Artemi Panarin’s final season with the New York Rangers has come and gone. As the Rangers continued to fall in the standings, it was clear Panarin was going to be traded. In the end, he was sent to the LA Kings for a return not matching the star power sent to LA, a fitting end to his tenure in New York. Panarin will have a tainted legacy with the Rangers, remembered as the best free agent signing in organization history, but also remembered for off ice allegations of sexual assault and his rumored part in a team mutiny against GM Chris Drury.
Legacy is one thing. Objectively reviewing his on-ice performance in 2025-2026 is another. It’s hard to argue that Artemi Panarin again delivered to his contractual value, putting up 19 goals and 38 assists in 52 games before being scratched and traded to the Kings. Despite playing just 52 games with the Rangers, he was still 4th in the team in goals, 3rd in assists, 3rd in points, 3rd in powerplay assists, and 4th in powerplay points.
It’s easy to point the finger at the Rangers and say the team was hot garbage (they were), but you can’t ignore the totals. The Rangers ran through Artemi Panarin, and he delivered on the ice.
Folks like to say Panarin coasted through his final season and was a passenger on a sinking ship. His scoring stats and metrics say otherwise, and while every single NHL player has bad shifts or “coasting” shifts, Artemi Panarin’s production speaks for itself. He wasn’t perfect, but he filled his role very well and was a play driving force that could take over a game when needed.
One thing to point out, the vibes certainly changed for the better when he left. That shouldn’t be ignored. Alexis Lafreniere appeared to be “released” once Panarin was moved. His trade cleared space for Gabe Perreault as well. Vibes could be on Panarin, given his off ice issues, but production increases from Lafreniere and Perreault shouldn’t be on Panarin. His job was to score, and now that job has passed to others.
The Rangers were driven Artemi Panarin, and he delivered on the ice. There’s not much else to it, at least when it comes to on ice play. The Blueshirts will have to find where his 30+ goals and 50+ assists are going to come from going forward, and that’s no easy task.