Artemi Panarin has his No. 10 back. Now, does this mean Bailey needs to give back the Rolex?
When Panarin was acquired by the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 4, he quickly picked up on the fact the No. 10 he wore for 6 1/2 seasons with the New York Rangers was being used by Corey Perry in L.A. Out of respect for Perry, a member of the Triple Gold Club and a Hart Trophy winner, Panarin immediately looked at other options.
One was to dig into his past and see whether No. 72 was available, which he wore as a star for SKA St. Petersburg in his native Russia and his first two NHL seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks. Except that was also taken — by Bailey the Lion, the Kings’ mascot, who is named after Garnet “Ace” Bailey, a former NHL player turned director of pro scouting for the Kings who died alongside Kings scout Mark Bavis aboard United Flight 175 in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
Bailey wears No. 72 because “72 degrees and sunny” is considered the average temperature in L.A.
Immediately striking up a friendship, Panarin sealed the bond by giving Bailey a Rolex watch for permission to wear No. 72 alongside Bailey, which is impressive work when you think players can receive less when asked to give up their number. Memo to other mascots: Use your bargaining power.
Our 72s 🖤 pic.twitter.com/mdthCYTJmm
— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 25, 2026
Well, the number sharing didn’t last long. Panarin held No. 72 for his first five games with the Kings but quickly jumped on No. 10, which became available again when the Kings traded Perry to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday.
We’ll always have that one week we had two 72s <3 pic.twitter.com/uFLDbmRnA3
— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 7, 2026
With an early assist on Anze Kopitar’s goal in the Kings’ game Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens, Panarin has a goal and five assists in six games. As for Bailey, well, we’re thinking that Rolex will remain in possession after the sincere gesture from the team’s new prime-time winger. Friendship intact.