1 trade Sharks must make before NHL Olympic break

The San Jose Sharks are pushing for a playoff spot for the first time since 2019. Macklin Celebrini is putting together an MVP-caliber season at 19 years old, giving the Sharks a very bright future. The Sharks should be buyers at the upcoming NHL trade deadline, and they should be the team that lands Artemi Panarin.

The New York Rangers are out of the race, with a retool on the way, according to the letter sent by Chris Drury. On Wednesday, they held Panarin out of the lineup in preparation for a trade. After the scratch, it came out that Panarin would only approve trades with a contract extension in place. The Sharks have the assets to make the trade and cap space to sign the contract.

Panarin put together an incredible run with the Rangers, scoring 607 points in 482 games. Even this year, he is on a great pace, with 57 points in 52 games. Adding that level of scoring to the Sharks’ lineup would be huge for their playoff push in the Western Conference.

The Sharks already added one winger, trading for Keifer Sherwood from the Vancouver Canucks. But in that deal, they did not give up a first-round pick. That gives them enough assets to make the push for Panarin without sacrificing any of their top prospects.

The Rangers are asking for the same package the New York Islanders got for Brock Nelson last year. That was a first-round pick, a third-round pick, and prospect Calum Ritchie. That type of futures-oriented package is what the Rangers should want for their retool, but the Sharks have some untouchable prospects. Celebrini, William Eklund, Michael Misa, and Will Smith are going nowhere.

So who should the Rangers target in an Artemi Panarin trade with the Sharks? How can it help get them on the right path for the retool?

The Sharks have a loaded prospect pipeline for the Rangers to attack

The Sharks’ 2026 first-round pick will be heading to the Rangers in this trade proposal, but that is not all. With some of the elite forwards under 25 years old already on their roster, they can afford to give up one of their prospects. They cannot, however, give up any of their defensemen, as they are light on blue-liners in the pipeline.

The Rangers would give up Artemi Panarin, with some salary retained to keep the Sharks under the ceiling, for a 2026 first-rounder, a 2026 third-rounder, and 19-year-old Carson Wetsch. The Sharks drafted Wetsch in the third round of the 2024 draft, but he has already outplayed that in the OHL. With 49 points in 42 games this year, he can join a room of solid Rangers forward prospects.

In the trade, the Sharks will give Panarin a four-year, $40 million extension. That is a slight pay decrease for Panarin on an annual basis, but he is 34 years old, and this contract is paying him through his age-38 season. $10 million annually is expensive for a forward in those years, but that is the type of deal Panarin will demand, using his no-move clause to his advantage.

The only hangup for the Sharks here is the lack of defensemen on the team and in the pipeline. There is also a lack of free-agent defensemen in the upcoming class, so a trade may be the only way to land one. There are lower-cost defensemen available, like the trade the Rangers just made, sending away Carson Soucy, that would help San Jose. No defensemen traded at this deadline will cost this type of package.

The Sharks are getting a great season out of Celebrini and goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, which means they have to go all-in at the deadline. General manager Mike Grier has been patient in building this team, but now it is time to push the button and trust in this core.

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