Rangers’ Artemi Panarin conundrum is deeper than money

There is no debate whether Artemi Panarin’s addition would make the Rangers a better and more entertaining team this coming season, and at least for a handful of years after that. He would. The 27-year-old winger is an elite talent whose complementary game tends to elevate his teammates.

A clever dispatcher every bit as much as a sniper, Panarin and Mika Zibanejad could be expected to create some beautiful music together on Broadway and the first line — perhaps with Pavel Buchnevich on the right side — would become a legit shift-in and shift-out threat.

But the discussion is not about the talent. It is about the cap value of that talent. Specifically, management, largely in the person of president John Davidson, must decide whether to extend Panarin an offer that would at least match, if not exceed, the huge dollars Lou Lamoriello’s Islanders apparently are prepared to toss his way or the post-tax income he would reap in Florida.

This would likely mean an offer in the $12 million-per-year neighborhood for seven years, which would make the appropriately nicknamed “Bread Man” the highest paid winger in the NHL — surpassing Patrick Kane’s $10.5 million per (cap hit) in Chicago. A number over the $11.64 million per (cap hit) pulled in by Auston Matthews would make Panarin the second-highest paid player in the league, behind only Connor McDavid’s $12.5 million per (cap hit) in Edmonton.

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Click Here: highlanders rugby gear worldDo the Rangers and Davidson believe signing Panarin would alter the trajectory of the rebuild and put the team in position to legitimately contend for a spot in the playoffs this year? Does management believe his presence would create an environment on the ice that would benefit kids such as Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov and Lias Andersson? If so, at what cost?

Is he that much of a difference-maker? And would it make a difference in the Rangers’ approach if the Islanders are their main competitors? Would it be good business for Davidson to move off his price point to keep Panarin from signing with a team that does its business few miles away?

Other than Panarin, there is no one in the deep end of the unrestricted pool worth diving in for. And with the Blueshirts apparently committed to keeping contracts to a max two years for support players, the market is not going to be overflowing with candidates.

If David Quinn is serious about building a fourth line with an identity, which is what the coach vowed toward the end of last season, then Brian Boyle is a logical candidate. What would that do to Lias Andersson? Well, if the Swede is still getting fourth-line minutes this year, something is amiss. Boston’s 27-year-old Noel Acciari is an interesting candidate to fill a fourth-line grinder’s role. So is Carolina’s 27-year-old winger Greg McKegg, an annoying presence in the playoffs.

And as the Blueshirts seek to bulk up in Hartford, Mark Letestu, Andrew Poturalski, Kerby Rychel and Tomas Jurco might be in their sights. But that is three-star dash stuff.

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Panarin is the headline act. He will be the headline whether he comes to New York, N.Y., or Uniondale/Brooklyn, N.Y. It is entirely possible Panarin had reached his decision by Sunday even though NHL rules allegedly prohibit any negotiating before noon Monday.

The Blueshirts picked up an extra $600,000 in space — not unimportant — when the Canucks bought out Ryan Spooner, though that maneuver will add $300,000 of dead space to the 2020-21 ledger. Thus, the Rangers enter Monday with approximately $18.44 million in space with a roster that includes last year’s varsity plus Kakko, Kravtsov and Adam Fox but with Brendan Smith with the AHL Wolf Pack.

That does not account for the contracts pending for restricted free agents Jacob Trouba, Tony DeAngelo, Buchnevich and Brendan Lemieux. That quartet will likely account for somewhere around $15 million.

If the Rangers sign Panarin, they will be better but will have to do a fair amount of chopping and pruning and that would include trading Chris Kreider. If they do not sign Panarin, they will still do some pruning and they very well might still trade Kreider. But the Blueshirts should then have a fair amount of cap space in the bank to use when the next big-timer hits the trade market.

The summer season only starts on Monday.

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