Rangers shouldn’t rush to expand Artemi Panarin – Hockey Writer – New York Rangers

It may be hard to believe, but Artemi Panarin’s seven-year contract will expire soon.

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Not long ago, you remember the New York Rangers introduced the star’s forward, who raised a new blues sweater in front of Madison Square Garden, a move that almost indicates the end of the reconstruction.

#NYR @9Artemi @TheGardenWoolen cloth pic.twitter.com/lexa093r91

– New York Rangers (@nyrangers) July 2, 2019

Now, in a few years, Panarin will be in the open market again within 12 months. It seems easy for the Rangers to re-sign their lead scorer every season since he arrived in New York, but maybe they shouldn’t be so desperate.

Loading upcoming free agent class

And there is a big reason not to do so. The 2026 free agent class has the opportunity to become the largest (or even the largest) free agent in NHL history. That’s because a potential name could hit the market – generational talent Connor McDavid. The biggest name to arrive at free agent is probably Wayne Gretzky in 1996. Over the past few decades, some famous names have been on the open market, including Zdeno Chara in 2006, John Tavares in 2018, and Panarin in 2019.

But nothing compares to McDavid’s size—not even Gretzky, who chose to sign with the Rangers as a free agent, was 35 years old. McDavid will be only 29 years old if he chooses not to re-sign with the Edmonton Oilers. If he chooses to reach free agent, he has won at least 100 points in eight of his last nine seasons and he has scored at least 100 points in his last nine seasons.

That name alone should force rangers to wait on Panarin extensions and save as much blocking space as possible. But, assuming they aren’t re-signing with the current hockey club: Jack Eichel, Kirill Kaprizov, Alex Ovechkin and Cale Makar, but other interesting names are planned to arrive at free agents in 2026.

Of course, it is important to note that all of these options are unlikely to enter the open market and choose to re-sign with their team. However, if several of these options are still possible (eichel or McDavid in particular), the Wanderer should not sign in to the Panarin extension.

Rangers should still talk about potential discounts

As of now, the Blues program has more than $29 million next July, according to Puckpedia. That number alone would be enough to fit the cap for McDavid or someone else, even if he chose the largest contract, which would be 20% of the estimated $104 million. In this case, the most valued average is $20.8 million.

Of course, McDavid, who already earned $100 million in payday on the Oilers, will likely choose less money and give the next team more flexibility.

But at the same time, the Rangers didn’t wisely cut all Panarin’s communications even if Mcdavid or Eichel remained on the board. Actually, President and General Manager Chris Drury should see if the baker has any appetite for a homeland discount. After all, losing him will leave a big gap in the wings and is a nearly impossible replacement. So, what does a contract look like? In a recent article, Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported that the 33-year-old’s “dessert” was likely in a three- or four-year AAV that sits between $10 and $112 million (“from “there’s nothing good from the Rangers who made Artemi Panarin’s fate,” New York Post7/13/25). This doesn’t seem unreasonable, especially considering that 28-year-old Mitch Marner recently signed a $12 million AAV with the Vegas Golden Knights.

The AAV range will make the Rangers work harder to lean on the salary cap and can take them out of McDavid and even Aichel’s run. Also, remember that newly acquired Scott Morrow and Braden Schneider plan to become restricted free agents by the end of next season, and may also have a pay raise. That’s why Panarin is firm at $10 million AAV asking price or higher, and the Wanderer should temporarily postpone the contract extension.

But if Panarin signs a three-year deal with the AAV ranges from $7 million to $8 million, then the Wanderer should do it. As the cap rises, a contract with a total value of $21 million to $24 million will be Drury’s bargaining. For Panarin, if he was to reach free agent, he would likely leave at least $10 million on the table. Recently, we saw John Tavares signing major homeland discounts for $4.39 million AAV to keep Toronto Maple Leaf. So it wouldn’t be surprising if Panarin was going to do something similar.

As mentioned, rangers have time – they should use it. New York’s appeal attracted Panarin in 2019, who may not want to leave the Big Apple and is willing to sacrifice some money to stay. Additionally, McDavid and Eichel remain unsigned, with the nearly $30 million cap space next year the more attractive it will be for the Rangers. Therefore, Drury should be patient. He doesn’t have to succumb to early asking price and can re-sign Panarin next season and before free agents if needed. However, communication lines should remain open this summer to see if there is any room to keep AAV as low as possible. If the Wanderer will lose Panarin and the consolation prize is McDavid, then that’s it.