One of the first moves of "The Letter 2.0" was the departure of Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers to the Los Angeles Kings. It was a shocking move, but now that the dust has settled, the idea is that it could be a blessing in disguise for the future.
Panarin was due for a new contract at the end of the 2025-26 season, and he signed on with the Kings immediately at $11 million AAV over the next two seasons. That was not going to happen in New York, and everyone knew it.
Let's take a look at why this was the perfect move, and what impact it has to set up a more profitable future.
Panarin handcuffed the future
The Rangers are not going to be setting the world on fire as they did in 2023-24 anytime soon. They are also not laying down and tanking, as the label re-tool has been completely correct with the moves made at the NHL Draft and free-agency period.
Youth and ideas of what the prospects will be in the future are the emphasis now. That also means that these younger players who are exiting their entry-level contracts are going to have to get paid. As evident with Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks, and Leo Carlsson of Anaheim, these Restricted Free Agents are getting paid hand over fist after their initial deals.
The same situation may arise with the Rangers. Likely not the kind of level that both of those two players were paid above, but looking at the upcoming RFAs following the 2026-27 season, it makes sense as to why Panarin's $11 million AAV would not work out. That is even more evident considering the Rangers opted to pounce at the opportunity to land Pavel Dorofeyev, a young talented goal scorer who made sense to pay $11 million per season.
Gabe Perreault, Tye Kartye, Will Cuylle, Noah Laba, Jaroslav Chmelar, and Braden Schneider are all up for new deals after this upcoming season. Even with a salary cap increase, not everyone would be able to be retained, as likely two or three of those names will be able to earn more than $4 to $5 million a year, each.
Keeping "The Breadman" would have made sense if the Rangers were slotted to be a Stanley Cup contender. There would be no reason not to keep him and pay him whatever he wants to try to win. His tenure was successful, but it reached the end of the road.
But that isn't the case right now, as they will likely be a bottom-tier Metropolitan Division team for the better part of the next two seasons, if not longer. Grabbing Dorofeyev and Alberts Smits on draft night was a great start, but not enough to turn this whole franchise around.
Moving on from Panarin opens this roster up for unlimited possibilities. Keeping him around would have handcuffed this future, and his contract would not be easy to dump to another team. He is still a top player in the NHL, but Father Time continues to remain undefeated.
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