Artemi Panarin reveals contract discussions with New York Rangers broke down before Chris Drury's retool letter

The parting between Artemi Panarin and the New York Rangers felt sudden when general manager Chris Drury sent his retool letter to fans on January 16. But the relationship had been crumbling for months before that public declaration made headlines.

Panarin revealed Thursday that contract negotiations broke down long before Drury's letter made the split official. The talks started before the season with discussions about a potential extension, but what the Rangers proposed told the star winger everything he needed to know about how much they valued him.

Artemi Panarin felt New York Rangers made him feel like he wasn’t needed

The disconnect became clear when New York approached Panarin's agent, Paul Theofanous, with parameters for a team-friendly extension. According to reporting from Vincent Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic, the Rangers floated several scenarios using comparable deals as templates.

The proposed frameworks included stretching total value out as the Panthers did with Brad Marchand at six years and $5.25 million per season, and going shorter term with higher annual value like Los Angeles did with Anze Kopitar at two years and $7 million.

On the other hand, they could’ve landed somewhere in the middle, similar to Toronto's four-year, $4.38 million deal with John Tavares. None of those options appealed to Panarin, who was finishing a seven-year deal carrying an $11.64 million cap hit.

The hometown discounts being floated sent a clear message about where he stood in the organization's plans. "We talked about a contract a little bit, but I feel like their offer just said, 'We're not sure if we want you or not,'" Panarin said candidly on Thursday. "That's why I'm not signed."

Negotiations went quiet from there. Panarin told The Athletic in November there was "not much right now" in terms of talks, and as losses piled up, it became clear the Rangers were preparing to move on from their leading scorer of seven straight seasons.

Drury's retool letter sealed the fate everyone already suspected. He met with Panarin the same day to inform him that the team would not make any contract offer and wanted to facilitate a trade. With a full no-movement clause, Panarin held all the leverage to dictate his destination.

He relayed his preference to sign an extension with any acquiring team rather than becoming a rental for a playoff push. "I don't like to switch teams back and forth," Panarin explained. "I already played with three teams in the NHL. I have two kids, a dog, and a wife. It's just too much stuff."

The Rangers traded Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday for prospect Liam Greentree and conditional draft picks. He immediately signed a two-year, $22 million extension with Los Angeles, landing exactly where he wanted, while the Rangers begin their rebuild without the franchise's greatest free agent signing.


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