With a string of high-profile contract extensions over the past few weeks, there is now a clear-cut choice for the top free agent of 2026: Artemi Panarin, who has yet to extend his deal with the New York Rangers and is poised to become a UFA on July 1. Now, it's up to the Blueshirts to give him a reason to remain in New York instead of fetching his last big payday elsewhere next summer.
Especially seeing as the Blueshirts have gotten off to a historically slow start, in particular going winless in three games at Madison Square Garden, it hasn't been a convincing start to what could be Panarin's final season in the Big Apple.
With the lackluster performance thus far, the rumor mill is already churning regarding the future of Panarin. NHL insider Frank Seravalli acknowledged that if the Rangers fail to make the playoffs, that could be the benchmark for whether Panarin decides to stay in New York or not -- and whether the Rangers want to hang onto him.
"I think they’re comfortable waiting to see how this season goes, if they either fall short of making the playoffs or if they’re a team that is not very competitive. I think they’re going to let him walk. "NHL insider Frank Seravalli, on Panarin
Panarin is one of the last pieces remaining of the Rangers core that was once made up by the likes of Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba, and Ryan Lindgren, who have all since departed. That group won the President's Trophy together as the regular season champions back in 2023-24 before being eliminated in the Eastern Conference Final. Since then, though, the roster has been dismantled by GM Chris Drury piece by piece with just 11 remaining members of that team in today's lineup.
It would be a major blow, to say the least, for the team to lose its biggest offensive weapon. Ever since joining the Rangers for the 2019-20 season, the 33-year-old forward has led the team in scoring each of those six years. In that time, he is the fifth-highest scoring player in the league with 552 points in 435 games played, behind only Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Nathan MacKinnon, and David Pastrnak.
Needless to say, Panarin is the driving force of the Rangers' offense but he has yet to make it past a Conference Final in his career. By the time July 1, 2026 rolls around, Panarin will be 34 years old and at this point in his career is likely focused on the big picture of winning his first-ever Stanley Cup championship.
But the Rangers would be remiss to let him walk in free agency, as he could still be an extremely valuable trade piece. Does that mean Panarin is one of the most sought-after players on the trading block? There's a very good chance that, if the Trade Deadline rolls around and the Rangers are still underperforming, Drury could be fielding a good number of offers for the Russian forward. But if he makes it to free agency, Panarin is poised to collect a good amount of money in the near future.
What kind of contract could Artemi Panarin sign in free agency?
Whether Panarin chooses to re-sign with the Rangers or test the waters as a free agent, he is in the market for one last major paycheck. It would more likely than not be a mid-length deal of around four years, which would take him through to his age 38 season.
AFP Analytics, a sports consulting firm that specializes in player valuation, projects that Panarin could receive $10.2 million per season on a four-year deal. That's a slight dip from his current AAV of $11.64 million per season, but Panarin is certainly still worthy of getting an eight-digit annual salary.
It's easy to forget Panarin is just two seasons removed from a campaign in which he tallied a whopping 120 points in 82 games, and followed that up with 87 points in 80 games this past year. He has produced at over a point-per-game pace in eight of his 10 NHL seasons, with five 30-goal outings in that span.
With the recent contracts awarded to Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov and Jack Eichel, Panarin is in a slightly different boat being a few years older than each of those guys. But he will still garner a great deal of interest on the open market, should he make it that far, and should Drury decide that the Panarin era should come to an end in favor of a full-blown rebuild.