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NHL free agency 2019: New York Rangers sign Artemi Panarin

By Dave Stevenson

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 27: Artemi Panarin #9 of the Columbus Blue Jackets reacts after scoring in the second period in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Boston Bruins during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on April 27, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 27: Artemi Panarin #9 of the Columbus Blue Jackets reacts after scoring in the second period in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Boston Bruins during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on April 27, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /
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The inevitable has happened. Artemi Panarin has signed a huge deal with the New York Rangers in NHL free agency.

Yesterday, it looked like the New York Islanders were the favorites to sign Artemi Panarin in NHL free agency. However, the past few hours have changed everything. According to Darren Dreger, the New York Rangers will land the Bread Man.

There are no financial terms yet, but I’d imagine it’s for seven years. The cap hit is most likely in the eight-figure range, potentially as high as $12 million. It does, however, sound like Panarin took slightly less to accommodate his new team, as Larry Brooks is reporting it’s for around $11.6 million a year. Elliotte Friedman has it at $81.5 million over seven years.

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For the Rangers, this is very significant. It pretty much signifies the end of their rebuild. Panarin gives them an elite player who is still quite young (just 27 years old) and they can build around him. He’s arguably the most prominent forward they’ve had since Jaromir Jagr.

The Rangers will have to do some work cutting salary cap space to fit Panari in, as well as Jacob Trouba, but it’s worth it. He’s an elite talent. Sure, the Rangers probably overpaid him. But you know what? If you overpay a star, that’s fine. Overpay them. Take care of everything else later.

It’s been a heck of an offseason for the Rangers. They got Kaapo Kakko at the NHL draft, who should be another foundational piece for them. Trouba is a nice get for them on the blue line too. He’ll be expensive to extend, but he’ll be worth it.

The Rangers now have a team that should be able to contend for a playoff spot, even in a tough Metropolitan Division. You know the Capitals and Penguins will be up there until they prove otherwise. With decent goaltending, the Flyers could cause some noise. Don’t count out the Islanders or Hurricanes either.

With Panarin, the Rangers have a star. They are incredibly difficult to find, mostly because they are so rarely available. Especially in free agency. The Rangers knew this and jumped on it. Of course, it helped that Panarin was willing to take a little bit of a discount. But for some players, playing in a huge market is a nice selling point. It clearly was for Panarin.

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The Rangers still have work to do. This likely means they’re going to trade Chris Kreider at some point. At the very least, it’s hard to see the Rangers having enough cap space to keep him around long-term. That’s heartbreaking, as Kreider is a warrior who has given New York his heart and soul. But that’s the price of doing business.

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