Artemi Panarin’s New York Rangers career is bound to end in the next month or so. Barring one of the most drastic mind changes in hockey history, Chris Drury will send Panarin packing before this year’s trade deadline, likely for a significant package. Panarin will have a say in the destination, his first destination decision since he chose to sign with the Rangers, and Panarin’s Rangers legacy will be a discussion for years to come.
I remember the day Panarin signed with the Rangers very well. I was deeply worried the Florida Panthers were going to swoop in and find a way to convince Panarin to go to South Beach. Twitter seemed to believe there was a decent chance he would end up with the New York Islanders.
Still, Panarin appeared to be a large personality, and large personalities typically pick the bright lights and the big city. That he did. Panarin chose the Rangers, and for a while it really did seem like a perfect match.
The Rangers struggled at the start of his Rangers tenure, but Panarin certainly did not. He paid the Rangers back and then some with his play. When Panarin scored a Game 7 overtime goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2022, it felt like he had his first signature moment with many more to come, and Panarin’s Rangers legacy would be that of legends.
Then, the Rangers didn’t find a way to get past the Tampa Bay Lightning, with Panarin struggling. Then the next year, the Rangers didn’t find a way past the New Jersey Devils, with Panarin failing to score a goal. Then, the Rangers didn’t find a way past the Florida Panthers, with Panarin struggling in another Eastern Conference Final. Panarin’s Rangers legacy was starting to take a hit.
The story of Panarin’s Rangers legacy became performing great, but not putting the team over the top in the way superstars like Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, and even Aleksander Barkov could.
There have been plenty of concerns with Panarin’s intangibles along the way as well. So, so many missed backchecks that could fill this entire site. Disappearing in clutch moments at times, letting himself get frustrated on the ice. That’s not to mention the off the ice allegations, settlement, and subsequent NDAs that should be considered far more than they have been.
It’s difficult to truly assess Panarin’s Rangers legacy in the same sense it’s difficult to assess Rick Nash’s time. How do you appreciate a player who made the team much better, but not good enough? It reminds me that many will go back to playoff highlights, but skip the series in which their team was eliminated. Can we not appreciate that they were there?
With Artemi Panarin’s Rangers legacy, fans will grapple with that thought. Should we appreciate the goals, the celebrations, and the hope that his existence on the top line provided throughout the years? Or should we mourn that he never hoisted the Stanley Cup and to some was one of the reasons the team didn’t when it came down to the wire?
Maybe the answer is somewhere in the middle. But for a player with a long tenure on Broadway, he never quite did earn the one curtain call he was aiming for.
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