Artemi Panarin couldn’t help but smirk.
The star Russian winger had been asked by The Post how his chemistry had unfolded with his former teammate in Chicago, Patrick Kane.
“We had chemistry right away,” Panarin said after a morning skate last month 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 on Saturday night with the Blackhawks to take 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 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 would have to waive his no-movement clause and be lured to a club with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations, which the Rangers hypothetically have, though they simply haven’t played to that level through the first 25 games of the season.
If the Rangers 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 during their two seasons together, would likely give the Rangers the upper-hand over the other interested NHL teams.
After sending Ryan Reaves to Minnesota last month to free up $1.343 million in cap space, which will equate to approximately $4.8 million by the trade deadline, 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 likely would 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: their own and the one they received from the Stars in the Nils Lundkvist trade in late September. Brennan Othmann would be considered the Rangers’ top prospect, but the 19-year-old wing has shown so much promise it’s unlikely team president and general manager Chris Drury would want to deal him before he even has pulled on a Blueshirts sweater.
Every hypothetical that would bring Kane to New York can be discussed, but none of them would mean anything unless the Rangers are in playoff position come the trade deadline. Kane will not leave the organization he has been with for his entire 16-year NHL career to join a team that isn’t a threat to win the Cup, let alone one 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.