The Rangers got a bit more whole Wednesday when Artemi Panarin, sidelined since February 20 returned to practice. Igor Shesterkin, out with a groin injury, remains out with no specific timetable given for his return. Alexandar Georgiev, who struggled in the two starts he made in place of Shesterkin and was replaced by Keith Kinkaid on Tuesday, will start on Thursday.

Say it with us:

PRIVET, BREADMAN. pic.twitter.com/VANV62fn6r

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 10, 2021

Panarin will be out Thursday, but could be back Saturday. His teammates welcomed him with open arms. Some of the comments Rangers fans made to me in his absence were ridiculous. Is he sitting because he is guilty? Should the team suspend him for the season because he isn't back? Should the contract be terminated? We don't know the whole story, but if you believe he is innocent and that the concern was for his family, that transcends hockey and all sports.

Once back, how do you configure the top three lines? Does Alexis Lafreniere, scoreless his last three games after four in a row with points, shift to the third line? Is Panarin reunited with Ryan Strome? Should a LW move to his offside? Will Quinn pair Panarin with Mika Zibanejad?

The second line of Chris Kreider, Strome and Kaapo Kakko should remain together. pavel Buchnevich has been red hot and deserves to stay on the top line. If CK20 is on the second line, that means, Panarin is on the first line. The only question then is who centers that line, Zib or the resurgent Filip Chytil. I don't think Quinn moves Zib down, so look for him with Panarin and Buch with Chytil in between Laf and Julien Gauthier, who, as Vince Mercogliano noted, was a trio that never got much of a chance after working together throughout training camp. Gauthier has shown he deserves more ice time and would get it on this line.

Who is on the fourth line? You know my view of Brett Howden. We may need an act of god to get him out of the lineup, but he can fills a role on the PK. Who then are the other two? Kevin Rooney? Brendan Lemiuex? Colin Blackwell? PDG? My guess is Lemiuex is back on Thursday with Blackwell in the lineup as well as PDG. When Panarin is back, then you could mix-and-match, but could see Rooney and Blackwell, providing more bodies for the PK and options between the dots on draws.

Frank Seravalli gave an update on Anthony DeAngelo: I do think the backlash now has gone way over the top. But, all signs point to him sitting out the year, not playing at any levels, before a buyout.

Seravalli says it may take a team with decimating injuries with legit Stanley Cup aspirations for him to get back playing in the NHL. If not, it sure looks like they'll be headed towards a buyout in the offseason.

— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) March 11, 2021

Formal announcement on NHL's seven-year deal, $2.8 billion with ESPN. This deal is just a slight rise from prior, as seen in the tweet by Andrew Marchand. The bigger money will come with the add on provider (s), once the NHL reaches a deal possibly with FOX or CBS or NBC. for streaming rights, as indicated by Chris Johnston. One more bit of good news, at least we have the intro back, and per the rumors, maybe Gary Thorne. But that doesn't mean all is well, as Gary Bettman said today, "There's major escrow building up before the lack of attendance. The salary cap will be a flat cap or near flat cap for the next four years"

The Walt Disney Company, ESPN and National Hockey League reach groundbreaking long-term agreement. https://t.co/0W7ybok2ai pic.twitter.com/Y33o8Ybm83

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 10, 2021

While that looks like double the $200M AAV that NBC is currently paying, it really isn't.

I'm told NBC is paying $240M for this year, while ESPN already had a pre-existing deal, through its BAM acquisition, for $100M, making the increase more moderate at $60M.

— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) March 10, 2021

The NHL still has a second broadcast deal to negotiate/finalize (which include three Stanley Cup Finals), plus another deal with a streaming partner. So it'll ultimately be a lucrative package when combined with the ~$2.8-billion coming from ESPN.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 10, 2021

https://t.co/GGhhS7zPdI

— Jan Levine (@airjan23) March 11, 2021

Follow @airjan23

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