When news broke that the New York Rangers wouldn’t be signing Artemi Panarin to a contract extension, instead looking to find him a new home, it was reasonable to dismiss the idea of the Edmonton Oilers trading for him.

An $11.6 million cap hit was the obvious roadblock for the Oilers, but so too was the fact that the Oilers may not have a strong enough prospect pool to give back the assets the Rangers would want. Panarin, who has a full no movement clause, will have some say in things, after all, and that could be something that dictates what his market looks like.

But maybe the idea of the Oilers trading for the 34-year-old Panarin isn’t something that should’ve been so easily dismissed.

For one, Panarin was linked to the Oilers on Monday by The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta on Oilersnation Everyday as a team that could acquire him to chase a cup. That right there means someone — whether it’s from the Oilers or around Panarin’s camp — has a belief that there could be a fit. That’s significant, to say the least.

For two, this wouldn’t be the first time Stan Bowman tried to swing for the fences since joining the Oilers. After all, he and the team were “well down the path” of a trade-and-sign that would’ve sent Mikko Rantanen to the Oilers at last year’s NHL trade deadline,........

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