Well, on a slow work morning in February before the 18-day roster freeze, we have a trade to announce –

Nick Bjugstad is on his way to New Jersey!

There's also another deal that went through too that we may/may not need to go over. I,for one, am happy that Artemi Panarin got dealt from a content standpoint because I truly didn't know how to get close to 800 or so words pertaining to Bjugstad. Either way, let's dive on into a surprising trade and extension! Don't worry, we'll also be sure to highlight what it all means for your fantasy hockey team.

The Kings acquire Artemi Panarin from the Rangers for Liam Greentree, a conditional 2026 3rd round pick, and a conditional 2028 4th round pick. Following the transaction, Panarin agrees to a two-year, $22M ($11M AAV) deal with the Kings.

So, the Los Angeles Kings are sitting 29^th on powerplay and may have just acquired a player that will help that number go up. This isn't just a rental trade,either,as the Kings worked out an extension that will keep him in Los Angeles into his age-36season. $11 million for Panarin is extremely reasonable with a rising salary cap, and I don't believe for a second that two things aren't true. First, I'm willing to believe that this transaction was much like Vladimir Tarasenko in 2024, where Panarin used his NMC to determine a course to a club that he preferred. It's well within his right to do so. Second, I would be surprised if Los Angeles isfinished with making trades once we come back from the Olympic break. They willhavemoneyavailable to spendthis summer as well with Anze Kopitar set to retire. One interesting wrinkle in Panarin's extension to note – As of right now I have not seen any clauses that indicate a no-move or no trade/modified no-trade. Further information may become available to us regarding this, but currently nothing has been released.

For the Rangers, I mean it could be worse. You could have sent Panarin at age-25 with two years left on his deal to oh say, Columbus for I don't know, say Brandon Saad, a goaltender, and a fifth-round pick. (Sorry, I'm still not over it.)Stan Bowman, Dr. Death, take a bow once again! For the dynasty folks out there who roster Liam Greentree, the prospect who came back in the deal, he is a sorcerer, that much is evident in his production in the OHL even with that offensive production down a tick this season. Maybe the Rangers were forced to show their hand so-to-speak, but I don't understand how a year ago, Brock Nelson yielded a higher return, and even if Greentree is a prospect the organization is higher on, how that is the only player coming back in return.

Alright, let's talk about fantasy. If you're rostering Panarin in your league this is a sigh of relief that a trade has finally taken place. Had this lingered on closer to the March 6^th deadline date, those are games missing which makes it extremely difficult to fill a roster. In the short-term, he takes a hit in value slightly in fantasy just with the games missed, but I can still see him landing near the 87-to 90-point mark this season. While Panarin does tend to hold onto the puck a fair bit, he is still a very good play driving winger who is also excellent in transition, and that's despite not being the quickest skater out on the ice for most shifts. During the past two seasons in New York, he's averaged around three shots on goal per game, and I don't see that number declining at even strength in Los Angeles. With only six goals in their last three games played, I'd venture to guess the Kings allowing Panarin to be a trigger man (likely) on their top line as the offense needs a spark somewhere as for all clubs, in the past three games, only Winnipeg has fewer shots on goal. Something for fantasy to watch as well, is his start time in the offensive zone, as that began to slide once the Rangers started struggling around the time when Adam Fox sustained his injury. Those percentages should see increase in Los Angeles, helping Panarin's offensive upside.

Last week, I started the Kings'top line in a DFS matchup against the Sabres and it was their zone-time that drew me to roasting them. Los Angeles as a whole, has been higher in that regard, but the quality scoring chances just have not been prevalent for them, and with Panarin now on the roster, those chances can only increase. Even the broadcast pointed out what the numbers had shown us, and that was a club that might not be creating many high danger opportunities or even cross ice passing. If there's one thing that's also excellent in Panarin's game, would be his passing as he's always been one of the best in moving the puck cross ice. For fantasy that's going to add up to more primary and secondary assists, particularly on the man advantage.

For my dynasty peeps out there, Panarin's extension lowers his AAV and that is great news in a rising cap era. Even if Panarin was a player you'd consider parting with,if your league follows its own rules of contracts and arbitration, I would want to see what he looks like with the Kings before making any decisions.