What do the Rangers do next after trading Panarin?

The biggest domino has fallen before the NHL’s trade deadline on March 6th, as the New York Rangers shipped star winger Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday for forward prospect Liam Greentree and a conditional third-round draft pick. Panarin, who was the most sought-after piece on the trade market, is now the second player dealt from the Rangers’ roster this season, after defenseman Carson Soucy was moved to the New York Islanders.

General manager Chris Drury acknowledged his team was entering a “retool” in a letter to the fans last month, which suggests the Rangers might not be done auctioning off spare parts before the deadline. The question becomes, at what point does a “retool” turn into a full-scale rebuild? Drury was adament that New York will not rebuild in his letter, but if he decides to sell off another major piece or two before March 6th, Drury’s words will mean a lot less than his actions.

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, hosts Irf Gaffar and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed the Rangers’ next steps following the Panarin deal.

Irf Gaffar: For the New York Rangers, I guess, what’s the next step for the Blueshirts here? Is it try and sell guys off? Because at some point, I’ve always maintained the position that you don’t bring a Mike Sullivan in for a rebuild. He’s not that type of head coach. So where do things go from here for them?

Carter Hutton: I think it’s a sell off. I think that’s been proven with Soucy going out and some guys moving in. I think the biggest thing if I’m a New York Rangers fan or management, is what do we have on our shelves? What do we have in house that we can promote and give guys a chance to have an opportunity. If I’m the New York Rangers I’m trying to take a page out of the Boston Bruins‘ playbook at this point. This is a team that’s lost a lot of picks, they’ve been to the Cup, the cupboard seems dry when you think of the Boston Bruins. But they’ve over exceeded this year and I think that is from giving guys a second chance and promoting from within.

I still think, when you look at this Vincent Trocheck conversation, his name has been thrown around a lot, I think if he goes to any contender he can really help them out. I think anything goes now in New York. You have (Igor) Shesterkin locked up for the future, he’s a big difference maker. But this could be a slow grind to try to get back to where they want to be.

You can catch the full discussion and the rest of Thursday’s episode here…