Artemi Panarin ‘Confused’, + 1 Ranger Who isn’t Going Anywhere

The news hit hard at the end of the week: New York Rangers GM Chris Drury announced that he will not be offering their perennial leading scorer Artemi Panarin a new contract, and the team will work with the 34-year-old's agent to find him a new home.

Since then, all the talk has been about which teams might be the most likely destinations for Panarin. But now The Bread Man himself, a pending unrestricted free agent, has opened up on the news that his Rangers days are numbered.

It’s hard to say how I feel. I’m still confused. But the GM decided to go in a different direction. I’m OK with that. I’m a Ranger player right now, so I’ll play every game 100 percent.

As reported by Vincent Z. Mercogliano in The Athletic, Panarin wouldn't go into any further details, such as how the news was broken to him by Drury, or what teams he might be interested in going to.

Panarin holds a full no-movement clause in his seven-year, $81.5 million contract ($11.6M AAV) that expires at the end of the year.

He's once again leading the Rangers in scoring, as he has for each and every one of the seven seasons he's been in New York.

One Rangers player who 'almost surely isn't going anywhere'

As for which Rangers players will be on the move, just about everyone will be considered, but Mercogliano reports that there's one veteran who should still be a Blueshirt after the trade deadline comes and goes in March.

"One player who almost surely isn’t going anywhere (at least not before the deadline) is Zibanejad. The 32-year-old center is one of five players with NMCs who were asked by Drury how they feel about staying through the retool, with a league source indicating that he affirmed his commitment to the Rangers."

Zibanejad, 32, is the longest-serving Ranger, now in his 10th season in Manhattan.

Now with nine straight 20+ goal seasons, he's at 21 goals and 46 points in 48 games, and is once again one of the team's most important players on both sides of the puck.