Could New Jersey Devils Pull Off An Artemi Panarin Acquisition?

There was lots of talk about Russian superstar winger Artemi Panarin over the summer. There were tons of trade articles looking at his possible destinations. Of course, once the season started and some hockey games were available to talk about instead, the talks naturally slowed down.

Well, now we are a several weeks into the season, and the future of Panarin is starting to be discussed again. The New Jersey Devils have recently been in the early conversations for these types of players. Even John Tavares to NJ believers were out there.

The Devils were in on Kevin Shattenkirk, the Jimmy Vesey sweepstakes, and won the Will Butcher fiasco. Anyone who laughs at the notion that Ray Shero will make an attempt at anything big, doesn’t really pay attention.

Where would Artemi Panarin fit in with the rest of the team’s forward core? Well, he is one of the best right wings in the National Hockey League. If money were a non factor, he would fit in on every single team and make them better immediately upon his arrival. When he was in Chicago, the Patrick Kane–Artem Anisimov-Artemi Panarin line was the best line in the league. Kane won the Hart Trophy and Panarin won the Calder Trophy as Chicago had the best record in the Western Conference.

I believe the Devils are one of few teams who could basically re-create this type of chemistry for Panarin. Taylor Hall is a similar type of player to Patrick Kane. Not many wingers use speed and skill to drive offense line a centerman as well as Kane and Hall. Nico Hischier is a way better version of Anisimov as in they are centers who can use skill or grit to score and play a complete 200 foot game. A line of Hall-Hischier-Panarin would simply be one of the best lines in the league. It already is with Kyle Palmieri there, so if you were able to bump down Palmieri to another line, the team depth is already improved right there.

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Panarin is elite, and the numbers prove it. In his rookie year as mentioned above, he scored 30 goals and added 47 assists to accumulate 77 points in 80 games, and he followed it with a slick 31 goals and 43 assists for 74 points to end any talks of a sophomore slump in Chicago.

Then, he was traded to Columbus. In his first year with them, he scored 27 goals and added a whopping 55 assists in 81 games. So far this season, he’s fourth in the NHL in scoring. He has 6 goals and 20 assists for 26 points in 23 games with the pressure of his contract situation looming. These are elite numbers like I said, and even more impressive when you consider the fact that he wasn’t drafted.

Another reason to want Panarin to be a member of the Devils is he has simply been a Devils killer throughout his career. We all remember the five-point game he turned in vs New Jersey last season that allowed Columbus to stomp all over them, or how he has scored a goal in every game against the Devils as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks who they do not even play that often.

If this guy didn’t have to visit the Prudential Center as a visitor anymore, that would be awesome news. That could also be motivation for him to want to be a Devil, he has played very well at the Rock in his career.

It is obviously a long shot, but they along with a few other teams, notably the other two tri state teams in the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders will likely be candidates, it is always possible he goes back to Chicago, and I could see the Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins and St Louis Blues being in the conversation as well. A player of Artemi Panarin’s magnitude is always highly sought after, and it would be awesome to see him in the red and black one day soon.