New York Rangers: Latest on Panarin and more

With the window to sign free agents opening on Monday, things are heating up for the New York Rangers and the hockey world.

Artemi Panarin remains the prime target for the New York Rangers and least two other teams. The word is that he is focusing on the Blueshirts, Florida Panthers and New York Islanders.

Panarin was in New York on Wednesday and met with the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.  The is no word how the meeting went, but today, TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli named the Rangers as the favorite to land the Russian forward.

On a humorous note, the Rangers made a boo boo in their pitch to Panarin. They photoshopped him into a Ranger uniform in an image they put up on the jumbotron at the Garden. Unfortunately, they made him a lefthanded shot.  Panarin is a righty.

Meanwhile, Larry Brooks reported in the New York Post, that while the Rangers are prepared to offer Panarin a seven-year deal in the $11-11.25 million range, they are not willing to get into a bidding war.  In other words, if he is offered more, they will not match.

Other movement

In the Metropolitan Division, the Washington Capitals traded Andre Burakovsky to the Colorado Avalanche for two draft picks.  The Caps made the move to clear cap space, giving up on the former first rounder who never lived up to expectations.

Eastern Conference rival Toronto Maple Leafs re-signed forwards Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson.  The Leafs still need to ink RFA Mitch Marner and currently have about $7 million in cap space. They will get some cap relief from Nathan Horton’s $5.3 million salary when he is placed on Injured Reserve, but it is still not enough to offer Marner.

The Leafs defense is still very thin. After Morgan Rielly, Nikita Zaitsev and Jake Muzzin, there are 13 blueliners in the organization who have played a combined total of 170 NHL games.  So, they need to add at least a couple experienced defensemen and sign Marner.  The Leafs are not done dealing.

There’s a report in the Athletic that Mats Zuccarello is looking for a five year contract and has been in contact with the Columbus Blue Jackets.  He also wants a substantial increase over the $4.5 million he was making. Remember, if he re-signs with Dallas, the Rangers get a first rounder next year instead of a second round pick.  The good news is the Stars are still a contender for his services.

Development Camp over

The Rangers Development Camp has concluded after a week. If anyone wants a glimpse of the future of the New York Rangers, the team’s Twitter feed has posted dozens of short videos of the prospects in action.  No surprises there, but on first glance, Shesterkin looks like the real thing.

With the buyout window closing on Sunday and free agent frenzy just hours away, look for some more player movement throughout the weekend. Stay tuned.