The New York Rangers have the opportunity this summer to make major changes and really alter their course moving forward after careening off the rails this past season. And while hiring Mike Sullivan as coach is a good start, ESPN Radio host Don Lagreca believes that's not enough.
There's a major transition that needs to take place within the lineup and on the roster.
"The Rangers will be better off when this becomes J.T. Miller's team. Whatever they do, it has to accentuate and be something that works around J.T. Miller," Lagreca told Forever Blueshirts on the RINK RAP podcast Tuesday. "I just think getting away from the Kreider-Zibanejad Rangers and making it the J.T. Miller Rangers is probably the best thing. But how do you go about that?"
Exactly. Does this mean general manager Chris Drury should do whatever it takes to unload Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad this offseason, make a fresh start?
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That's not easy to do with Zibanejad owning a complete no-move clause , one that he referred to on break-up day when asked about his future and if he wished to remain in New York after this past brutal season. And Kreider? He's got a partial no-trade clause , but it's no slam dunk the Rangers will be able to get equal value for him for a variety of reasons.
"You can't move Mika Zibanejad because he doesn't want to move. I don't know what you do about that," Lagreca explained. "I think moving away from Mika Zibanejad would be a good thing, no offense to him, but I think his time is passed (here). So, you're probably stuck.
"Chris Kreider at this point? Are you going to get value if you move him, considering his age (34), the kind of year that he had (30 points), the back's barking now?"
This is all so difficult for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that this Rangers core has revolved around Zibanejad and Kreider probably since the infamous Letter signaling an organizational rebuild in February of 2018. They were focal points to build around during the rebuild and key figures when the Rangers came out of it and went to the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2024.
That's part of the reason why they were largely the faces of the Rangers epic collapse in 2024-25. That's a long run, but Lagreca believes the heart of the core should be centered on Miller, who arrived Jan. 31 in a trade from the Vancouver Canucks.
Flash and dash meet (and be replaced by) relentless grit.
Related: How bold Vincent Trocheck decision could lengthen Rangers lineup
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So, OK, how do the Rangers make this Miller's team if neither Zibanejad nor Kreider is traded, or only Kreider — the longest tenured player currently on the roster — is shipped off this summer?
Lagreca thinks he has the answer, but it's a bigger bombshell and, perhaps, even more difficult to pull off than trying to force Zibanejad out of town.
"What I keep coming back to, and it's a major splash but I think it's something that probably needs to happen, is do they address the possibility of trading Artemi Panarin?," Lagreca asked. "He's got a year left on his contract, he's very attractive to some teams. If Chris Drury and Mike Sullivan want a north-south team, he's not a north-south guy. So, as much as you'd hate to give up a guy that's your leading scorer, is that the move that could now make it more J.T. Miller's team?"
A lot to unpack here, but the theory makes sense. Yes, Panarin is their leading scorer year-in, year-out, one of the League's most gifted players offensively, a 120-point producer in 2023-24. But it doesn't feel likely the Rangers will extend him this summer or re-sign him next offseason, so trading him could bring back a slew of assets, players who better fit the Miller profile.
Panarin has a full no-move clause, but Lagreca simply wondered how he'd react if told the Rangers weren't going to bring him back and wanted to explore a move now. Maybe he'd be amenable. Perhaps not.
"That, to me, is the biggest splash they can make. All the other moves would be tinkering," Lagreca said. "Are they willing to make that kind of splash and can Artemi Panarin get back the kind of package to really reform this team?
"Maybe you can talk him into a trade. If you can't, you can't, but you can't just wave your hands and say it's not going to happen. … I think that's the only piece they can move that's really going to move the needle."
Lagreca didn't consider specifics for such a blockbuster this summer. That's Drury's department, though he did offer that a productive right wing and gritty skill to match Miller would be welcome additions to the Rangers roster.
But it all starts with considering the possibility, speaking with Panarin and going from there.
Listen here to the complete interview with Don Lagreca, and watch Lagreca on the RINK RAP podcast over at the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page.
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