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New York Rangers & Artemi Panarin: A once in a lifetime opportunity

By Steve Paulus

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 27: Artemi Panarin #9 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on December 27, 2018 in New York City. The Columbus Blue Jackets won 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 27: Artemi Panarin #9 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on December 27, 2018 in New York City. The Columbus Blue Jackets won 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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NEWARK, NJ – APRIL 03: New Jersey Devils left wing Taylor Hall (9) shoots and scores on a penalty shot against New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (30) during the second period of the National Hockey League Game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers on April 3, 2018, at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ – APRIL 03: New Jersey Devils left wing Taylor Hall (9) shoots and scores on a penalty shot against New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (30) during the second period of the National Hockey League Game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers on April 3, 2018, at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

What if they wait until 2020?

Could the Rangers wait and see who is available in 2020-21?  They could, but looking at the list of potential free agents, there is no sure thing.  With teams locking up their elite players on longterm contracts, the odds of a player like Panarin or a John Tavares being available becomes slimmer every year.

There is only one player from the list of 48 elite who could be an unrestricted free agent in two summers and that is Taylor Hall of the New Jersey Devils.  You can be sure that the Devils will do everything they can to lock him up long before he even can sniff free agency.

If the Rangers let Panarin get away, here are the top 11 forwards entering Unrestricted Free Agency in 2020-21.  They have  to be 31 years old or younger and have scored a minimum of 20 goals or 55 points in the NHL in at least one season.  The age shown is as of July 1, 2020.

  1. Taylor Hall, 28 -New Jersey
  2. Mike Hoffman, 30 – Florida
  3. Alex Galchenyuk, 26 – Arizona
  4. Tyler Toffoli, 28 – Los Angeles
  5. Evgeny Dadenov, 31, Florida
  6. Brayden Schenn, 28 – St. Louis
  7. Erik Haula, 29 – Vegas
  8. Charlie Coyle, 28 – Boston
  9. Conor Sheary, 28 – Buffalo
  10. Mikael Granlund, 28 – Nashville
  11. Craig Smith, 30, Nashville

You may have noticed that some names are missing from the list.  Here are the Rangers who  fit the criteria and will be UFA at the same time:  Chris Kreider, Vlad Namestnikov and Jimmy Vesey (assuming he hits the 20 goal mark this season).  If he gets that far, Kreider could easily be one of the top three UFA’s in 2020.

While there are some fine hockey players on that this list, there is no one other than Hall who comes anywhere even close to Artemi Panarin.

The Rangers have done an extraordinarily good job is replacing lost draft picks with free agent signings like Kevin Hayes, Vesey, Neal Pionk and John Gilmour.  They haven’t gone after a marquee free agent forward  in years.  In fact, the last time the Rangers won out on the top offensive free agent in the market was 2011 when they signed Brad Richards.

The days of misguided deals with Scott Gomez, Theo Fleury and Bobby Holik are in the past.  Hockey executives know what the proper commitment is and the expectations are for players.  Artemi Panarin will still be 27 years old when next season starts.  He has never scored fewer than 27 goals in a full season. He produces at a point-a-game pace and is durable, missing only three games in the last four seasons.

Ranger fans can only imagine what  a top line of Zibanejad, Panarin and Kravtsov could produce. Adding a player of Panarin’s skill would position the Rangers for a return to playoff contention by the 2020-21 season if not next season.  If the  ping pong balls fall in New York’s favor and a top three pick is the reward, the rebuild moves even faster.

Next. Potential Ranger draft targets. dark

The key is not letting the opportunity to sign one of the top 20 NHL offensive players in his prime pass by.  It just doesn’t happen that often.

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