Artemi Panarin has been a star for the New York Rangers and it’s only his first year playing with the team.
Panarin was the free agent every team wanted, but he chose the Rangers. The Hart Trophy is an award given to a player that is considered most valuable to their team. Many feel strongly that Panarin deserves this award for tying together this Rangers team into what they are now.
In Panarin’s first year with the Rangers, before the season was put on pause, Panarin had 32 goals and 63 assists. Panarin was another leader for the team besides Mika Zibanejad. Panarin also led the NHL with 59 points at 5-on-5.
Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche even said that Panarin deserves to win the Hart Trophy.
Looking at Panarin’s play, you can tell that he’s been a real help to this team.
While the Rangers didn’t start off right, the team eventually played more together and were playing well. Having a team player like Panarin who also makes himself seen on the ice, allowed this team to sneak into the playoffs.
Panarin deserves the Hart Trophy simply because of how much he helped this team. Many hockey fans feel Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers deserves the award because he put up 110 points before the season paused. While that is impressive and helpful to the team, Panarin just had more of an impact on the Rangers.
The Rangers were entering a season filled with pressure, coming off a fast rebuild everyone expected them to be amazing. Gaining a player like Panarin helped them turn the season around completely.
Panarin is an incredible scorer and playmaker, you can tell he wants to play with the Rangers.
The Hart Trophy is meant to go to the most valuable player to their team, Panarin deserves this award due to his ability to turn this rebuilding team into a playoff team.
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