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New York Rangers: How does Panarin compare to the NHL elite?

By Steve Paulus

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 2: Artemi Panarin #9 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates with the puck in front of Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals in the first period at Capital One Arena on December 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 2: Artemi Panarin #9 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates with the puck in front of Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals in the first period at Capital One Arena on December 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Now that the New York Rangers have made Artemi Panarin the second highest paid player in the NHL, is he worth it?

The numbers are big.  $81.5 million dollars over seven years.  $11.642 million dollars a year. That’s what the New York Rangers committed to Artemi Panarin.   In doing so, he is behind only Connor McDavid‘s $12.5 million when it comes to the Average Annual Value (AAV) that will count against the team’s salary cap.  Does he deserve the big payout?

Let’s make one thing clear.  He is a New  York Ranger.  The contract is signed and the money is committed. If you were opposed to it, it’s useless to complain about the deal, it’s done. We probably won’t know if he will be worth it until 2026 when the contract expires.  The only caveat is if they Rangers win a Stanley Cup . Then there will be no doubt, it was a good signing. But how good a player is he?

Without any doubt, Artemi Panarin is one of the best offensive players in the NHL.  If you wanted to draft a player of his ability, it would take a top three pick.  But is there a way to quantify how good he actually is?

The best of the best

Who are the best forwards in the NHL?  I came up with a list of the top 31 forwards in the NHL over the last seven seasons (2012-13 to 2018-19). This is how the list was compiled.

First, for scoring prowess, I took all of the players in those years who finished in the top twenty in points in a season.  To add in their value to their teams I added the top five Hart Trophy vote-getters in each of those seven seasons.  To keep defensive forwards in the mix, I also took the top five vote-getters for the Selke Trophy, awarded to the best defensive forward.   Calder Trophy consideration was included and finally I also added the top five All-Star vote-getters at each of the three forward positions.

The most times a player could appear on these lists is 28 (29 if he was a rookie between 2013 and 2019).  Needless to say, no one made it every time, but Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin clearly lived up to their reputations.

Those two led the eight forwards who finished in those categories ten times or more:

  1. Sidney Crosby (21 times)
  2. Alex Ovechkin  (17 times)
  3. Patrick Kane (13 times)
  4. Anze Kopitar  (11 times)
  5. Patrice Bergeron (10 times)
    Claude Giroux (10 times)
    Connor McDavid  (10 times)
    Nikita Kucherov (10  times)

It’s an impressive group and no one should be surprised by its members. Looking further, 13 forwards finished in those categories seven to nine times:

  1. Jamie Benn (9 times)
    Ryan Getzlaf (9 times)
    Blake Wheeler (9 times)
    Jonathan Toews (9 times)
  2. Artemi Panarin (8 times)
    John Tavares (8 times)
    Tyler Seguin (8 times)
    Brad Marchand (8 times)
    Steven Stamkos (8 times)
    Taylor Hall (8 times)
  3. Johnny Gaudreau (7 times)
    Nicklas Backstrom (7 times)
    Phil Kessel (7 times)

Again, an impressive group and there is no one who doesn’t belong there.  To round out our list of top forwards, 10 forwards finished in those categories four to six times.  It is another impressive group and includes one player already in the Hall of Fame.

  1. Evgeni Malkin (6 times)
    Joe Pavelski (6 times)
    Nathan MacKinnon (6 times)
    Vladimir Tarasenko (6 times)
  2. Joe Thornton (5 times)
    Martin St. Louis (5 times)
  3. Rick Nash (4 times)
    Leon Draisaitl (4 times)
    Jakub Voracek (4 times)
    Jaromir Jagr (4 times)

So there you have it, the 31 best forwards in the NHL. Because of the time span some budding stars are not represented.  Patrik Laine and Mathew Barzal both appeared twice in those categories after only three years in the league.  Martin St. Louis  is already in the Hall of Fame and appears on the list due to to two excellent seasons at the end of his career. He is joined by Jaromir Jagr and Rick Nash on the retired list.

Panarin’s place

Artemi Panarin ranks 13th out of the top 31 forwards in the NHL.  He has finished in the top 20 in scoring every year he has been in the NHL.  He’s received all-star consideration three of  his four years.  He won the Calder Trophy in 2016.

And he has accomplished all of this despite only being in the NHL for four years.  Of the 12 players above him, all but Connor McDavid have been in the NHL longer than he has.

If there is any doubt that Panarin doesn’t belong in this exalted company, salaries are a clear indicator. With the exception of Patrice Bergeron,  all of the players ranked higher than Panarin fall within the 22 highest paid  forwards in the league.

We will get more into the statistical side of Artemi Panarin as time passes, but on the day be became a Ranger, it’s reassuring to know that in comparison to his peers, he ranks among the best in the game.

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