Hours before the Vancouver Canucks dropped the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights in their final game before the Olympics, the NHL set its Olympic roster freeze deadline. As the Canucks were on their moms’ trip, it was always unlikely the club would move one of its players while the mothers were on the road with them.

However, the same can’t be said for a pair of New York-based organizations.

Shockingly, NFL Insider Adam Schefter broke the news that the Los Angeles Kings acquired Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers in exchange for prospect forward Liam Greentree and a conditional 2026 third-round pick.

Shortly after the move was made, NHL Insider Frank Seravalli mentioned that Panarin’s camp listed the Kings as the only destination he would waive his no-move clause for. Seravalli also shared there was another pick involved – a conditional fourth-round pick in 2028 – and the conditions on the picks.

The 2026 third-round pick becomes a second-round pick if the Kings win a single playoff round. If not, the Rangers get the higher of Dallas’ or LA’s. The 2028 fourth-round pick will only be transferred if LA wins two rounds.

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun also mentioned that the Rangers are retainning 50% of Panarin’s contract. According to fellow insiders, the belief was that Panarin did not want to be a rental. He would only waive to a team if it came with an extension. Well, shortly after the trade, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman announced a two-year, $11 million extension for the Russian winger.

Panarin, 34, has spent six and a half seasons in the Big Apple. His 205 goals and 607 points in 482 games as a Ranger have him ninth in all-time team scoring. The Rangers wrote a letter to their fans announcing a change in direction toward a retool. Shortly after, the club informed their leading point scorer that he would sit out until they found a trade partner.

The Rangers lost all three games without Panarin, but have now found him a new home out West in Los Angeles.

Greentree, 20, was drafted by the Kings in the first round (26th overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft. He had a strong draft-plus-one season, where he scored 49 goals and 70 assists for 119 points in 64 games in the OHL with the Windsor Spitfires. The Oshawa, Ontario native has cooled off a bit this season, scoring 23 goals and 22 assists for 45 points in 34 games.

However, he was considered the Kings’ top prospect in the system. And with his 6’3″, 216-lb frame, he projects to translate to a powerful middle-six winger at the NHL level.

New Jersey made a trade of their own, acquiring forward Nick Bjugstad from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for prospect Thomas Bordeleau and a conditional 2026 fourth-round pick. The condition on the pick is that the Blues will receive the lowest of the Devils’ three fourth-round picks (NJD, DAL or WPG).

Bjugstad, 33, signed a two-year, $1.75 million AAV contract with the Blues halfway through free agency. He has struggled through injury this season, playing just 35 games, scoring six goals and one assist for seven points. The 6’6″ right-shot forward will provide the Devils with much-needed centre depth they’ve been searching for most of this season.

Late in January, the Devils moved forward Ondrej Palat and his $6 million cap hit – along with a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick to get rid of the contract – to the New York Islanders in exchange for Maxim Tsyplakov. The move helped them clear roughly $4 million in cap space. However, it came a little late, and the Devils missed out on their preferred target in Quinn Hughes.

As of this writing, the New Jersey Devils sit in second-to-last place in the Eastern Conference, trailing the Boston Bruins by 11 points. It will be an uphill battle for the Devils in their attempt to claw back into playoff contention. And if they can’t make the comeback, they will have Bjugstad on the books for next year’s run as well.