Rangers News & Rumors: Panarin, Chytil & Kakko

In this latest edition of New York Rangers News & Rumors, star forward Artemi Panarin is currently dealing with a lower-body injury, and an update on his recovery timeline has been provided. In other news, Filip Chytil left yesterday’s (Sept. 26) practice early due to an upper-body injury. Lastly, Kaapo Kakko is heading into a big 2023-24 season. Will this be the season where we see the former top prospect break out in a big way? Let’s discuss all of this and more in today’s (Sept. 27) Rangers News & Rumors column.

Panarin Suffers Lower-Body Injury

Panarin missed yesterday’s practice due to a lower-body injury. The Rangers have since provided an update on the star, noting that he is expected to be out day-to-day. The Rangers will surely be hoping that he recovers quickly from his injury, as he is one of the club’s top offensive weapons. If he were to miss the start of the regular season, it would be a notable disadvantage for the Blueshirts.

Panarin, 31, appeared in 82 games last season for the Rangers, posting 29 goals to go along with 92 points. Overall, it was another excellent regular season for the star winger. However, he cooled off noticeably during the playoffs, recording just two assists and a minus-2 rating in seven games.

We will now need to keep a very close eye on Panarin from here. Although injuries are never a good thing, the one plus side is that his ailment is expected to be a short-term one, at least at the time of this writing.

Chytil Sidelined With Upper-Body Injury

The injury bug seems to be biting the Rangers early, as Chytil is also out. The 2017 first-round pick has an upper-body injury, and like Panarin, he is currently deemed as day-to-day.

Chytil, 24, is a key Rangers forward to watch this season. He is coming off a breakout 2022-23 campaign, setting new career highs in goals (22), assists (23), and points (45) in 74 games. These offensive totals were quite impressive from the third-line center, and many believe that he will have a shot at being the club’s 2C this season because of it. Yet, he now needs to focus on getting healthy before getting back on the ice and making a case for himself.

Chytil joins Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and Brennan Othmann as notable Rangers currently sidelined with injuries. Thankfully, none of their injuries are deemed serious at the time of this writing, but it still is unfortunate with training camp and preseason games here.

Is Kakko the Rangers’ Biggest Breakout Candidate?

In a recent poll on THW’s New York Rangers Substack, we asked subscribers who they think is the most likely Ranger to break out in 2023-24. Notable names like Chytil, Alexis Lafrenière, and K’Andre Miller were among the choices, but after roughly 48 hours, Kakko was the Ranger who received the most votes.

Kakko, 22, just had the best season of his four-year NHL career, posting new career-highs in goals (18), assists (22), and points (40) in 82 games played. It was a major step in the right direction for the 2019 second-overall pick, and now it will be fun to see if he can emerge as the legitimate top-six forward scouts believed he would during his draft year. When looking at how well last season went for him, it is fair to argue that the potential for him to become one is still there.

No matter the case, it is clear that the Rangers have multiple players who can break out this season. There is optimism that players like Kakko, Lafrenière, and Chytil will have career seasons, and it will be a lot of fun to see if that does in fact come to fruition.