Does acquiring Artemi Panarin, and signing him to a big contract, make sense for the Sharks?

SAN JOSE – Artemi Panarin has likely played his last game with the New York Rangers, with the Eastern Conference’s last place team expected to keep the star winger and pending unrestricted free agent out of its lineup until a trade to a playoff contender is finalized.

The Sharks, with plenty of future cap space available – at least right now – and a rich prospect pipeline, are a rumored destination.

Now it’s a question of whether the Sharks are prepared to part with the assets needed to acquire Panarin and how much money they’re willing to commit to a long-term contract extension for the forward, who turns 35 in October.

If Panarin is going to waive his full no-movement clause, his reported preference is to sign an extension with the team he’s joining.

On Wednesday, San Jose Hockey Now reported that the Sharks have inquired about Panarin and that the Russian would be open to signing an extension in San Jose. Panarin’s current deal carries a $11.6 million cap hit, and next contract could also be a big one, as his goal, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, is to ink a deal worth around $50 million, spread out over several years.

Does that make sense for the Sharks and general manager Mike Grier?

No doubt, Panarin can still produce, as his 266 points in 211 games since the start of the 2023-24 season is sixth-most among all NHL players. Putting the skilled Panarin on a line with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith for years to come is a tantalizing thought and would probably give the Sharks an added boost to make the playoffs this season for the first time since 2019.

Still, the Sharks’ stated goal is to build a team that’s a Stanley Cup contender for the long haul. Sending the assets needed – such as a first-round pick, or a top prospects, or both — to acquire the aging yet still productive Panarin would seem to run counter to that objective. The Sharks, it appears, are not one player away from legitimately competing for the Cup.

“I have to kind of stay disciplined and look at the not only the here and now, but the medium- and long-term future of the organization and the team,” Grier said on Jan. 22 at the State of the Sharks event at SAP Center for elevated season ticket holders.

“We’re still developing players. That’s still where we are in this project as players are developing. But at the same time, if we can push a little bit, we’ll try and push a little bit.”

Grier pointed to the acquisition of Kiefer Sherwood for two second round draft picks as an example of pushing things forward, as he sees the hard-nosed winger, also a pending UFA, as a fit with the team now and into the future.

But Sherwood will not cost nearly as much to keep as Panarin, raising the question as to whether spending the kind of money needed to re-sign the elite winger is the best utilization of the Sharks’ salary cap space?

The Sharks’ biggest problem this year hasn’t been offense (although they could use some more scoring balance), it’s been keeping the puck out of their net. Bolstering the blue line would seem to be the Sharks’ biggest area of need, with still only two defensemen signed past this season.

Before Thursday’s meeting with the Edmonton Oilers, the Sharks ranked 29th in the NHL with 3.43 goals allowed per game. San Jose was also 24th in the league with 116 goals allowed during 5-on-5 play.

Conversely, on offense, the Sharks were 17th in goals scored per game (3.12), with Celebrini in on roughly half of San Jose’s 161 goals.

“I think everyone’s looking for (defensemen) that can defend hard and defend the rush, be hard around the net,” Grier said last week. “If you talk to every team the league, I think that’s what they’re looking for, because you’ve got to defend. You’ve got to be hard around your net, then you’ve got to be able to exit your zone.

“Those are things we’re looking at that’s probably no different than anyone else.”

The Sharks’ last game before the Olympic break is on Feb. 4, the first day of the NHL roster freeze where no trades are allowed. The freeze ends on Feb. 22, and the Sharks play just four more games after that point before the March 6 trade deadline.

The Sharks, somewhat surpisingly, entered Thursday in the Western Conference’s second wild card spot.

Grier is aware of the need to round out the roster. Maybe he can add Panarin and also do what he feels he needs to do elsewhere. Time will tell.

Grier said the team’s success to this point hasn’t changed his approach to this season, as he said last week that he didn’t want to “be short sighted and make decisions and moves that in two or three years, you’re not happy with, and sets us back a little bit. So, for me, it hasn’t really changed my outlook too much.”