New York Islanders: Artemi Panarin AAV Expected To Be Upwards Of $12 Million

Artemi Panarin is officially a free agent. The New York Islanders are still considered the favorites and if he chooses them it will be with an AAV of $12 million or higher.

July 1, 2019, can change everything for the New York Islanders. One year ago the Islanders lost their captain which launched a rather disappointing free agency period for the Isles. This year, they are the front runners to land the best free agent on the market.

Artemi Panarin is officially a UFA, and Bob McKenzie and Elliotte Friedman are predicting that he will sign with the Islanders. It’s not official but the difference a year makes is truly remarkable.

Arthur Staple jumped in the mix last night and said if Panarin chooses the Islanders it’s expected to be a seven-year deal with an AAV of $12-$12.5 million. That’s a ton of money but unfortunately, that’s what the market dictates.

That kind of money would make him the second highest AAV player in the league behind Connor McDavid. If it gets up to $12.5 million he will be tied with McDavid.

There’s no denying the talent that Panarin brings to the table though. Since joining the league in 2015-2016 only seven players have more points than him over that span. It’s no surprise why he is set to bring in that much money.

Last year, Panarin had a career high in points with 87 (28 goals, 59 assists). A big positive with Artemi Panarin is that his career low in games played is 79 and his career low in goals is 27. The guy plays virtually every game and he’s extremely productive.

A seven-year deal would take him through his age 34 season, which is likely when you would want to stop paying Panarin the big bucks anyway. Despite the AAV being so high, I think if you’re the Islanders you suck it up and figure out the rest of the cap after that.

You may be forced to say two difficult goodbyes to Robin Lehner and Anders Lee but being able to recruit a high-level talent in free agency is something that the Islanders literally never do.

Buckle up, today is going to be an interesting one.

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