Rangers and Artemi Panarin on Totally different Wave Lengths in Phrases of Contract
Vince Mercogliano of The Athletic joined Sirius XM NHL Community Radio with Scott Laughlin and Gord Stellick and was requested in regards to the contract scenario involving Artemi Panarin with the New York Rangers.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Scott Laughlin: Vince Mercogliano speaking Rangers with us right here on the NHL Morning Skate. So that you talked about Panarin and the way a lot he nonetheless drives offense up entrance. It looks like currently individuals are speaking extra about his haircut than they’re a few contract extension. What are you listening to on that, Vince, almost about Panarin? Now, he’s 34. My guess could be that as a result of he’s 34, there could also be a distinction of opinion by way of what the time period goes to appear to be on this contract. Do you see this getting performed sooner or later?
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Vince Mercogliano: Yeah, undoubtedly time period, I believe, goes to be a problem right here, from what I’ve heard. And I truly requested Panarin, myself, truly, to be frank with you, we have been speaking the day that he shaved his head. I sat down with him for a little bit of an interview after apply that day, and that’s when he was in that stoop. And I used to be sort of asking him what was occurring. And unprompted, he introduced up, there’s a whole lot of stuff occurring.
The negativity begins to seep in once I’m not scoring. And he introduced up, it’s a contract 12 months, and it’s arduous for me to sort of block that out of my thoughts. In order that prompted me to then reply by asking, Properly, the place do issues stand with the contract negotiations proper now?
What he instructed me is that it’s mainly fairly quiet. Now, might which have modified within the final couple weeks? It’s doable, however I definitely haven’t heard something on the contrary. And my understanding, so far as the Rangers pondering on this, is that they actually aren’t in any rush to leap into any new cope with Panarin at this level.
If you talked about the age, I believe they very a lot need to see how this season performs out, how productive he’s, however additionally they are taking a look at a scenario that’s fairly distinctive in comparison with the place they’ve been in latest off seasons. The place up to now, within the latest previous, they’ve normally gone into the summer time fairly tight on wage cap house.
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The place this coming summer time, they’re taking a look at over $30 million in obtainable cap house. So I believe that they’re wanting ahead to having that sort of flexibility, and so they don’t need to simply tie up a bunch of that cash this early within the course of. They need to wait to see how the market materializes.
Now, the draw back for them, or the unfavorable factor for them proper now, is that a whole lot of the massive names, the star-level gamers, (Connor) McDavid, (Kirill) Kaprizov, (Jack) Eichel, whoever you need to say that they have been hoping would possibly make it to free company subsequent summer time, a whole lot of these guys are getting locked up proper now, so the free agent market is wanting thinner and thinner, actually, by the week, it appears like not too long ago.
In order that’s not a great factor for the Rangers, as a result of they’re going to have all this cover house. However what are they going to spend it on is the query if beginning the texture, to me extra like (Chris) Drury, goes to need to get artistic in some way, which may imply a commerce. Who is aware of what could possibly be on the market by the point we get to the summer time?
However once more, I believe they need to wait and let issues materialize, work out precisely what may be obtainable to them, and that’s why they don’t need to soar into any extensions with Panarin proper now as a result of they could need to allocate that cash elsewhere. I believe very a lot proper now they need to hold their choices open.
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And whereas it sounds to me like Panarin want to keep, I additionally assume that he’s not of the thoughts proper now to be giving a giant low cost, or definitely not taking fewer years than he want to take. And so I additionally assume that there’s an deadlock so far as that, as a result of if the Rangers do something with him at this early juncture, I believe it’s very a lot going to need to be on their phrases, which suggests most likely not so a few years and a decrease AAV, definitely than what he’s at proper now, at $11.6 million per season.
So I simply really feel like proper now the 2 sides are seeing issues very otherwise, and the Rangers are content material to sort of wait and see how issues play out.
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