Artemi Panarin has been absolutely lights out in his first four years with the Blueshirts. Can he finally break the 100-point plateau in the 2023-24 season?
Artemi Panarin has essentially been as productive in the regular season as anyone else in the NHL since the 2019-2020 campaign. Over the past four seasons, he has potted home 100 goals, and 241 assists for a total of 341 points in 268 games.
With that being said, this coming season could be the toughest one of Panarin's career as a Ranger. He has been facing a little bit of criticism for his lackluster playoff performance last year, and now with a new coaching staff coming in, it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to everything.
Panarin is an unbelievably gifted hockey player and has portrayed a ton of confidence during the regular season throughout his career. With that said, he publicly told the media after the postseason last year that he lost a bit of his confidence in the series against the Devils.
It isn't clear who Panarin will be on a line with this season. We could see him with Vincent Trocheck and Blake Wheeler to start the season or possibly Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafreniere, depending on if Lafreniere moves to the right side. His linemates will certainly play a major role in his point production because as we all know, he needs a finisher.
I had a conversation with my friend Nick Alberga, the Co-host of the NHL Fantasy On Ice podcast about his expectations for Panarin this season and he told me "I fully expect Panarin to flirt with the 100 point plateau once again in 23/24. When he's on, there are very few players in the league as dynamic with the puck as him. Furthermore, he has a lot to prove following a dreadful postseason appearance last spring."
Alberga also added that he thinks Panarin will record 30 goals and 65 assists.
I'm confident that the Rangers' biggest star will get his confidence back this season, but I am also eager to see how Peter Laviolette coaches him. When he was in Columbus playing under John Tortorella, who has the same type of fiery personality as Laviolette, Panarin didn't have as much freedom to be creative as he did in his time playing for David Quinn and Gerard Gallant. In 2017-18, Panarin recorded 82 points (27 goals, 55 assists) and in 2018-19 he finished with 87 points (28 goals, 59 assists).
Since the '19-20 season, only three players in the entire NHL have recorded more points than Panarin (341) and those players are Connor McDavid (478), Leon Draisaitl (432), and Nathan MacKinnon (357).
I think it's very possible for Panarin to finally hit the century mark, but I think Laviolette will make sure he's tightening up his game throughout the regular season in preparation for a postseason run.
My prediction for Panarin is 88 points (28 goals, 60 assists).
