Why Artemi Panarin deserves to be the next New York Rangers’ captain
NHL captaincy is unlike any other individual title in sports. When was the last time you saw a player be named the captain of a baseball or basketball team? I have friends who are not hockey fans, and I get asked the question all the time, “what does the ‘C’ on his chest stand for?” For a casual fan, or even a first-time viewer, you can watch any NHL game on any given day and immediately be able to point out which players are important to which team, without any prior knowledge of the game.
What makes a good captain, though? This topic has been a point of contention between hockey fans for many years. Is it skill that makes one player more deserving than the next guy? Is it seniority? Is it grit? Or is it one big popularity contest? In the case of the New York Rangers, there is one guy who embodies all of those traits in one. But first, let’s look at the contenders.
Potential captains: Mika Zibanejad
Leading up to the start of the season, Mika Zibanejad was the clear favorite amongst Rangers’ fans for the vacant captaincy. Zibanejad had just capped off a stellar 2019-20 regular season, where he saw himself finish fifth in the league in goals scored with 41, and just six days before the NHL season was paused due to COVID-19, Zibanejad scored five goals (including the overtime winner) against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden, promptly placing himself front and center in the eyes and hearts of Rangers’ fans all over the world.
2020-21 hasn’t been kind to Zibanejad, however. I am in no way trying to discredit Mika Zibanejad, he is still one of my favorite Rangers’ and he is due to breakout soon. He is simply too good to continue to struggle the way that he has been. With that being said though, Zibanejad has been overwhelmingly disappointing for a surprisingly bad Rangers’ team this year.
The Rangers are currently the youngest team in the NHL, and while we expected growing pains, no one expected it to be as painful as it has been. On a team that needs a sense of leadership now more than ever, Zibanejad is one of three guys that the fans and his young teammates have looked to for some inspiration and consistency. We haven’t received that from Zibanejad so far.
With 16 games played this season, Zibanejad carries a stat-line of four points on two goals and two assists, one of those goals coming in Saturday afternoon’s win over the Washington Capitals, when Zibanejad scored an empty-net goal in the final seconds of the contest. It is also worth mentioning that Zibanejad ranks 21st on the tam with a -4 plus/minus.
Zibanejad is set to hit unrestricted free-agency next summer, and while his struggles early on this season may help the Rangers save some money when contract talks between the two parties heat up, it is unlikely that Zibanejad is named captain at any point this year, unless a deal can be agreed upon by season’s end.
Potential captain: Chris Krieder
Chris Kreider is certainly more than deserving of the captaincy. He fits the criteria for the position; loyalty, seniority, and skill. After Henrik Lundqvist’s departure from the team during the offseason, Chris Kreider officially became the longest tenured New York Ranger. Kreider debuted for the Rangers in 2012, and has seen almost all of the ups-and-downs that a professional sports franchise can endure. Kreider was a crucial member of the 2014 Eastern Conference Champion New York Rangers squad that was unfortunately eliminated in five games against the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Final.
He was also pivotal the following year when the Rangers won the President’s Trophy and took the Tampa Bay Lightning to seven games in the Eastern Conference Final, where the Rangers would ultimately come up short. The only thing currently missing from Kreider’s resume is a Stanley Cup.
Kreider inked a seven-year, $45.5 million contract with the Rangers at the trade deadline last year, when he saw himself finish a very solid season with 45 points on 24 goals and 21 assists before he was unfortunately sidelined with a foot injury.
Fast forward to the 2020-21 season, and Kreider is experiencing a modest start to his campaign. Kreider is currently tied for first on the team with five goals scored, and has racked up one assist, for a total of six points so far. No one aside from head coach David Quinn has been more critical of the Rangers’ early struggles as Chris Kreider has. On multiple occasions during post-game press conferences this year, Kreider has vented his frustrations to the media, stating that the team needs to “be better and we all know it.” Kreider has also been quoted saying that the team is “listless and lifeless,” stating that it is “unacceptable.”
Chris Kreider is frustrated with the Rangers' effort tonight and inability to get on the power play:
— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) February 17, 2021
"The most upsetting thing is we got away from the things we were doing well" pic.twitter.com/QhZC0sftAl
Perhaps nothing caught the attention of Rangers’ fans more than when Kreider took a shot at the idea of captaincy as a whole. In a zoom call at the beginning of the season, Kreider was asked about his thoughts on the Rangers entering their third consecutive season without a captain. Kreider responded by saying that it wasn’t a big deal, and that the captaincy is “more for the fan base than anyone else,” and instead suggesting that many leaders is better than just one. Those comments may end up hurting Kreider’s chances at being named captain in the long run. A leader who doesn’t seem to take the title seriously might not be the best candidate for the job.
The right choice: Artemi Panarin
And here we are – the main focal point of this whole article. Panarin has been everything as advertised and then some since signing with the Rangers in 2019. And this season has been no exception. Panarin finished the 2019-20 season as a Hart Memorial Trophy finalist with 95 points on 32 goals and 63 assists. Panarin finished third in voting behind Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, and Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl; some elite company to be in.
Now, in 2021, Panarin is right back on pace to be back in the Hart conversation by the end of the season. Even after missing two games due to a lower body injury, Panarin is still first on the team in points with 18, first on the team in assists with 13, and tied for first in goals with five.
In the two games that Panarin missed, the Rangers were outscored by their opponents (Boston and New Jersey) 6-2. In the two games since he has returned from injury, the Rangers have outscored their opponents (Philadelphia and Washington) 7-3. Panarin assisted on three of those seven goals, and had the assist on Alexis Lafrenière’s second goal of the season, a goal that hopefully will get the highly-touted prospect’s season kick started. To me, the Rangers lack of enthusiasm and scoring prowess in those two games that Panarin missed are no coincidence. The fact that since he has been back they seem to have found their grove, it also no coincidence to me.
Remember when I said that there was only one player on this team that embodied everything that it took to make a great captain? That guy is Panarin. He has the NHL seniority, he’s not afraid to get in the opponents face and be a pest, he’s a great teammate and mentor to the young players, and has more than enough skill to go around. This is a completely different Rangers squad once Panarin steps onto the ice, giving 110% night in and night out, and to me, that is why he deserves to be named the next captain of the New York Rangers.
Is Zibanejad still your front runner for captain? Or do you have a dark-horse that you think should be considered? Let me know in the comments below!
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