The Artemi Panarin contract situation is still looming over the heads of New York Rangers fans.
Training camp begins on Thursday for the Rangers, and Panarin is still without a contract extension.
There’s no indication that a contract extension will be finalized any time soon.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury declined to delve into details when asked about Panarin's contract situation despite praising him as a player.
“He’s a huge piece of our team and organization," Drury said of Panarin. “He does not appear to me to be slowing down. He takes the offseason serious. He looks like he's in great shape and ready to go. As far as the contract stuff, I've also said on record, and as you know, I don't get into negotiations publicly. Any conversations I have with Artemi or his representation will stay that way, just private between me and him.”
The 33-year-old forward recorded a career high of 120 points during the 2024-24 campaign, as he finished fifth in Hart Trophy voting.
While he took a bit of a drop off from a statistical standpoint, tallying 89 points last season, Panarin was still the Rangers’ most productive offensive player.
As Drury said, withstanding Panarin’s age, he hasn’t shown any drastic signs of physical decline.
Panarin thrived under the tutelage of Peter Laviolette, and he’ll now look to sustain that same level of success with new Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan.
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From his time coaching against Panarin, Sullivan knows what the superstar forward is capable of and he’s excited to have him on his side.
“What I can tell you is every time we played the Rangers and had our pre-scout conversations that he was on the film for a fair amount of it,” Sullivan said, praising Panarin. “I mean that with all due respect because of how talented he is and his ability to change a game. He’s a game-breaker in so many ways. There's a number of players across the league that probably fall into that category, but there's not a lot of them and he's one of them.”
Panarin should continue to be the focal point of the Rangers’ offense, but his long-term future in New York remains unclear.