Mailbag: Slow starts for Sabres, Islanders; chances Rangers re-sign Panarin

NHL.com's weekly Over the Boards mailbag is in full swing this season. Every week, senior writer Dan Rosen sifts through your questions sent to him on X and chooses several to answer.

To participate in future mailbags, send your questions to @drosennhl on X and use #OvertheBoards.

The first week of games is filled with overreactions. Are there any that you feel might have some weight to them? And are there any that are simply that -- an overreaction? -- @WagnerHimself

It is not an overreaction to be concerned about the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders three games into the season. They're both 0-3-0. The Sabres have scored two goals in their three games; losing 4-0 to the New York Rangers, 3-1 to the Boston Bruins and 3-1 to the Colorado Avalanche. The Islanders have allowed 13 goals in their three games; losing 4-3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2 to the Washington Capitals and 5-2 to the Winnipeg Jets.

Matthew Schaefer, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, has been an obvious bright spot for the Islanders with three points (one goal, two assists) and ice time that has increased in each of the three games. The defenseman has played 26:04 and 26:35 the past two games, respectively. But goalie Ilya Sorokin hasn't looked comfortable yet and center Mathew Barzal looks like he's readjusting to NHL game speed after missing 52 games last season, including the last 31. None of their forward lines seem to be clicking. Five teams in the Metropolitan Division have at least two wins; the Islanders have zero. You can't get too far behind in October and expect to climb back into it. They need a win when they play the Edmonton Oilers at UBS Arena on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, SN360).

Things are arguably more concerning in Buffalo. The Sabres are 0-3-0 for the second straight season. They're dealing with debilitating injuries; goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (lower body), forwards Josh Norris (upper body), Zach Benson (upper body) and Jordan Greenway (middle body), and defenseman Michael Kesselring (undisclosed) are out. Beyond that, we're hearing complaints from coaches and players about compete level and incomplete efforts all around, which is always bad news for a team. This isn't about the Sabres history of not making the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011. Forget about that for a moment if you can. This is a repeat of things that went wrong early last season that the Sabres could not recover from. It's not an overreaction to think or worry that the same thing is happening again.

I'm seeing a lot of panic in Hockeytown. Are the concerns for the Red Wings real? -- @mugnoma

It was easy to conclude that there was panic in Detroit after the Red Wings lost 5-1 to the Montreal Canadiens in their season-opener on Thursday.

"We just played the game," coach Todd McLellan said after that loss. "We didn't play to win the game. And we have no chance. The players will say, and they've probably already said to you, 'We can fix this.' When? It's time. Some of them have been doing it for years."

McLellan also said this:

"You can be as tough as you want mentally but if you're doing very disruptive things to your own game, you're going to break down real quick and we saw that time and time again in the game."

But the Red Wings have won consecutive games since, each against the Toronto Maple Leafs, with Cam Talbot in net, and making 38 saves in a 3-2 win on Monday.

However, consistency is a concern. They hated their game against the Canadiens, and it led to some early-season soul searching. They liked their game against the Maple Leafs on Saturday, when they came back from 2-0 down and won 6-3. They didn't think they were as good Monday, but it wasn't so bad either and sometimes you need your goalie to step up and be the best player on the ice, as Talbot was in that game in Toronto.

So there's two ways to analyze this:

1) Detroit has won two in a row against a high-quality opponent and stands 2-1-0 after three games. That's good.

2) The Red Wings haven't liked two of the three games they've played, showing the inconsistencies that were predicted for them and the reason why they could be a playoff bubble team all season.

That's not a reason to panic, but it's understandable since it's been nine years since the Red Wings have made the playoffs.

I know the Islanders wanted James Hagens, but who would win a trade of Eklund/Aitcheson for Hagens? -- @NY _ luvs _ DDUB

Hagens, a forward, was the No. 7 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to the Boston Bruins. The New York Islanders got forward Victor Eklund at No. 16 and defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson went No. 17. If this fictitious trade were to happen right now, the Bruins would win it. They would be giving up one top prospect and getting back two. The team with more top prospects always wins because there's a better chance of having one pop and blossom into an NHL star.

However, Hagens projects to be a better NHL player than Eklund or Aitcheson, or why else would he have been picked nine spots ahead of Eklund and 10 ahead of Aitcheson? So, if you believe that Hagens is the real deal, that he is a future stud in this League, then the Islanders would win the trade on that merit alone. That's not to say Eklund and/or Aitcheson wouldn't be or couldn't be NHL stars, but Hagens has that projection now and there's a thought that one more year at Boston University might be what he needs for his development so he's fully ready to be in the NHL next season. Eklund and Aitcheson might not be quite there yet. I'm not including the obvious factor of Hagens being from Long Island as a part of it. Getting him would be a huge win for their fanbase and community, but that doesn't mean on-ice success.

It's impossible to know now who would win this fictitious trade without a large sample size of results. That won't happen for years. But if you take it on the surface and think right now it has to be the Bruins.

What are the Rangers feelings on Panarin and do you think they'll re-sign him? -- @Kapo640

Artemi Panarin is in the last year of a seven-year, $81.5 million contract ($11.64 million AAV) he signed on July 1, 2019. He can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2026. He has been the Rangers' leading scorer in each of the first six seasons of his contract and the fifth-leading scorer in the NHL since 2019-20 with 552 points (186 goals, 366 assists) in 435 games.

On Sept. 17, Day 1 of training camp, Rangers general manager Chris Drury said the following when he was asked about Panarin:

"I've said many times on record what I think of him as a player. He's a huge piece of our team and our organization and he doesn't appear to me to be slowing down."

Drury would not comment on Panarin's contract situation as he always keeps those private between himself, the player and the agent, but it's clear the Rangers think highly of him. That doesn't mean his future beyond this season will be in New York.

Panarin is not like Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov, Kyle Connor or Jack Eichel, who have all recently re-signed with their current teams. They're all 28. Panarin turns 34 on Oct. 30. But he's still a highly productive player, so he will want one more big payday in his NHL career. The Rangers need to figure out if they want to give that to him at 34 years old. This season will be a major factor in their decision.

If the Rangers struggle, it could signal the need for change, and lead to them potentially trading Panarin before the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline. If they're successful, it could lead to Panarin itching to stay in New York. But this season will also determine what Panarin might be able to get on the open market. With McDavid, Kaprizov, Connor and Eichel all now off the table, Panarin's stock as a pending UFA is rising. A strong season could help him walk into free agency as the No. 1 option for teams on July 1 looking for money the Rangers aren't ready to give him.

My hunch, and that's only what it is as nobody is offering inside information on this topic, is that Panarin will not re-sign during the season.