The Rangers are 12 months away from losing their most productive player and no one seems to be batting an eye over it.

They should.

Artemi Panarin is the greatest free agent signing in franchise history and one of the select greatest big-money free agent signings in NHL history. He ranks fourth in the league in scoring (186-363-550) since he slipped into the Blueshirt in 2019-20 — trailing only Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Nathan MacKinnon — and is fourth in assists and fifth in points per game.

He has led the Rangers in scoring in each of his six seasons on Broadway, recording over 100 points more than runner-up Mika Zibanejad over that span (550-431). He has made magic with Ryan Strome and he has made magic with Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafrenière. He has been on for 364 goals for and 267 against.