The New York Rangers have officially hit rock bottom.
The Rangers have lost 13 out of their last 17 games and are coming off of an embarrassing 5-0 defeat against the New Jersey Devils.
Players are growing frustrated. The Blueshirts are completely demoralized and have lost any sense of confidence they once had.
For Artemi Panarin, he admitted that this is the worst he can remember in his six seasons with the Rangers.
When Panarin signed a seven-year, $81.5 million contract to come to New York in 2019, it was at a time of so much hope.
The Rangers’ rebuild was right on track and the addition of Panarin was a move that many felt would one day push this team over the top.
Now, the same Rangers core that has been building for so many years, is on the brink of an epic collapse.
Jacob Trouba is gone, Kaapo Kakko is gone and multiple other players have been subjected to trade rumors including Chris Kreider, Ryan Lindgren and even K’Andre Miller to a certain extent.
Panarin is coming off a 120-point season while he currently has recorded 15 goals, 22 assists and 37 points in 32 games.
The 33-year-old is still at the peak of his career, but New York’s championship window is slowly dwindling.
“I can promise everyone on the team wants to win, everyone wants to work hard,” Panarin said. “But sometimes, if you don’t have confidence and aren’t in the right place mentally, everything feels harder.”
By the way things are going, the Rangers may be in store for another retool and who knows how long Panarin will be a part of it for.
Read the full article here