Rangers ready to 'move on' following Panarin trade to Kings

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Artemi Panarin's trade to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday didn't come as a shock to anyone in the New York Rangers organization.

They began preparing to move into life after Panarin on Jan. 16, when general manager Chris Drury released a letter to the fanbase announcing a roster retool was coming and word spread that he also told the 34-year-old forward the Rangers would not be re-signing him.

The Rangers' preparation escalated on Jan. 28, when Panarin was first scratched for roster management purposes. He didn't play in the three games, all losses, before getting traded to the Kings and signing a two-year, $22 million contract ($11 million average annual value).

But for the Rangers, with prospect Liam Greentree and two conditional draft picks coming back to them, the trade did bring finality to the Panarin saga and an official end of an era in New York that everyone already knew was coming.

"Sometimes just the anxiety or just the uncertainty is more difficult to deal with than the finality of it," Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday before the team played the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, MSG). "Everybody can move on."

Greentree is a top prospect, the No. 26 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, and is in his fourth season with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League. The 20-year-old forward is expected to turn pro after this season and attend the Rangers' prospect development camp in late June.

That does nothing for the Rangers now, which, like the trade itself, also should not come as a shock to Sullivan and the players.

With little leverage because of Panarin's no-movement clause allowing him to dictate where he would go, it was unlikely the Rangers would get a return that could or would tangibly benefit them this season, and there was zero chance it would be better than what Panarin had been doing for them.

He was New York's leading scorer every season since joining the team on a seven-year, $81.5 million contract on July 1, 2019. He led the team with 57 points (19 goals, 38 assists) in 52 games this season, and is ninth in Rangers history with 607 points (205 goals, 402 assists).

"Chris and I have had a lot of conversations around this and what the gameplan is moving forward to try to reshape the organization to be as competitive as it can be in the most expeditious fashion, and this is part of the process," Sullivan said. "It's not anything that has caught me by surprise. I understand it and we're going to work together to do our very best to try to accomplish what has been articulated to everyone."

What has caught Sullivan by surprise is the fact that the Rangers are in this situation this season.

Sullivan said he knew when he took the job this past summer that many players in New York's core group were in their early-to-mid 30s, including Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck, who are all 32, and, of course, the 34-year-old Panarin.

But he thought that meant there was urgency to win now.

Entering Thursday, the Rangers (22-28-6) are last in the Eastern Conference. They trail the Islanders by 17 points for third place in the Metropolitan Division, and are 19 behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Trading Panarin and, before him, defenseman Carson Soucy to the New York Islanders, as part of a roster retool was not part of the plan until their struggles to win, especially at home, where they're 6-14-4, became impossible to ignore and explain.

"Did I anticipate it?" Sullivan said. "Did I anticipate us being here this year? No."

It has led to some self-reflection even if it's clear that no one in the organization, at least not publicly, is blaming Sullivan for the team's struggles in his first season on the job.

"Well, given the circumstance that we're in I think we all have to own it, and I think it starts with me," Sullivan said. "I've got to do a better job at coaching these guys and putting these guys in position to be successful. We're not in the position that we had hoped. We all have to take responsibility for that. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't look at myself and say, 'How can I do a better job in coaching this group to try to get more favorable results?'"

Answering that question certainly hasn't been easy of late.

Scratching Panarin was hard for Sullivan to swallow even though he knew it was in the best interest of the Rangers. And he knows the Rangers can't replace Panarin's production and impact right away.

"We're not plugging anybody in and saying, 'Hey, you're going to go replace what Artemi has brought to this group,'" Sullivan said. "That would be unfair."

It's likely part of the reason why he said he does not feel the need to address the situation with the team again now that the trade has brought finality to the situation.

"I already have addressed this circumstance with the team," Sullivan said. "I don't know that another conversation is necessary."

There's really no need. Panarin is a King. The Rangers are retooling, and that's final.