The New York Rangers’ second line was arguably the best in the NHL this past season. Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Alexis Lafreniere combined to form one of the most lethal attacking units in the league.
Splitting that trio up sounds like an initially ludicrous proposition. However, the team has done little to address their weakness on the first-line right wing, which could cause them to get creative and move their lines around. Perhaps combining Panarin with Mika Zibanejad on the first line could be the way to fill that hole and boost the production of the leading line.
Could Artemi Panarin be the key to boosting Mika Zibanejad’s production?
Zibanejad caught criticism during the 2024 NHL postseason for being somewhat of a disappearing act during the team’s biggest moments. Throughout the season, Zibanejad was still a high-quality player, however, his production did take a bit of a dip.
The 31-year-old Sweden native totaled an impressive 72 points this season behind 26 goals and 46 assists. However, that was a pretty steep drop-off in production from the 91 points (39 goals and 52 assists) that he tallied the season prior.
Meanwhile, Panarin had a career year on the second line, exploding for 120 points (49 goals and 71 assists) on the season. He combined with Trocheck and Lafreniere to lead a line that was the engine behind the Blueshirts’ success.
Panarin is one of the best playmakers in the NHL. He can set up teammates with scoring opportunities like few others. And Zibanejad is an elite finisher with a one-time shot that not many goalies can get in front of. Combining those two could elevate Zibanejad’s point production and lead to a major bounce-back campaign from the 31-year-old center.
Perhaps Zibanejad could be moved down to the second line to combine with Panarin. This would move Trocheck up onto the first line to play alongside Chris Kreider and presumably Reilly Smith on his wings. Or the Rangers could move Panarin up to the first line and put Kreider down on the second.
Panarin could be the key to preventing a regression from Zibanejad. However, uniting Panarin and Zibanejad would mean breaking up the best line in hockey — a move that could burn the Blueshirts in the long run.
The Rangers should not break up their second-line
Rather than breaking up the second line, the Rangers should be doing everything in their power to keep that combination together. Lafreniere will be due for an extension soon and the Rangers should be quick to get a deal done and keep him paired up with Trocheck and Panarin.
The Rangers’ second line has the perfect combination of skill sets that complement each other and form together to create an exceptional point-producing line. While allowing Panarin and Zibanejad to get more ice time together could be an exciting proposition, the Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreniere line is just too good to break up.
