New York Ranger set to trade Artemi Panarin: It's huge for the Chicago Blackhawks

Artemi Panarin will be a free agent at the end of the 2025-26 NHL season. He's played the last six years in the NHL with the New York Rangers, with whom he signed a long-term contract in 2019.

With a recent comment from NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, the speculation is rising that he could be traded by the Rangers soon, or could walk in free agency.

Given how ruthless GM Chris Drury is, we expect he'd want to get top-dollar out of their best forwards in the lineup.

Panarin scored 37 goals and 89 points last season, and bringing him home might be a costly endeavor, but worth it in order to be a key piece in the lineup, which pushes the rebuild forward.

The Blackhawks could easily fit his $11.6 million cap with $22.4 million in space currently available. That'd make GM Chris Drury perk his ears up, considering what assets the team could trade for him as well.

They are destined to be trade partners given the lack of top-six forwards in the actual lineup, compared to prospects, and aging veterans (Andre Burakovsky, Tyler Bertuzzi, and others).

The only question that remains is, what would Kyle Davidson have to sacrifice in order to bring Artemi Panarin, a former Chicago Blackhawks player, home?

Even though Artemi Panarin is 33, he's still producing at an elite level, so the Blackhawks might have to up the ante in order to pry Panarin loose from the Rangers' fingers.

Hypothetically:

Two 1st-round picks, a prospect (Samuel Savoie), and a top forward in the Blackhawks lineup, like Oliver Moore, might be an option they could use.

Though this remains speculative, the cost for Panarin will be higher than your typical NHL forward like Burakovsky, or Nick Foligno, who were had for a more affordable price.