The New York Rangers’ latest move signals that the club is preparing for the inevitable move that could top scorer Artemi Panarin out of Broadway.
A post by notable insider Frank Servalli on Wednesday evening surprised Rangers’ faithful. Servalli reported a “roster management” move in which the Blueshirts would keep Panarin out of the lineup until the Olympic break.
The move makes perfect sense insofar as the Rangers’ push to trade the 34-year-old star. Holding him out of the lineup is a wise move in order to prevent a potential injury leading up to the trade.
Most likely, it’s also a demand on the part of both Panarin’s camp and potential trade suitors. The last thing the Rangers, or any other party want, is for Panarin to go down with a serious injury.
The Rangers will be squaring off against their crosstown rivals, the New York Islanders, on Wednesday night at UBS Arena. As such, the move is nothing more than a preventive measure, but it clearly signals that a trade could be imminent.
As for the specific timeline, that remains to be seen. While there have been rumblings of teams kicking the tires on Panarin, it doesn’t seem like the Rangers have a deal, or even a framework, in place.
It will be interesting to see if sitting Panarin will accelerate any potential deals.
No Clear Frontrunners for Panarin
During the latest edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, insider Elliotte Friedman discussed the Panarin situation. In the episode, Friedman pointed out that there isn’t a true frontrunner to land the Rangers’ star.
That comment seems interesting, considering that numerous teams have been linked to Panarin. The usual suspects include clubs like the Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, and Colorado Avalanche.
That situation, however, does not preclude a team from surprising everyone by making a strong push for Panarin. There is a handful of teams out there with the pieces and the cap space to make something happen.
As Friedman stated, there may be a team out there that no one has really noticed. The best example of that is the Minnesota Wild. The Wild pretty much came out of nowhere to land Quinn Hughes last December.
So, there’s always the chance that a mystery team could up the ante and turn some heads.
Rangers Grant Panarin’s Camp Rights to Talk to Other Clubs
The Rangers have allowed Panarin’s camp to talk to other clubs as part of the run-up to a trade. That situation shouldn’t be surprising, considering how much a potential extension would be important to acquiring clubs.
It’s tough to fathom a team ponying up the price to get Panarin solely as a rental. So, allowing Panarin’s agent to get in touch with other clubs is a savvy move on everyone’s part.
These circumstances resemble the lead-up to the second Mikko Rantanen trade last season. The Carolina Hurricanes allowed Rantanen’s camp to work out an extension as part of the trade. It allowed the Hurricanes to finalize a trade with the Dallas Stars. Meanwhile, the Stars got Rantanen with an extension in tow.
So, it may only be a matter of time before the Rangers finalize a deal and Panarin moves on. Judging from the last couple of days, players held out for roster management reasons typically get moved within a day.
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