In the NHL, blockbuster trades are nothing new-but every once in a while, one comes along that hits differently. That’s exactly where the New York Rangers find themselves right now, navigating a franchise-altering decision involving Artemi Panarin, one of the most electrifying offensive talents in team history.
Panarin, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, has likely played his last game in a Rangers sweater. While the deal isn’t done just yet, the writing’s on the wall: the Rangers are resetting the roster, reloading the pipeline, and moving on from a player who’s been central to their offensive identity since he arrived.
This isn’t your typical trade deadline shuffle. This is a team parting ways with a bona fide star-one who still has plenty left in the tank.
But Panarin holds a full no-movement clause, meaning he’s got the wheel when it comes to choosing his next destination. That level of control gives him time to weigh his options and avoid the kind of blindsiding that’s all too common in pro sports.
Just ask Derek Stepan.
Back in 2017, Stepan was a key figure in the Rangers’ core-a homegrown center who never missed the playoffs during his seven seasons in New York. But when then-GM Jeff Gorton called him on June 23 of that year, it wasn’t to check in on his summer plans. It was to tell him he’d been traded to the Arizona Coyotes.
“I got the call from ‘Gorts’ and as soon as I saw it, I was kind of like, ‘He’s never called me before,’” Stepan recalled on the RINK RAP podcast. “It was kind of a sick feeling. There’s no way this is a good call.”
Unlike Panarin, Stepan didn’t get the luxury of a heads-up. Sure, there were rumors swirling, but he didn’t think they’d actually move him-not after everything he’d helped the team accomplish.
“I had an inkling, I knew there was a probability,” he said. “But I was like, ‘Man, there’s no way,’ in my own head.”
Stepan’s trade-along with goalie Antti Raanta-to Arizona in exchange for defenseman Tony DeAngelo and a first-round pick (which became Lias Andersson) was one of the early signs of what would become a full-scale rebuild in 2018. Looking back, Stepan sees now that he may have been the first domino to fall.
“The group we had when I was there was pretty much gone a few years later after I left,” he said. “Maybe I was one of the first dominoes.”
The parallels between Stepan’s exit and Panarin’s looming departure are hard to ignore. Both came on the heels of organizational shifts following periods of sustained success.
Both involved popular players who had become part of the team’s fabric. But where Stepan was blindsided, Panarin has the power to shape his next chapter-thanks to that no-move clause.
And make no mistake: Stepan wanted to stay.
“No disrespect to the other organizations that I played for, but, hell no, I wanted to stay in New York,” he said.
Stepan’s résumé in blue speaks for itself. He played 97 playoff games with the Rangers-fourth-most in franchise history-and racked up 49 postseason points, good for ninth all-time.
His overtime winner in Game 7 against the Capitals in 2015? That moment is etched into Rangers lore.
After the trade, Stepan played out the final four years of the $6.5 million AAV contract he signed with the Rangers in 2015, suiting up for the Coyotes, Senators, and Hurricanes before retiring after the 2022-23 season. He now works in player development for the Minnesota Wild.
In total, he logged 890 regular-season games and 515 points (182 goals, 333 assists) as a steady, two-way center. Not a superstar like Panarin, but a player who left his mark on the franchise-and one who knows exactly what it feels like to have your heart ripped out by a phone call.
For Panarin, the end in New York looks different. There’s time to process, to plan, to choose.
But the emotional weight? That’s likely the same.
Because no matter how it's handled, moving on from a place where you’ve built something special is never easy.
And for the Rangers, this isn’t just another transaction. It’s a turning point.