Artemi Panarin is entering a pivotal contract year with the New York Rangers, and the team’s longtime scoring leader hopes to see his first game action of the preseason Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils. This will help him prepare for the start of his seventh year in New York.
Panarin missed a few days of practice last week due to a lower-body injury but returned to the ice on Friday. In recent days, he has been upgraded from wearing a red non-contact jersey to becoming a full participant in practice.
“I think it’s very important to have a couple of [preseason] games at least, just for timing,” Panarin said after Wednesday’s nearly 90-minute practice session in Tarrytown. “It’s more about timing, it’s not so much about conditioning. It’s just to feel how fast people are moving around you, how the puck’s moving, just kind of to remind yourself of some things, and then the season starts.”
The 33-year-old left winger can become an unrestricted free agent next summer, when the seven-year, $81.5 million contract he signed as a free agent in 2019 expires. That deal carries an average annual value (AAV) of $11.64 million.
Since joining the Rangers, Panarin has led the team in scoring every season, amassing 186 goals and 550 points over 430 regular-season games. However, his numbers have dipped in postseason play, with 12 goals and 23 assists for 35 points in 46 playoff appearances. The Rangers missed the playoffs entirely last season, which led to the firing of head coach Peter Laviolette.
Laviolette was replaced by longtime Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, who did not disclose his lineup plans for Thursday’s game at Madison Square Garden, beyond noting that captain J.T. Miller will be out due to a lower-body injury.
“[Panarin] looks good. He looks strong. Obviously, he’s an incredible player. The things he does with the puck, he’s a unique player in that regard,” Sullivan said after practice. “You see what he does on the power play, for example, when we worked on our power play in practice today. But I think he looks strong, healthy, fit, all of the above. I don’t know whether we’re going to put him in the lineup [Thursday] or not. But we really like the way he’s trending. I think the last couple of days have been quality practice for him.”
On Wednesday, Panarin skated mostly alongside Vincent Trocheck and Will Cuylle. His regular linemate, Alexis Lafrenière, was aligned for a second straight day with Mika Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault in Miller’s absence.
The Rangers will conclude their preseason schedule Saturday afternoon in Boston before opening the 82-game regular season Tuesday at home against the Penguins.
“Like I said before, we have a pretty good group of guys, and then obviously the coaches have had success in the NHL already,” Panarin said, referencing his 37 goals and 52 assists in 80 games last season. “I know they have good experience in the playoffs… so I think only good things for our team this year.”
One of those good things, according to Panarin, would be to suit up for either or both of the remaining preseason contests. However, Sullivan believes that playing in preseason games is not imperative.
“I just think for anybody, in a perfect world, you’d like to have everybody get at least a game. Preferably two would be even better in a perfect world,” Sullivan said. “But as we all know, the world’s not perfect, and so I’m sure, regardless of whether or not he gets one or he doesn’t get one, he’s going to be fine. He’s a talented player, and he’ll adjust on the fly. But ideally, we’d like to get him in some action before we start playing meaningful hockey.”
https://nypost.com/2025/10/01/sports/artemi-panarin-awaiting-rangers-action-with-consequential-season-on-tap/
