Artemi Panarin couldn’t help but smirk.
After giving an honest assessment of how his chemistry wasn’t quite there yet with Vincent Trocheck, who has since been bumped to the Rangers’ third line in favor of Filip Chytil in the previous three games, the star Russian winger was asked by The Post how it unfolded with his former teammate in Chicago, Patrick Kane.
“We had chemistry right away,” Panarin said after a morning skate in San Jose. “We didn’t need any practices. But, everybody is different. I just see the game the same way as Patrick.”
Kane, who is in the final year of his contract and could be one of the top trade-deadline rentals available come March 3, was at Madison Square Garden Saturday with the Blackhawks taking on the Rangers. The rumors of the Rangers’ interest in Panarin’s old friend have been rampant for years, but at the rate the club is going this season, there might not even be a playoff push in New York for Kane to join.
It’s still early, but it’s impossible to look at what the Rangers have done so far this season and think that the playoffs are in the cards unless there are significant changes. Kane will have to waive his no-movement clause and be lured to a club with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations, which the Rangers hypothetically have but simply haven’t played to through the first 25 games of the season.
If the Rangers were to turn it around, they have one of the most enticing selling points to win the Kane sweepstakes. Reuniting Kane with Panarin, a player he meshed so well with for their two seasons together, would likely give the Rangers the upper-hand over the other interested NHL teams.
After freeing up $1.343 million in cap space, which will equate to approximately $4.8 million by the trade deadline, by sending Ryan Reaves to Minnesota last month, the Rangers are in a position to take on Kane if the Blackhawks assume at least 50 percent of his $10.5 million cap hit. Chicago will likely want a first-round pick and a notable prospect in exchange for Kane and retaining half his contract.
The Rangers do have two firsts in the 2023 NHL Draft this June: their own and the one they received from the Stars via the Nils Lundkvist trade in late September. Brennan Othmann would be considered the Rangers’ top prospect, but the 19-year-old winger has shown so much promise it’s highly unlikely team president and general manager Chris Drury would want to do away with him before he even pulls on a Blueshirts sweater.
Every hypothetical that would bring Kane to Broadway can be discussed, but none of them mean anything unless the Rangers are in playoff position come the trade deadline. Kane is not leaving the organization he’s been with his entire 16-year NHL career for a team that isn’t a threat to win the Cup, let alone a team that isn’t going to make the playoffs. Not even for a chance to play alongside Panarin again.
The Rangers still have time to make themselves an intriguing landing spot for Kane, but it has to start now.
