The Los Angeles Kings are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the NHL, 28th out of 32 teams by goals per 60 minutes. This is a team that desperately needed an injection of offense.
You can’t do much better than Artemi Panarin. At 34, Panarin may not be the player he once was, which is only to say he is a top-10 NHL winger rather than a Hart Trophy Finalist. The Russian is playing at a 90-point pace this season, which is absolutely remarkable given how completely flat the Rangers are otherwise.
Panarin is undersized and slow, often a death sentence for even creative players. But Panarin is a true outlier. His hockey IQ, vision, and puck skills are elite. Plus, his strength is underspoken. His fearlessness in holding onto pucks, combined with his lower-body strength and leverage, allows him to wait for plays to unfold.
Panarin has signed a two-year, $22 million extension in Los Angeles, and his playing style typically ages well. Players of that caliber learn new ways to evolve even as the muscles lose steam. Look at the likes of Marty St. Louis and Mats Zuccarello for inspiration. The Kings are rightfully confident in their future despite their advanced age.
The new LA Kings winger immediately becomes their best offensive player and is absolutely capable of being the best forward on a Stanley Cup winner. There are questions, though, about the rest of the LA roster. Despite his addition, the Kings don’t have the firepower of other teams in the division. Their defensive depth is highly questionable. Ultimately, if the Kings do make the playoffs, they’ll still have a significant uphill battle against a team like the Avalanche or Stars in the first or second round.
So it’s a massive upgrade for the Kings, and yet I’m not sure how much it actually changes about their immediate outlook. There’s still significant work to be done to make this team a contender, if not this season, then next. But getting a key offensive forward is part of that necessary change, and the market options beyond Panarin are underwhelming.
There’s a lot of risk here insofar as the Kings accomplishing nothing the next few seasons while sitting behind behemoths like Colorado and Dallas in the West, but the cost here is, all things considered, limited. Greentree was arguably their top prospect, but not a can’t-miss guy, with a few conditional mid-round picks thrown in. He sort of fell into their laps here and the price, along with a short extension that undervalues him slightly, means the Kings had no reason to turn it down.
