Kings’ Panarin says jersey color schemes affect which teams he wants to play for
Players decide on where they want to play for a number of different factors. Some prioritize the success of a team. Some like the city they’d be playing in. Some like the organization as a whole, including the facilities and services they provide. Some simply just like the money a team can fork over to sign them.
Not Artemi Panarin.
The Los Angeles Kings winger admitted to a more interesting priority to his team choices in an interview with a Russian outlet: the jerseys and their colors.
“[The Kings’] jerseys are stunning,” Panarin said in the interview. “I really do care about the jerseys too. Like, there have been teams whose colors I’m just allergic to. I wouldn’t even consider them just because of that. I don’t know, I just have that hang-up.”
Looking back at Panarin’s career and the teams he has played for (or at least, chosen to play for), this process makes sense. An undrafted signing out of Russia, he initially joined the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks, a team considered with one of the more historic jerseys in the league. After a two-year stop with the Columbus Blue Jackets (Panarin didn’t have a no-trade clause at the time, so he did not choose to play there and we can’t conclude he likes that jersey), he signed with the New York Rangers, another team with a historic jersey.
And then there’s this past season, which saw him utilize his no-move clause and essentially choose to play for the Kings at the deadline. The Kings pivoted to their most iconic jersey look in 2024, one they sported during the late 1980s and the 1990s, particularly when Wayne Gretzky was with the team.
As for what kind of colors Panarin doesn’t like enough to play for them, he didn’t say. But it does provide some more insight into his decisions on his moves.
Panarin will begin a two-year contract with the Kings next season, one that sees him earn $11 million a season. He signed the deal shortly after Los Angeles acquired him from the Rangers at the deadline, as New York was looking to sell the winger with his contract set to expire and the team beginning a rebuild.