The New York Rangers came into the 2024-25 season as one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. They would fall well short of expectations, missing the playoffs altogether. New head coach Mike Sullivan believes the team has the talent to compete this year. There is a difference between remarks made at an introductory press conference and reality. The team regressed heavily, but did have a solid summer in NHL Free Agency. Regardless, they will have one question that will linger over the team heading into 2025-26.
In 2023-24, the Rangers were the top team in the NHL in the regular season. The club went 55-23-4, securing the President's Trophy. The season would end in disappointing fashion, with the Blueshirts falling to the Panthers in six games in the Eastern Conference Final. The team scored well in 2023-24, putting up 282 goals, which was sixth in the NHL. In 2024-25, it would be just 254 goals, 12th in the NHL.
There were regression in other areas as well. The team was third in the NHL on the power play in 2023-24, but would drop to 28th in their next campaign. The penalty kill went from third to 11th. Their conceded goals per game went from seventh to 19th. Players also saw some major declines. Vincent Trocheck compiled 77 points in 2023-24 and dropped to 59 the next season. The major drop off was Artemi Panarin. He lit the lamp 49 times while adding 71 helpers in 2023-24. This would drop to just 37 goals and 52 assists the next year. Panarin is scheduled to be a free agent in the summer of 2026, but the Rangers needed to address the situation this summer.
The Rangers have not addressed Artemi Panarin
The Breadman was undrafted out of Russia, playing in the KHL for much of the early part of his career. He joined the KHL in 2008-09 and would play there through the 2014-15 season. Panarin would then sign a two-year entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks afterwards. He played 80 games in 2015-16 with 30 goals and 47 assists, winning the Calder Trophy while forming instant chemistry with Patrick Kane. The next campaign, he continued to produce with lighting the lamp 31 times with 43 helpers. He was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the summer of 2017, and then he signed in free agency with the Rangers in the summer of 2019.
Panarin has been a consistent scoring threat in his time in the NHL. In his 752 games, he has found the back of the net 302 times while adding 568 assists. That is good for 870 points in just 752 games, or 1.16 points per game. That places him tied for 20th all-time, just fractions of a point behind the great Steve Yzerman.
The team has two options with Panarin, as they do with most players: trade him or work on an extension. The Russian winger is in the last year of a contract that will pay him $11.64 million this upcoming year. Paying him will likely require a long-term deal that will not be friendly towards the future salary cap situation, possibly north of $10 million. This would be for a player potentially on the decline. Still, if the team thinks that last season was an aberration, and he will rebound in 2025-26 and beyond, this is not a bad idea.
Regardless, paying that much to any player ties up significant cap space. The other option is to trade him while he still has value. As the season progresses, the value of Panarin could decline, especially if he continues not to put up the same numbers. With his contract expiring, unless a team can work a new deal, this would be nothing more than a rental player, which could significantly decrease his value.
The deadline for a decision is quickly approaching. The franchise does have strong tools to compete, but if the regressions continue for many of their key players, selling is the best case to go.
Could the Rangers land Connor McDavid?
The best explanation for not addressing the Panarin situation is the notion that they could land Connor McDavid and want to wait to see how that situation plays out. While Panarin is 20th all-time in points per game, McDavid is third. He has scored 1.52 points per game, only behind Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Panarin will turn 34 years old at the start of the season, while McDavid will be turning 29 and is the best player in the world.
If McDavid makes it to free agency, the Rangers will be one of many teams in contention for his services. He will be a major upgrade long-term over Panarin, but will cost more. There is also little chance of the team having both players on the roster. Considering this notion, waiting on Panarin becomes less of an option. If the 2026 free agency period comes, and McDavid signs elsewhere, Panarin could easily move on as well, leaving the Rangers with nothing. Trading Panarin now to make the run at McDavid allows them to get value and open up cap space for the future. It could backfire, especially if McDavid re-signs with the Oilers or with another team. Still, at least New York would have gotten value for their top player. The Rangers' offseason was solid, but failing to address the Panarin situation — one way or another — was a miss.
