Morning Notes: Panarin, Hamilton, Faulk

New York Rangers leading scorer Artemi Panarin is arguably the best skater likely to be traded in advance of this season’s trade deadline, and as a result, it appears the Rangers are set to receive a significant package of assets in exchange for the pending UFA’s services. Yesterday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on the Saturday Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada that the Rangers’ “starting point” in terms of their asking price on any Panarin trade is the package received by the New York Islanders when they traded away Brock Nelson last year.

The Islanders received a first-round pick, top prospect Calum Ritchie, and a third-round pick from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Nelson, who was also a pending UFA. That would indicate that the Rangers are, at least, looking for a first-rounder and a high-quality prospect in exchange for Panarin. Nelson was, and is, certainly not of the same caliber of talent as Panarin, but unlike Panarin, Nelson has the extremely valuable attribute of being a natural center, which upped his value considerably. Friedman named the Anaheim Ducks, Washington Capitals, and the Los Angeles Kings as teams that are considering making a pitch to acquire Panarin. The veteran, who has 56 points in 51 games this year, has the protection of a full no-move clause in his contract.

Other notes from around the NHL:

• Friedman also issued an update on the status of New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who is widely considered to be one of the top blueliners available to be acquired via trade. Per Friedman, the recent injury to blueliner Luke Hughes has slowed trade talks surrounding Hamilton “to a crawl” as the Devils await further clarity on the status of their promising young defenseman. Hamilton has 17 points in 46 games played this season and is under contract at a $9MM AAV through 2027-2028.
• The St. Louis Blues are likely to be among the selling teams in this year’s trade market as they currently sit second-to-last in the Western Conference with 47 points. One of the players they are considering trading is veteran defenseman Justin Faulk, a 33-year-old with one more year under contract at $6.5MM AAV. Friedman reported yesterday that the Blues are looking for a trade package comparable to what the Calgary Flames received in exchange for Rasmus Andersson in any Faulk deal. (The Flames received a first-rounder and a conditional second-round pick for Andersson alongside veteran Zach Whitecloud.) Faulk has been St. Louis’ No. 3 defenseman in terms of ice time this season, and has 24 points in 52 games.