Before Wednesday night’s 5-2 loss at the Islanders, the Rangers revealed that star left wing Artemi Panarin would be scratched for “roster management reasons” through the Olympic break. With Panarin said to be open to negotiating a contract extension with a team that he agrees to waive his no-movement clause to, the Rangers are getting closer to moving him. When it happens, it’ll be the end of the Panarin Era.

On Monday, Jan. 26, it probably was the final time Panarin played as a Blueshirt. At least, it came in a win with the Rangers rallying back for a 4-3 overtime victory at MSG. He picked up the primary assist on the game-tying goal scored by Will Borgen with 6:17 left in the third period. If that was indeed it, he finishes his Rangers career with 205 goals and 402 assists for a total of 607 points in 482 games, averaging 1.26 points-per-game. Like he’s done the past six years, he was leading the team in scoring with 57 points (19-38-57) before sitting out last night.

When it comes down to it, the 34-year-old Panarin lit up Broadway with his remarkable combination of speed, skating, and playmaking. Nicknamed the Bread Man, he certainly lived up to the high expectations after becoming the highest paid player in franchise history, with an $11.64 million cap hit over the seven years he signed for with former Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton and team president John Davidson at the helm in 2019.

What made Panarin so compelling is the way he’d create open space up top to find teammates with splendid passes. A very unique player who also possessed a first-class shot, he could beat opponents in a number of ways. He was never better than in 2023-24 when he formed the league’s best scoring line with Alexis Lafreniere and Vincent Trocheck. It was Panarin who elevated his linemates to career-best seasons, with Lafreniere winding up with 28 goals and 29 assists for 57 points, and Trocheck tallying 25 goals with 52 assists and 77 points. Panarin finished with a career-high 49 goals and 71 assists for 120 points, which ranks second behind Jaromir Jagr (123) for the most points by a Blueshirt in a single season.

The Overtime Hero

On May 7, 2022, Panarin scored his most memorable goal when he won Game 7 in overtime versus the Penguins to help the Rangers complete a 3-1 series comeback to advance to the second round.

After Mika Zibanejad tied the game with 5:45 left in regulation, the Rangers went on the power play early in overtime. After continuing to move the puck around the box, Zibanejad and Adam Fox finally got it over for Panarin, who found just enough room to get his shot through a maze past Tristan Jarry at 4:46 of overtime.

After eliminating the Pens, the Rangers came back from a 3-2 series deficit to defeat the Hurricanes in seven games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite jumping out to a two-game lead, they lost the next four to the Lightning to lose the series. During that run, Panarin finished with six goals and 10 assists for 16 points. Seven came in the first round. He had two goals and four helpers against the Lightning.

Plenty of Teams Interested In Panarin

As the Rangers enter the second game of a back-to-back against the Islanders tonight, Kevin Weekes reported that nearly half the league has interest in Panarin, who holds all the cards.

Before they reached this stage, I thought both the Kings and Sharks seemed like the best possible destinations. Each team is competing out West for the wild card. Unlike the Sharks, who boast Hart candidate Macklin Celebrini, the Kings don’t possess as much scoring, which is why they’d have serious interest in acquiring Panarin. If they convinced him to sign an extension, depending on whether they meet the Rangers’ requirements of a package similar to what Brock Nelson netted last year for the Islanders, Panarin could team with Adrian Kempe on the top line while playing in Hollywood.

Last night, Sheng Peng reported that the Sharks were very interested in dealing for Panarin, who could play with Celebrini and Will Smith on a dynamic scoring line if he agreed to go to San Jose. With the Sharks ahead of schedule in their rebuild, bringing in a big fish like Panarin would make them a dangerous team if they make the playoffs. That all depends on whether he’d agree to waive and sign an extension.

How Bread Should Be Remembered

For almost seven years, Panarin has been a breathtaking player to watch. He’s played the game with flair, turning hockey into art with his unique blend of skills.

When he first arrived, the Rangers were still a rebuilding team that hadn’t proved anything. His debut season in Manhattan was special. He scored and set up goals to prove that he was worth the price of admission. If you had the pleasure of watching Bread Man work from up in the Blue Seats, you could see plays develop with number 10 finding a way to create space to set up a goal or scoring chance.

Before Covid interrupted 2019-20, Panarin had 32 goals and 63 assists for 95 points to rank in the top three in scoring. He had the Rangers in the playoff race, which showed just how much impact he had. He finished third for the Hart Trophy, losing out to winner Leon Draisaitl with Nathan MacKinnon coming in second. To be honest, none were as valuable as Panarin was to his team. He was also a plus-36, dominating at 5-on-5 to make the Rangers a must watch.

In his time in the Big Apple, he’s worked magic with both Trocheck and former center Ryan Strome, who had his best seasons playing with Panarin. Aside from being a great even strength player, he’s made a difference on the power play, teaming up with Adam Fox to create a lot of goals for former Ranger Chris Kreider, who holds the franchise record for most power-play goals (26) in a season. Both Kreider and Mika Zibanejad have benefited from Panarin, who when he wasn’t finishing, always found open teammates.

Before things went south last season, the Rangers had made the postseason in three consecutive years. Panarin was instrumental in the team’s success. Even if he never was the best playoff performer, finishing with 35 points in 46 games, he made the team better. They had two runs to the Conference Finals before losing in tough six-game series.

When we look back, Panarin made the Rangers a draw again at The Garden. They became a hot ticket. The only disappointment is that they never played for a Cup over the seven seasons.

Thanks for making hockey fun again at MSG.