With the conclusion of Artemi Panarin’s saga marked by his trade to the Kings on Wednesday, the Rangers approached their last game before the NHL pause for the Winter Olympics. This break comes with a league-wide roster freeze, and the team is aware that once their floundering season resumes, general manager Chris Drury will have significant tasks ahead to revamp the roster for the 2026-27 season and beyond.
Panarin, opting out of becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer, signed a two-year extension worth $22 million with Los Angeles. In exchange, the Rangers received junior forward prospect Liam Greentree and a conditional third-round draft pick, contingent on the postseason performance of Los Angeles.
The Rangers, languishing in last place, had already played their previous three matches without Panarin. He was absent from the lineup during defeats against the Islanders and the Penguins, leading up to Thursday’s pre-Olympic game against the Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden.
“I think the finality of it is finally here,” said Rangers coach Mike Sullivan regarding Panarin’s official exit, following an optional morning skate in Tarrytown. The Rangers went on to lose 2-0 to the Hurricanes. “Sometimes, the uncertainty is harder to handle than the finality. Now everyone can move forward.”
Sullivan expressed his best wishes to the 34-year-old Panarin in a conversation following the trade announcement on Wednesday afternoon.
He noted that he has already discussed the situation with the team, which entered Thursday night on a 3-12-2 slide, dropping them to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
“It’s not [easy] because obviously we’re all in this thing to win,” Sullivan said. “We’re all wired to try to win. It’s a competitive league, it’s a competitive environment, and we’re all competitive and we want to win. So when you don’t have the ability to put one of your very best players in the lineup, it doesn’t help your chances. But I also understand that it’s just the reality of the circumstance, and it’s part of where we’re at right now. It’s my job to coach the guys that I have available each and every night, and that’s what we’re gonna do.”
With the 20-year-old Greentree slated to finish out his current season with OHL Windsor, the Rangers will continue to plug the gaping hole left by Panarin, their leading scorer, from within.
Will Cuylle mostly has skated in his spot the past several games alongside center Vincent Trocheck.
“You know that we’re not going to plug a player in, and he’s going to replace what Artemi does for this team,” Sullivan said. “I think what we’re trying to do is build a team game where we can replace it by committee, so to speak. I think we can do a better job at being harder to play against, giving up less opportunities on the defensive side, which should allow us an opportunity to create some offense off of that. But I don’t know that. We’re not plugging anybody in and saying, ‘Hey, you’re gonna go replace what our Artemi’s brought to this group.’ That would be unfair.”
In the meantime, Greentree — a 6-foot-2 scoring winger and the No. 26 overall pick by the Kings in the 2024 NHL Draft — will be afforded an opportunity to develop within the organization.
“Obviously, I had a conversation with [Drury] about it, and I know our hockey operations department is very excited about this player, and the possibility of him becoming an impact player in the NHL,” Sullivan said. “He’s certainly shown at the level he’s been at that he’s every bit that player. So we’re certainly excited to add him to our group, and we’ll see what happens moving forward. I think at the appropriate time, I will try to familiarize myself with him and his game, for sure.
“Obviously, Chris and I have had a lot of conversations around this and what the game plan is moving forward to try to reshape the organization and be as competitive as we can be in the most expeditious fashion. So this is part of the process. It’s not a new thing that has caught me by surprise. I understand it, and we’re working together to do our very best to try to accomplish what has been articulated to everyone.”
