi Panarin might look like clad in a Tampa Bay Lightning uniform if a blockbuster deal comes to fruition.<\/p>\n

The clock is ticking on the New York Rangers<\/a>. With the Olympic trade freeze set to lock rosters today at 3:00 PM ET, general manager Chris Drury is scrambling to find a resolution to the Artemi Panarin<\/a> saga. While the Florida Panthers were initially believed to be the winger\u2019s preferred destination, the latest intel suggests the Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> have moved into the driver\u2019s seat.<\/p>\n

According to Vince Mercogliano of The Athletic, the Lightning are firmly in the mix, and for good reason. Panarin holds all the cards here with his full No-Movement Clause (NMC). He wants a specific destination, and he wants a massive contract extension\u2014rumored to be in the $40-$50 million range over four or five years. Tampa Bay offers the exact tax-free environment Panarin covets to maximize those earnings, and unlike the Panthers, the Bolts might actually have the assets to pull this off right now.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a Lightning fan, you should be glued to your phone for the next few hours. This isn\u2019t just a rental; this is a franchise-altering move that pairs one of the NHL\u2019s premier playmakers with Nikita Kucherov<\/a>. But the cost? It\u2019s going to be steep.<\/p>\n

The \u201cTax Advantage\u201d Giving Tampa the Edge<\/p>\n

We know Panarin is motivated by financials. The reason the conversation has shifted from \u201cany contender\u201d to \u201cFlorida-based teams\u201d is purely about the state tax benefits. This narrows the market significantly, effectively holding the Rangers hostage. They can\u2019t create a bidding war between ten teams; they have to negotiate with two.<\/p>\n

This leverage allows Tampa Bay to negotiate a price that, while high, doesn\u2019t completely gut their roster. However, the salary cap is the real enemy here. Panarin carries an $11.6 million hit. Even if New York retains 50%, Tampa needs to shed salary to make the math work.<\/p>\n

Proposed Trade Package: What the Lightning Would Send to New York<\/p>\n

To satisfy the Rangers\u2019 need for youth and clear the necessary cap space, league sources and speculation point to a deal structured like this:<\/p>\n

To Tampa Bay Lightning: Artemi Panarin (50% salary retained).<\/p>\n

To New York Rangers: Sam O\u2019Reilly (F), Oliver Bjorkstrand (F), and a 2028 1st Round Pick.<\/p>\n

Why this works: The Rangers are looking to retool on the fly. Sam O\u2019Reilly, the gritty, skilled forward prospect Tampa acquired from Edmonton last summer, is exactly the type of \u201cRanger-style\u201d player Drury covets. He becomes the centerpiece of the return.<\/p>\n

Oliver Bjorkstrand is the necessary money-out piece. His $5.4M AAV nearly matches the retained portion of Panarin\u2019s contract, keeping Tampa cap-compliant. For the Rangers, Bjorkstrand is a serviceable middle-six winger who can play now or be flipped later. The 1st Round Pick is the sweetener required to convince New York to eat $5.8 million in dead cap space for the remainder of Panarin\u2019s current deal.<\/p>\n

Is it a lot to give up? Absolutely. But adding Panarin to this Lightning core extends their championship window significantly.<\/p>\n

Latest Tampa Bay Lightning News & Fantasy Hockey Pool<\/p>\n

For the absolute latest on this developing story as the 3:00 PM deadline approaches, keep it locked to nhltraderumor.com<\/a>. If you think you know who will win the Cup this year, put your knowledge to the test! Join our Online Hockey Pool<\/a> for cash prizes\u2014it\u2019s the best place to compete with fellow hockey fanatics. Also, check our \u201cHow to Watch\u201d section to find the TV listing for tonight\u2019s Lightning game<\/a>. Don\u2019t forget to bookmark us!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As NHL trade rumors heat up ahead of the Olympic freeze, this concept image visualizes what Rangers superstar…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143664,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[54025,16996,69675,69676,135,862,137,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-143663","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-artemi-panarin","9":"tag-new-york-rangers","10":"tag-oliver-bjorkstrand","11":"tag-sam-oreilly","12":"tag-tampa","13":"tag-tampa-bay-lightning","14":"tag-tampa-headlines","15":"tag-tampa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}