Rangers fans irate over return from Artemi Panarin’s blockbuster trade to LA Kings

New York Rangers fans on social media voiced their frustration with team management over the return for Artemi Panarin.

After months of speculation, Panarin was finally dealt to the LA Kings on Wednesday. As part of the transaction, the Blueshirts received forward prospect Liam Greentree along with a conditional third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft.

Artemi Panarin waived his full no-movement clause to join the Kings, while the Rangers retained 50% of his salary, as he was in the final year of his seven-year, $81.5 million contract. Panarin signed a two-year, $22 million extension ($11M AAV) with the Kings immediately after the trade.

Many Rangers fans on X (formerly called Twitter) were furious with the return they received in the deal. One tweeted:

“What a f****** disgrace. Chris Drury is the worst GM of all time. Fire him for his sabotage. f*** Chris Drury.”

Another chimed in:

“Chris Drury is a joke of a GM.”

Here are some of the other top reactions on X:

“Drury is the worst thing to happen to this franchise. Genuinely a pathetic disgrace,” a third fan wrote.

“The dark side of a NMC rears its ugly head,” one X user wrote.

“We don’t care. Fire your GM. He sucks,” another opined.

“What a garbage return. Well, that should be Drury’s job. He needs to be the next one out the door. Wishing Panarin all the best wherever he goes. I hope Drury has screwed the NYR faithful for the last time,” another chimed in.

LA Kings GM shares his thoughts on Artemi Panarin’s trade

Following the trade, LA Kings GM Ken Holland addressed the media to share his thoughts. He said that Artemi Panarin did not want to be a rental and that the Kings are happy he waived his no-movement clause for LA.

“Obviously, we made the deal today to make our team better,” Kings general manager Ken Holland said via NHL.com. “We signed him to a two-year extension. We weren’t going to do it as a rental. He didn’t want to go anywhere as a rental. He wanted to find a home, so we’re thrilled that he wanted to waive the no-trade (clause) to come to LA.”

He added:

“We’re happy that we were able to get him to a two-year extension, and after two years, I’m hoping that we’re working on another extension, but (I’ll) worry about that down the road.”

Artemi Panarin spent seven seasons with the Rangers. He has accumulated 57 points through 19 goals and 38 assists in 52 games, making him the leading scorer for the Blueshirts this season.