Latest On Artemi Panarin, Rangers Retool

Mirroring a similar action they took almost eight years ago, the New York Rangers released a public statement — a letter — to fans and the media announcing the club would chart a new direction for its competitive future, embracing a “retool” of its roster as the best path back to legitimate Stanley Cup contention.

While no transactions have yet been made to kick off this “retool,” (outside of a brief recall of defenseman Connor Mackey) it’s likely that we’ll see several made as we get closer to the NHL’s trade deadline on March 6.

In the aftermath of the Rangers’ letter, two players have emerged as the most likely candidates to be traded by the team before the deadline: pending UFAs Artemi Panarin and Carson Soucy.

Soucy’s situation is more straightforward. He’s an established defensive defenseman with over 400 games of NHL experience. The Rangers should have no issue fielding offers for Soucy, even if they have to navigate a $3.25MM AAV contract that contains a 12-team no-trade list. The Athletic’s Peter Baugh wrote Friday that the Rangers “should be able to fetch at least a mid-round pick” in any Soucy deal.

Panarin’s situation is significantly more complicated. First and foremost, he has a full no-move clause, meaning he’ll need to sign off on any deal before he can be traded.

Panarin was asked about the Rangers’ new direction after the team’s victory over the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday, and he said “I’m still confused, but the GM decided to go in a different direction. I’m OK with that.” Panarin was asked more specifically about his no-move clause, but he declined to address that specific element of the situation.

The Rangers have made it clear to Panarin, per multiple reports, that he will not be offered a contract extension with the club. So, as long as he is willing to waive his no-move clause to go somewhere, he’s a near-certainty to be moved at some point before the deadline.

Parsing together where he might actually be dealt is the more difficult part of the equation, largely because it’s so dependent on Panarin’s preferences. For example, he’d be within his rights to only accept a trade to a single destination, if he finds he has his heart set on playing for one specific team. There is some precedent for such a scenario, such as when Taylor Hall used his contractual rights in 2021 to steer the Buffalo Sabres into trading him to the Boston Bruins.

There’s been no indication, at this point, that Panarin is going to take up that approach, and it could be equally likely that he provides the Rangers with a curated list of teams he’d accept being dealt to. There’s even a possibility — however remote —  that Panarin declines to waive his no-move clause at all.

What the Rangers might receive in return appears, in many ways, dependent on Panarin’s decisions in this process. If he allows for a wide range of potential destinations, the Rangers could create sufficient leverage in trade talks to generate a significant return. If Panarin only accepts a deal to one team, New York would naturally have far less leverage in trade talks, and the return could subsequently be lighter than anticipated.

Looking back to the Hall example, the Sabres’ return for their star winger, a recent Hart Trophy winner, was widely considered “underwhelming” at the time. In exchange for Hall, the Sabres were only able to net a second-round pick and Anders Bjork, in large part due to being forced into exclusive negotiations with the Bruins.

While there’s been no indication that Panarin has a specific destination in mind the way Hall did, the precedent is worth looking back at, as it illustrates just how much control Panarin has over the process.

New York recently communicated to Panarin, their star forward of the 2020’s, that he would not be offered a contract extension. As a result, he may have a limited appetite to assist the Rangers and provide them with a wide range of teams he’d accept a trade to.

Beyond Panarin, the Rangers do have a few other trade candidates to consider, though the key ones are not pending UFAs like Panarin and Soucy.

The Athletic’s Vince Z. Mercogliano wrote yesterday that center Vincent Trocheck is “widely considered” the Rangers’ most valuable trade asset, and the 32-year-old could be the top pivot available in an extremely limited in-season trade market at the position. He could be of immense interest to center-needy contending teams such as the Minnesota Wild.

In addition to Trocheck, Mercogliano also named defenseman Braden Schneider, who is a pending RFA, as a key trade candidate. Since New York has right-shot blueliners Adam Fox and Will Borgen each signed to long-term deals, they could deal from a position of strength with Schneider. Trading the 2020 first-rounder would give the Rangers’ retool a significant boost, as he’s likely to command a strong return as a coveted young, sizeable right-shot defenseman.

But while the Rangers could conceivably wait until the offseason to deal Trocheck or Schneider, they don’t have the privilege of that kind of timeline with Panarin or Soucy. As a result, the Rangers’ retool could begin in earnest sooner rather than later.

Photos courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images