3 Rangers that must step up in 2025-26, or risk being vacated from the team
The New York Rangers have to have a bounce-back year following last season’s train wreck. It was a year of disappointment, and there is no one true person or thing to blame for why it went so sour.
With that said, there are three players who have to really step it up in 2025-26, or else it could be their last with this organization. They spoiled legendary broadcaster Sam Rosen’s retirement tour, so the goal should be not to let the celebration of 100 years of Rangers hockey go to waste.The 2025-26 season is the final year of Artemi Panarin’s seven-year deal that he signed when he came over from Columbus. Over that time, he has appeared in 430 games with the Blueshirts, scoring 186 goals and adding 364 assists for 550 points.
It is safe to say that up to this point, he has earned every penny of his $81.5 million contract, but there is still one more year remaining to prove how good of an investment he is.
Last season was one of the worst of his career, with a career-low in plus-minus with minus-9, which was the first time being in the negative. Additionally, he had a 31-point drop-off from the 2023-24 season, which was on par with the rest of this team.
