Stars, Avalanche, Panthers among potential landing spots for Panarin in trade

NHL.com's weekly Over the Boards mailbag is in full swing this season. Every week, senior writer Dan Rosen sifts through your questions sent to him on X and answers them.

To participate in future mailbags, send your questions to @drosennhl on X and use #OvertheBoards.

Where do you see Artemi Panarin getting traded to and do you believe Chris Drury will be able to get full value for him? -- @AGrodin75

To steal a line from former NHL coach Alain Vigneault, "If I was a betting man," I would be tempted to lay money on one of the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche or Florida Panthers, and in that order, to acquire Panarin from the New York Rangers.

Panarin has a no-movement clause in his contract so he can dictate part of the process, provided the teams he is interested in have mutual interest and the salary cap flexibility to acquire him. The Rangers could retain 50 percent of Panarin's $11.64 million salary cap charge, which brings it down to $5.82 million for the acquiring team. The return is dependent on how many teams Panarin is willing to go to. If his list is limited to one or two, then obviously it hurts the return value because in that case, the Rangers would not have much leverage. If his list is longer, then they could play one team against another to boost the return.

The Stars could use the jolt of offense Panarin would give them, especially on the power play. They would have to clear some cap space to get him in, but it's doable. They don't have a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, but have their second-round pick, and first- and second-round picks in the 2027 NHL Draft. Acquiring Panarin also would not hinder the Stars' ability to re-sign Jason Robertson, a pending restricted free agent.

The Avalanche aren't hurting for offense, but the goal is to win the Stanley Cup and securing Panarin would give them another weapon that will allow them to do so. They would likely have to send someone like forward Ross Colton or defenseman Samuel Girard back to the Rangers in the deal to make the money work. Colton and Girard are each signed through next season.

Florida could be a preferred destination. Panarin is close friends with goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. He obviously knows the Panthers have a chance to win the Cup like they've done the past two years. Panarin's skill would benefit the Panthers' power play, which is 22nd in the League (18.3 percent), but the cap is an issue, especially if Florida is holding space with the intention of getting center Aleksander Barkov back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Remember, the salary cap now extends into the postseason, so the Panthers can't keep Barkov on long-term injured reserve, acquire Panarin, and have both in the playoffs without cap implications. Florida also doesn't have its first-round pick in each of the next two drafts.

Will Brandon Bussi get some Vezina consideration? -- @tml037

Too soon to say, but if you go strictly by results and not name recognition, then the Carolina Hurricanes goalie is closing in on warranting that consideration. The 27-year-old rookie is 18-3-1 with a 2.20 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and one shutout in 22 games. He is eighth in wins despite being tied for 29th in starts. The telling stat is that Bussi is second in the NHL in high danger save percentage (.870), according to NHL EDGE, behind Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders (.875). It helps Bussi that the Hurricanes are the best shot suppression team in the NHL, but then he makes a save like he did on Tage Thompson in Carolina's 2-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, and it's easy to see why you asked me this question.

That being said, it's a fierce competition this season for the Vezina Trophy, which goes to the best goalie in the NHL voted on by the general managers. Sorokin, Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Scott Wedgewood of the Avalanche, Logan Thompson of the Washington Capitals, Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers, Spencer Knight of the Chicago Blackhawks, Filip Gustavsson of the Minnesota Wild and John Gibson of the Detroit Red Wings are all in the mix.

Bussi has to do a lot more work at a high level to crack the top five, but at this point in the season it's realistic to think he will get some Vezina consideration.

The New York Islanders could use a scoring forward. I can't see GM Mathieu Darche doing a rental. Having said that, looking at the League, not seeing a great fit. Jordan Kyrou is struggling. Steven Stamkos turns 36 in February and has an $8 million AAV. Do you have a suggestion for Darche? -- @TheNLKing

Let's assume the Rangers and Islanders are not going to do business with one another. Although Panarin would be a perfect fit for the Islanders, I don't see him waiving his no-movement clause to go there. So, instead of the Rangers, the Islanders should be looking at the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames, because those are two teams that are obvious sellers in this market that have players under contract beyond this season who are available, namely Canucks forward Brock Boeser and Flames center Nazem Kadri. The Islanders are a solid buyer too because they have two first-round picks in the 2027 draft and control of their first-round picks in the proceeding drafts.

Boeser signed a seven-year, $50.75 million contract ($7.25 million AAV) on July 1 and it reportedly has a no-movement clause. Though it would be a massive pivot on Boeser's part to agree to leave the Canucks less than a year into his new contract, they're rebuilding and Boeser, who is 28 years old, would have to decide if he wants to stick around for the rebuild should a team like the Islanders inquire about trading for him. Going to the Islanders would reunite him with former Canucks captain Bo Horvat, which could be enticing. He would also be going to a team that needs his goal scoring and wants to be a perennial playoff contender. It all makes sense from a competitive point of view, but Boeser signed long term in Vancouver and there could be other factors that tie him to the team.

Kadri still has three more seasons remaining on his seven-year, $49 million contract ($7 million AAV). The Flames traded defenseman Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, solidifying their position as sellers. Kadri is 35 years old. The Flames want to get younger. The Islanders could use him at center with Horvat and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, keeping Mathew Barzal on the wing.

Blake Coleman is also a player the Islanders should be looking at. He's a middle-six wing in Calgary signed through next season with a $4.9 million AAV. Darche knows him well when he was Lightning assistant GM, when Coleman helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021.

The Avalanche penalty kill is really good this season, but why won't they use Martin Necas and/or Nathan MacKinnon there as they are among the fastest players in the League? And Necas played PK for the Hurricanes. I don't know why they wouldn't use the speed of those player to score short-handed. -- @Haldol25

You said it. The Avalanche have an excellent penalty kill, best in the League right now (84.8 percent) without MacKinnon and Necas being a part of it. They play the most minutes among Colorado's forwards without playing on the PK. MacKinnon is already playing 21:50 per game and Necas is at 20:43. The Avalanche do not need them on the PK because they are already strong there with forwards Parker Kelly, Jack Drury, Brock Nelson, Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen doing the heavy lifting. They don't need the extra offense on the PK because they are the top scoring team in the League at 5-on-5 with 138 goals. They don't need to put any more strain on their top two forwards, MacKinnon and Necas, just to push for more offense on the PK.

Have you ever seen an ovation like the one Jonathan Toews got in Chicago on Monday? -- @CHI_guy08

Oct. 19, 1988. Wayne Gretzky's first return to Edmonton with the Los Angeles Kings. The Edmonton faithful at Northlands Coliseum gave Gretzky a four-minute standing ovation when he and the Kings arrived on the ice for the start of the game. It would have been longer if the program had not gone on as scheduled and the public address announcer went to the national anthem. Gretzky didn't start the game, but there was another long ovation when he came out for his first shift with the Kings on the power play. They cheered and cheered and cheered for No. 99, and then they cheered for the Oilers, who won 8-6.

That's the answer to your question about Toews and his magical and emotional return to United Center, his first time back as a visitor. There certainly have been memorable ovations for players returning to the place where their legend was born and their legendary career was made, but Gretzky's return to Edmonton was the first thing I thought of when I read your question about Toews' return to Chicago because it was exactly the same situation, a player returning for the first time as a visiting player to the only place he had previously played in his career

The fans at United Center showered Toews with an incredible, near-five-minute standing ovation. Four times he went to the middle of the ice for a twirl, stick salute and a wave to the crowd. Even he at one point was saying, "All right, all right," but it was warranted, just as it was obviously warranted for Gretzky. Toews captained the Blackhawks for 14 seasons and delivered three Stanley Cup championships in that time (2010, '13, '15). He won the Conn Smythe Trophy voted as MVP of the playoffs in 2010. He won the Selke Trophy as the League's best defensive forward in 2012-13. In Blackhawks regular-season history, Toews is sixth in goals (372), eighth in assists (511), sixth in points (883) and fifth in games played (1,067). In their postseason history he is sixth in goals (45), fourth in assists (74), fifth in points (119) and second in games played (137). He is a Chicago sports legend who received a proper welcome back.