One of the main concerns to kick off the New York Rangers’ 2025-26 campaign lies with the play of Artemi Panarin.
Panarin entered the season without a contract in place, which only put more pressure on the veteran forward to perform at a high level.
During training camp, he admitted that it’s a roller coaster ride playing without a contract extension in place.
“It’s obviously good for everyone to feel that security,” Panarin said. “I’m used to it, being in that situation. It is what it is right now. Just not (going to) complain about it, I’m ready to work hard…
“Obviously, after bad games, you are thinking too much, but after good games, you enjoy it more than usual.”
Panarin may be making it harder on himself to land the long-term commitment that he is coveting.
Through 14 games, the 34-year-old forward has recorded two goals, seven assists, and nine points while averaging 21:08 minutes per game.
Since arriving in New York in 2019, Panarin has been the catalyst of the Rangers’ offense and one of the leading point producers in the NHL.
Panarin’s slow offensive start to kick off the season has been a wide point of conversation among the Rangers’ community, especially given his current contract situation.
Mike Sullivan is not worried about Panarin’s production though, as he knows players of his caliber usually find ways to turn things around.
“I think it's probably a little bit of both,” Sullivan said on if Panarin’s struggles are due to goaltenders playing well or if something is not clicking for Panarin. “He's definitely getting some looks. I think when he gets underneath people, and he gets inside the dots, he's really dangerous.
“My experience in coaching players of his caliber is sometimes as coaches, we just have to be careful we don’t get in the way there. So we're trying to give him a lot of latitude with his offensive game. We share our observations with him, but obviously, those types of players, what makes them unique is they tend to think the game differently than others, and that's part of what makes them who they are. I've always been a strong believer that, I try not to get in the way of that process. So he's at his best place and in that instinctive mindset, and he's trusted his instincts, and we're trying to encourage that.”
How does Panarin’s slow start directly impact his contract negotiations with the Rangers?
According to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, the Rangers are in no rush to strike a deal, with the team taking a patient approach.
“But for the moment, my sense of the situation is that it’s very early in the season under new head coach Mike Sullivan, the Rangers want to see how things go and therefore are not in a hurry to get going more seriously on talks to extend the pending UFA winger,” Lebrun wrote.
The longer these negotiations drag out, the more pressure it puts on Panarin if his offensive skid continues.
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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Rangers wanted Panarin to take a team-friendly deal during the summer, but the two sides were unable to agree.
“I understand, at some point in the off-season, the Rangers had that kind of conceptual conversation with Panarin: ‘Is there a way you could do for the Rangers what Kopitar did for the Kings?’” Friedman said. “Obviously, at this point and time, it hasn’t happened. I don’t know where that’s going to go, I don’t know if that’s going to be a possibility, but I do know the two sides had the conversation and, obviously, at this point, Panarin is unsigned.”
It’s still early on in the season, so there’s no need to push the panic button on Panarin just yet, but his play on top of his contract dilemma is both worth keeping an eye out for.