Artemi Panarin. The greatest free agent signing in New York Rangers history. 550 points in 430 regular season games.
The signing of Panarin in the Summer of 2019, for better or worse, signaled the end of the Rangers short lived rebuild. What Panarin provided since then has been nothing short of irreplaceable, and I’m pretty confident in making a case for him being the best LW in the league since coming to New York.
The Rangers had a run of sustained success but failed to win the Stanley Cup over the course of Panarin’s contract. That run of success included 2 Conference Final appearances, losing both in six games, and a cumulative playoff record of 23-20 since 2020, excluding the play-in series loss to Carolina after the league paused in March of 2020. That run of success all came crashing down with the complete shit show of a year the Rangers had last season as they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Going into the final year of his contract and still playing the best hockey of his career, it seems highly unlikely the Rangers will be doing any sort of contending this upcoming season. The roster from the 2024 playoff run has been gutted to the studs, the division has gotten stronger, and for all intents and purposes whoever wants to lift the cup will have to go through the defending back to back champions down in Southern Florida.
The question now becomes this, what does GM Chris Drury do with one of hockey’s best players that’s on the wrong side of 30 with one year left on his deal? To let him walk for nothing as a UFA next summer would be a fireable offense, so some serious work needs to be done by the front office to make the best decision for the future of the organization.
I think Panarin has great years ahead of him and can easily be a 100+ point guy in the right situation. His “down year” last season was still over point per game pace with 89 in 80 games, and every player on the Rangers had a down year last season. 100 point players don’t grow on trees, and as a pending free agent he should be worth his weight in gold to GMs of teams with their sight’s on contending.
In the event that extension talks haven’t begun in the slightest, it would be wise to explore the market before the season starts. If it’s true that Jason Robertson from Dallas is available, there should be a conversation had along the lines of “Panarin plus what will get Robertson in a Rangers uniform before the end of camp.” The money might be tough to make work on Dallas’ end, so there could be a lot of moving parts.
In the likely event that Panarin isn’t moved by game one of the season, it should be heavily explored as an option at the trade deadline in the equally likely event that the Rangers are below the playoff cut line come March. If Brock Nelson fetches a blue chip prospect and a first round pick at the deadline, imagine what Panarin is worth to a team trying to get over the hill.
I would love it if Panarin wanted to finish his career in New York, signed a team friendly extension, and helped return the team to relevancy this season. Reality isn’t always so sweet, though. Time will certainly tell what Panarin’s fate in New York will be.
Anyway, here’s a fun Panarin story I just found, courtesy of the New York Post.
The Morning Skate 