INSIDER: Artemi Panarin "Never Wanted To Go Anywhere" But Los Angeles, Talks Excitement to be an LA King!

"I never wanted to go anywhere else."

Artemi Panarin was one of the rare players with full control over his destination via trade. Most times, players are traded to the team that makes the best offer and that’s that. For Panarin, who had a full no movement clause, he was in the driver’s seat. On Wednesday, he got what he was looking for, as he was traded from the New York Rangers to the Los Angeles Kings, signing a two-year contract extension in the process.

“I tried to find a team for myself, where I want to be, so it was kind of about feeling,” Panarin said of his decision to come to Los Angeles. “Obviously, you look at the players, and then I spoke with Gavrikov the last couple days a lot. He introduced me to a great organization, great teammates in there and obviously a great spot to live. I just want to play for these guys, for that organization. Other teams were on the list too, but I actually never wanted to go anywhere else."

So how badly did Panarin really want to come to Los Angeles?

“I think if Kenny [Holland] knew that, he would have gave me five [million] probably,” he said with a laugh.

Panarin later joked…..I think…….that he would’ve returned to play in Russia if the Kings didn’t want him. Thankfully, they did want him. They really wanted him.

As he noted above, a reason he felt so comfortable coming to the Kings was through talking with former Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, who was his teammate this season in New York. After the Kings traded for Gavrikov back in 2023, he spoke publicly about how well he and his family were treated by the organization upon his arrival. Certainly sounds like he relayed quite a bit of that to Panarin, when the latter was presented with the opportunity to move on.

At the end of the day, Los Angeles didn’t seem to be the longest term or the most money on the table for Panarin. But he wasn’t concerned. He found the fit he was looking for and as of Wednesday morning, he is an LA King.

“I'm a guy who is not thinking that much about money,” he said. “Maybe it seems funny, but it's not an important thing for me, because like I said before, I just want to play for the guys and I just want to play for the organization. It's a pretty short deal for me, that's not what I’m looking for but also, like I said, because I wanted to play there only, for the Kings, I didn’t have much options.

In a perfect world, Panarin might’ve signed a longer-term deal, but the two-year term was what really seemed to work for the Kings. All goes well, I’d have to imagine that both sides would be very keen on extending the relationship beyond 2028, when Panarin is now signed through.

In talking with him yesterday, he really wasn’t all that interested in a trade that did not come with a contract extension. The extension was something that was also paramount to the Kings, who aren’t really in a position to trade a top prospect for a player with no term.

“I didn't want to be rented for a couple months and then go somewhere else, I just looked for a team who wants me, who can sign me right away, because they’re just not renting me for a couple months.”

As for connections to the current team, Panarin knows Andrei Kuzmenko a bit and said the two players grabbed dinner a few times when Kuzmenko played in Vancouver.

Having someone he knows in Los Angeles was a bonus and having that player be a fellow Russian, who can help him to settle in with a few things, was also important. Panarin said that several members of the Kings organization had reached out via text, but he prefers phone calls and was waiting to call them back out of respect for their game in Vegas. He said he plans to do that here over the next few days to connect with some of his new teammates before he gets to Los Angeles closer to the team’s return to practice.

Jim Hiller was one of those people and he told us just a few hours after Panarin’s media availability that he was able to connect with Panarin that afternoon on what he described as a very enjoyable phone call.

“We had a really good conversation [yesterday] afternoon before the game, I really enjoyed the conversation,” Hiller said. “We got into it right away, didn’t take long, and he’s excited, that’s the most important part. He’s really excited. He’s had good conversations with Gavy, kind of knows what to expect from the area, the team, the organization, he’s just ready to be an LA King. That’s what I got from him. Not just get in here and play, but to be an LA King and really help the team, push the team forward.”

Push the team forward.

I like that line.

The Kings have long needed a player like Panarin to help push the team forward. I mean, these last two games alone have shown that. The Kings limped into the Olympic break, without a ton of punch in losses to Vegas and Seattle. Panarin is the kind of guy who is capable of changing that. And he needs to be allowed to do so.

Ken Holland said yesterday that the Kings aren’t going to overhaul their system, midseason, around Panarin. He’ll play within the way the Kings play the game, but with that will come freedom on the offensive zone to try and make plays. It needs to, because this is a special player who needs to be embraced, not changed.

I think it’ll be a bit of a test for everyone here to make Panarin work as well as he can. He needs to be given the freedom to operate offensively in order to be successful. Both Holland and Hiller said that Panarin was brought here to help the Kings score more goals than they have. There seems to be an understanding that he’s a player who needs some of that freedom to do his thing offensively. He also understands that he can’t just freewheel, but he wants to be that offensive difference maker too. Kings need him to be that and I think the onus falls on the team and those at the top to make that work.

“Yeah, I’ve got to work in the system, they have some systems like that and I’ve got to find some open space in that system, that's probably how it will work,” Panarin said. I don't see it like I just can probably come there and then just play how I want to play, but I also know the Kings signed me because I can do offensive stuff, so I don't want to lose that stuff too. I’ve just got to find balance. I'm sure we can find balance.”

Now, Panarin’s focus is forward.

The Kings need a late-season push and Panarin is hoping to help in that area. The organization certainly believes that he can. Coming out of the break in a couple of weeks, we’ll get our first look at Panarin in a Kings practice uniform when he takes the ice at Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo on February 18. With the break to gear up for all the changes coming his way, he’s ready to go in Los Angeles.

“Maybe it's probably the perfect timing, because Olympics break is pretty long this year and it gives to get used to a new team,” he added. Like I said before, I want to play for the team and win with the team.”

Certainly feels like a breath of fresh air for a team that needs one. The Artemi Panarin era begins in a couple of weeks. Excited to see where he fits in and how he can help to transform this group on an important stretch run.