Artemi Panarin moved from the biggest city in the United States to the second biggest, swapping coasts from New York to Los Angeles. The Kings gave up a conditional third-round draft pick, a conditional fourth-rounder, and their No. 2 prospect in winger Liam Greentree to land the 35-year-old Panarin, who was largely considered the best player available on the trade market. The move should help Los Angeles shore up a struggling offense just enough to make the playoffs. That's the hope, anyway.
Stars Never Stood a Real Chance to Land Panarin, Anyway
Reports had stated that Stars general manager Jim Nill had inquired with Rangers GM Chris Drury about Panarin's availability. The talks likely never got far, though, because Panarin told the Rangers he had just two teams for which he would waive his no-movement clause: the Kings and the Florida Panthers. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions wouldn't have the salary-cap space to pick up Panarin, though, if they expect center Aleksander Barkov to return this season.
That explains it. Stars were not giving Panarin the extension he wants while they work on getting Robo done https://t.co/vu8GmRL5Vr
— Zach Wolchuk (@ZachWolchuk) February 4, 2026
Maybe it stings a bit for Stars fans to see Panarin move to the Western Conference. The good news is that Dallas wouldn't meet the Kings in the postseason until the conference finals. Considering how Los Angeles has played this year, getting there would take a minor miracle. Or maybe not, considering the chaos that is the Pacific Division.
Besides, Nill didn't have the cap space, either. Not unless he was willing to move either winger, Jason Robertson, on his own, or give up a set of depth players enough to give the Stars room to get Panarin. The former would have been ludicrous, given that Robertson's statistical totals more or less match Panarin's over the last three seasons, and he's almost a decade younger. The latter move would have meant Dallas lost an entire lineup of players, necessitating either additional trades or a dip into the AHL—bad idea.
Jim Nill Could Still Make Moves to Bolster Dallas' Roster
None of that means, however, that Nill is sitting pat. The Stars have just over $3 million to use to manipulate the roster over the last couple of months of the season. When the Dallas was struggling through January, calls came loudly from the fans for Nill to make a move. Those rantings are a bit quieter now that the team heads into the Olympic break on a hot streak.
Still, the Stars have options, regardless. Mavrik Bourque remains the kind of player teams will ask for if Nill does go looking at his possibilities. And now that the best player is off the table, expect the dominoes to fall faster when the NHL roster freeze is up in 18 days. Nill will have 12 days to make a trade after the players are back from the Olympics.