The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly one of 14 teams showing interest in Artemi Panarin ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline-a headline that’s raised more than a few eyebrows across the league.
Let’s unpack this.
Panarin is still an elite talent. At 34, he’s producing at a high clip with 927 points in 804 career games.
He’s a dynamic winger with slick hands, high-end vision, and a knack for lighting up the scoresheet during the regular season. But if the Leafs are seriously considering making a move for him, it raises some real questions-not just about roster construction, but about the team's identity and direction this season.
Toronto has dropped six straight games, and while the core still includes offensive firepower in Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and John Tavares, this year has been anything but smooth. Injuries have ravaged their blue line and goaltending depth, and without Mitch Marner-now in Vegas-the team has struggled to find consistency.
So where does Panarin fit into this picture?
On paper, he fills a clear void: a high-end playmaker who can drive offense and potentially replicate some of what Marner brought to the table. But Panarin comes with a hefty $11.6 million cap hit and is a pending unrestricted free agent. That’s a lot of money and risk for a team currently on the outside looking in-and one that doesn’t own its first-round pick unless it lands in the top five.
The comparison between Panarin and Marner isn’t just surface-level. Their regular season numbers are eerily similar-Panarin at 1.15 points per game, Marner at 1.12.
But where things diverge is in the postseason. Panarin’s playoff production dips to 0.83 points per game, while Marner’s falls to 0.90.
In terms of goals per game, Panarin drops from 0.40 to 0.28, and Marner from 0.33 to 0.18. Both have struggled to translate regular season dominance into playoff success, which makes this potential move feel less like an upgrade and more like a lateral shift-just with more miles on the tires.
If the Leafs are trying to replace Marner’s production with a similar player, it’s worth asking: why not keep Marner in the first place? Of course, that ship has sailed, but the point remains-targeting Panarin now feels like trying to patch a leak with a luxury item.
And then there’s the cost.
Toronto’s prospect pool is already thin, and their draft capital is limited. A deal for Panarin would likely require significant assets-probably a top prospect or two, and whatever picks they can scrape together. That’s a steep price for a short-term rental, especially for a team that isn’t firmly in playoff position.
The Leafs have been here before. For the past nine years, they’ve been regular season darlings, making deadline splashes for veterans like Ryan O’Reilly and Nick Foligno.
The hope was always that their core could finally break through in the postseason. But after multiple first-round exits and one brief playoff run, it’s fair to question whether that model still works.
This year, they’re not the same team. And that’s okay.
It might be time to pivot. Instead of chasing another short-term fix, the smarter play could be to take a step back, recoup assets, and build for the future. That means exploring deals for their own pending UFAs and bolstering the farm system-not emptying it for a 34-year-old winger who may not be around next season.
Panarin would absolutely make the Leafs better in the short term. He’s still a game-changer. But the long-term impact of such a move could be costly-potentially setting the organization back years if the gamble doesn’t pay off.
The Leafs need to ask themselves a tough but necessary question: are they buyers in a year where the roster is banged up, the standings are unforgiving, and the future is uncertain? Or is it time to reset, regroup, and come back stronger with a deeper, more sustainable foundation?
Because if the answer is Panarin, they better be sure it’s not just a move to chase ghosts of seasons past.