Let’s start with this. Neither the New York Rangers nor their star forward Artemi Panarin have said anything of substance publicly about contract talks.
Panarin is due to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, when his current seven-year, $81.5 million contract expires. It should be noted that deal worked out for extremely well for both sides. Panarin takes home a robust $11.643 million annually. And he’s been pretty much worth every penny, leading the Rangers in scoring each of his first six seasons with them.
But they’re are a slew of complicating factors to work through moving forward if Panarin’s going to continue playing for the Rangers past this season.