The partnership between superstar forward Artemi Panarin and the New York Rangers is reaching its conclusion, with the Russian being held out of the lineup indefinitely ahead of an expected trade out of the Big Apple.
Panarin is the best player on the Blueshirts' roster, and has been since signing a massive seven-year, $81.50 million contract back in July of 2019. But with him set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season concludes — and New York GM Chris Drury waving the white flag on the campaign — it makes sense for player and club to move on.
Head coach Mike Sullivan shared high praise for the 34-year-old after he was scratched for a 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Wednesday night.
“Bread's a terrific player and a great teammate. He's good friends with a lot of guys that are in that dressing room. That has an impact on guys,” the bench boss said following the defeat, per SNY Rangers.
“He's one of the best Rangers of his generation. He's not an easy guy to replace when he's not in the lineup. Everybody understands it, and we're gonna control what we can.”
"Bread's a terrific player and a great teammate. He's good friends with a lot of guys that are in that dressing room. That has an impact on guys. He's one of the best Rangers of his generation. He's not an easy guy to replace"
– Mike Sullivan on Artemi Panarin pic.twitter.com/wajqh9ReRg
— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) January 29, 2026
Panarin helped the Rangers make two Eastern Conference Final appearances in three seasons. They were defeated in six hard-fought games by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021-22, and in the same amount of contests against the eventual champion Florida Panthers in 2023-24.
The former undrafted forward hasn't had a single season under a point-per-game since moving to New York, highlighted by a monster 49-goal, 120-point campaign in 2023-24. He's been the team's leading scorer every year since joining the franchise.
Although Panarin was unable to help the Blueshirts bring a first Stanley Cup since 1994 to Broadway, he is undoubtedly one of the best offensive players in franchise history.
Over his tenure in New York, Panarin has managed 205 goals and 607 regular-season points in 482 games. He's 14th overall in franchise goals, eighth in assists, ninth in points and first in points per game (1.26), per NHL.com's Dan Rosen.
“His 607 points are sixth in the NHL since he joined the Rangers behind Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (802), Leon Draisaitl of the Oilers (718), Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (701), David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins (618) and Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning (612),” wrote Rosen.
It's been a nightmare campaign for the 22-26-6, last-place-in-the-Eastern-Conference Rangers, who have had to deal with long-term injuries to Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox — the two most important players on the roster along with Panarin.
Drury announced in a public letter to the fanbase that the team was going to retool, and that began with Carson Soucy getting shipped to the Islanders earlier this week.
It's now only a matter of time before Panarin joins him in getting a change of scenery. Now the top player on trade boards across the National Hockey League, it'll be intriguing to see in what city he will chase a Stanley Cup — and whether a deal will get done before the Olympic break.
