A very quiet day in Rangers land and NHL as a whole. No update as to the final hub cities, though strong speculation based on a few tweets during the day that Vegas could be the one and only hub city. We touched on this early in the Hockey Buzz podcast today, as I still feel having one hub city in the East and one in the West makes the most sense. The one piece of Rangers news was not even true news but an endorsement for Artemi Panarin for the Hart Trophy but one of the main - but a biased - competitor.
Rangers forward Artemi Panarin deserves to win the Hart Trophy as NHL most valuable player, Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon told TSN 1050 in Toronto. https://t.co/ijT0wE7H4u
— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) June 10, 2020
Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers deserves to win the Hart Trophy as NHL most valuable player, according to Nathan MacKinnon, but the Colorado Avalanche center admitted he might be biased.MacKinnon told TSN 1050 in Toronto on Tuesday that he grew close to Panarin while trying to recruit him to play for the Avalanche last offseason before the left wing signed a seven-year, $81.5 million contract ($11.6 million average annual value) with the Rangers as an unrestricted free agent.
"If I had to pick a guy I'd probably go with Panarin," MacKinnon said. "I think he dominated … I think [Edmonton Oilers forward Leon] Draisaitl was unreal. I mean, what a season. I think when [Oilers forward] Connor [McDavid] got hurt, he stepped up. But I think the Rangers had a lot of injuries themselves and it seemed like Panarin really elevated his linemates' game. I think he led the League in 5-on-5 points. … I love watching him play."
MacKinnon said he and the Avalanche made a strong push to land Panarin as a free agent.
"I was calling him like every day," MacKinnon said. "… I told him he [wouldn't] always have to be the man every night, you know, I'll take over some nights. I'm like, 'You can have my spot on the power play, I don't care, I'll go somewhere else, it's all good.' So yeah, I was trying everything."
Recognition from a peer, especially a player who likely will be a finalist for the same award, is gratifying and there is no higher form of praise than it coming from a competitor. To read and hear what how highly MacKinnon regards Panarin, doubly so. Given the hardcourt press he put on Panarin, we are very fortunate he signed in New York.
One interesting aspect that came up on the buzzcast today and one for which I would like your view is should the voting be held before the play-in-round? Would your view of Panarin, biased as it may be as Rangers fans, change if the Rangers beat Carolina to go to the round of 16 or if they lose and fail to make the playoffs? Should either scenario, especially since a play-in round, factor in his case to be a finalist or earn the award?
My view is that the three or five games regardless of outcome should not impact Panarin's or anyone else's candidacy. If the season ran its normal course, then the playoffs should be a factor, though, many would argue no. This year, due to the shortened schedule and aberration with the extra teams, to count these three or five games seems like overkill.
What say you?
This #SocialSunday, we are celebrating the anniversary of the @NYRangers 1994 #StanleyCup win with 3 of their best playoffs games.
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) June 10, 2020
Choose the first game you would like us to air!
Which three games would you choose and which one airs first? I believe the question is for beyond just 1994, so all playoffs count. But feel free to provide top-three overall and just three from 1994.
For me, 1994: Matteau, Matteau, Matteau. Game 7 vs, Vancouver. Guarantee game. Non-1994, recent vintage: Gretzky hat trick versus Panthers. Stepan in OT vs, Washington. Game 6 vs. Montreal to advance to Cup Finals. If going before 1980, Game 6 vs. the Islanders to advance to SCF.