Kirby Lee-Imagn ImagesThe New York Rangers’ Monday night game against the Los Angeles Kings will be no ordinary matchup.
Artemi Panarin is set to return to Madison Square Garden, as he’ll face off against his former team for the first time since being traded from the Rangers to the Kings on Feb. 5.
From the moment Panarin took a bet and signed with a rebuilding Rangers team in 2019 to the day he was traded nearly seven years later, he was beloved by the fans and his teammates due to the tremendous impact he had on the franchise.
The 34-year-old forward’s return to New York on Monday night will spark emotion from all sides of the aisle.
“As far as is their emotions involved with these games? Of course,” Mike Sullivan said. “A player like Bread, who made an investment like he did in the New York Rangers for the amount of time that he has, that first game back is always an emotional game for a player and his teammates. I'm sure the guys that have played with Bread and built friendships and relationships with him will have emotions attached to it also. I just think that's the human element.”
When Panarin was traded, the overwhelming consensus was that the Rangers would continue to plummet and their offense would be hindered even further, given the loss of the team’s most dynamic offensive talent.
However, the Rangers have surprisingly responded by playing their best hockey of the season.
Coming out of the Olympic break, the Rangers have won six of the last eight games and are currently in the midst of their first four-game winning streak since October 2024.
Whether it fully has to do with Panarin’s absence or not, some players have blossomed into legitimate offensive drivers since Panarin was traded, specifically when it comes to Alexis Lafrenière and Gabe Perreault.
Because Panarin is not there, it has forced certain players to take more initiative in creating plays instead of deferring to a player of Panarin’s caliber, seemingly bringing out the best in them.
“What it does do is it will allow other players opportunities to play a more dominant role,” Sullivan said about the impact of Panarin’s absence. “We’re trying to take the group that we have, we are trying to build a team game, we're trying to be hard to play against. I really like the direction that we've gone. I feel like we've got some consistency to how we're playing the game. I think there's a good feeling because we've had some success as of late in the win-loss column.
“I'm happy for the players because they've been through a lot. They’re competitive guys; they want to win. We’ve certainly been pleased with the progress we’ve made the past three or four weeks, whatever it is, and we’re going to continue to push to build on that.”
Sullivan spoke fondly of Panarin and his experience coaching him ahead of Monday night’s emotional matchup.
In the past, Sullivan has coached some legendary players, including the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.
Even with Sullivan’s resume of coaching superstar talent at the highest level, he still believes that coaching Panarin was truly a unique experience.
Mike“I enjoyed the opportunity to coach a guy like Bread; he’s obviously an elite player,” Sullivan said. “Those guys, they think the game very differently. I think in a lot of ways, they challenge coaches because of how they think the game. I’ve always been a stronger believer that, with respect to coaching star players, it’s important as coaches that you offer them the latitude to play their game. They’re not always going to play the gameplan to the letter of the law so to speak. They’re going to act on their instincts and go off the grid, and that is what separates them. Bread is one of those guys. I really enjoyed coaching him. He’s an elite player; he thinks the game at a high level.”