{"id":182234,"date":"2025-09-05T19:39:39","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T19:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/182234\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T19:39:39","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T19:39:39","slug":"why-artemi-panarin-holds-the-key-to-his-rangers-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/182234\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Artemi Panarin Holds the Key to His Rangers Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

The future of veteran New York Rangers wing Artemi Panarin<\/a> is set to be one of the longest-running soap operas of the 2025-26 NHL season. You\u2019re going to hear plenty of debate surrounding whether the Rangers should extend his contract, trade him or allow the situation to play out.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin (10) warms up before the game against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn ImagesRobert Edwards-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Panarin is entering the final year of his seven-year, $81.5 million contract, which carries an annual average value of $11,642,857 and a full no-movement clause. There are no reports of the sides engaging in talks.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The Rangers are prime candidates for a bounce-back campaign after missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2020-21 season. It\u2019s entirely possible that the Rangers could take a wait-and-see approach given the arrival of new head coach Mike Sullivan.<\/p>\n

Sullivan will seek to put his imprint on the Blueshirts immediately. The two-time Stanley Cup-winning bench boss demands firm defensive structure, sound positioning and a commitment to a 200-foot game.<\/p>\n

\"NY<\/p>\n

NY Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan is introduced during a press conference at the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown, New York May 8, 2025 Peter Carr&sol;The Journal News-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Panarin undoubtedly is one of the sport\u2019s most electric offensive talents, averaging 104.9 points per 82 regular season games since joining the Rangers in 2019. It\u2019s the defensive side of his game that has come under fire.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

There were times when Panarin committed costly turnovers and was a no-show defensively. Then again, the same could be said about several Rangers during Peter Laviolette\u2019s ill-fated final season behind The Garden bench.<\/p>\n

Panarin will need to prove that he can fit into Sullivan\u2019s prototype \u2013 and he should have every motivation to deliver on both ends of the rink in his contract year. General manager Chris Drury has been resolute in reshaping the core of the Broadway Blueshirts.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a summer of change at The World\u2019s Most Famous Arena. Drury traded longest-tenured component Chris Kreider<\/a> (along with a 2025 fourth-round pick) to the Anaheim Ducks for 20-year-old center Carey Terrance and a 2025 third-round pick. Defenseman K\u2019Andre Miller was dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes for 22-year-old blue liner Scott Morrow, a conditional 2026 first-round pick and a 2026 second-round pick.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Steady defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov was signed to a seven-year, $49 million contract as the Rangers look to solidify their blue line and improve on a 80.3 percent penalty kill that ranked 11th overall last season. He is likely to combine with Adam Fox<\/a> on the first defensive pairing.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin (10) celebrates a goal with center Vincent Trocheck (16).Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Panarin will turn 34 on Oct. 30. He will need to show that he\u2019s as essential to the Blueshirts as ever. His 89 points (37 goals, 52 assists) marked the lowest of his career in a full season since 2018-19.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The Rangers are projected to roll a first line of Panarin on the left wing, Vincent Trocheck at center and Alexis Lafreniere<\/a> on the right side \u2013 though Sullivan has been known to shuffle lines to produce a spark.<\/p>\n

When Panarin joined the Rangers, he spoke of his desire to play on the big stage. His play will ultimately dictate whether his long-term home remains at 33rd Street and 7th Avenue.<\/p>\n

Related: New York Rangers Could Trade Artemi Panarin<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: NHL Insider Weighs in on What\u2019s Next for NY Rangers’ Artemi Panarin<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Sep 3, 2025, where it first appeared in the NHL<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The future of veteran New York Rangers wing Artemi Panarin is set to be one of the longest-running…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":182235,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5111],"tags":[1503,304,233,3039,29,337,1542,5,1955,3328,35,5190,5193,4,36,31453,168,9571,3042,2099],"class_list":{"0":"post-182234","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-rangers","8":"tag-adam-fox","9":"tag-alexis-lafreniere","10":"tag-anaheim-ducks","11":"tag-artemi-panarin","12":"tag-carolina-hurricanes","13":"tag-chris-drury","14":"tag-chris-kreider","15":"tag-hockey","16":"tag-mike-sullivan","17":"tag-new-york","18":"tag-new-york-rangers","19":"tag-newyork","20":"tag-newyorkrangers","21":"tag-nhl","22":"tag-rangers","23":"tag-robert-edwards-imagn","24":"tag-san-jose-sharks","25":"tag-scott-morrow","26":"tag-vincent-trocheck","27":"tag-vladislav-gavrikov"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115153388469144776","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}