Elliotte Friedman hints an Eastern star wants to play for the Florida Panthers

This Artemi Panarin Florida Panthers rumor cap space talk is not going away.

A tweet making the rounds has Elliotte Friedman saying Panarin would love to play in Florida, even if making it work is the hard part.

Friedman is as plugged in as it gets, so when he frames a destination like this, fans hear it differently.

It is also not the first time Florida has been mentioned in Panarin chatter, which is why it keeps catching fire every few months.

Panarin is still producing at a star level, sitting at 19-37-56 this season, the kind of line that changes a top six instantly.

But Florida is not exactly shopping with open pockets.

Panarin carries an $11,642,857 cap hit and his deal expires after this season, which is why the Rangers situation is a magnet for speculation.

Now look at Florida's side of the ledger, the Panthers project to be about $7.7 million over the cap for 2025-26 on current commitments.

As a Panthers fan, this is the part where you get excited for five seconds, then you remember the calculator always wins.

To even start the conversation, Florida would need money going out, retention coming back, or a third team acting like a laundromat for cap hit.

And because Panarin's number is so big, you are not talking about trimming the fourth line, you are talking about real roster pieces and real pain.

That is why this rumor feels both believable and impossible at the exact same time.

Friedman also floated Los Angeles as a fit, tying it to the idea of a «fresh coat of paint» if Anze Kopitar's retirement opens a leadership and cap chapter.

If Panarin truly wants Florida, the appeal is obvious, contender roster, high pace, and a system that creates touch plays in the slot.

The tricky part is that Florida's identity is built on depth and veterans, and you do not add a mega contract without ripping somewhere else first.

So for now it sits where it always sits, a rumor with smoke, a destination that makes hockey sense, and cap math that makes your head hurt.