After Signing Artemi Panarin, Rangers’ Stanley Cup Odds Listed at +2500

• The New York Rangers signed Artemi Panarin to a seven-year, $81.5 million contract
• Panarin was arguably the top free agent on the market
• The Rangers missed the playoffs by 20 points last season

The New York Rangers made a big splash on Monday when they signed Artemi Panarin to a seven-year, $81.5 million contract. Their average Stanley Cup odds improved quite a bit as they went from +6600 down to +2500, although they are still +6600 at some betting sites.

Are they worth a bet now that they’ve improved their young, emerging roster or are they still too long of a long shot at this stage?

2020 Stanley Cup Odds

Odds as of July 1.

Rangers Sign Panarin

While many expected Panarin to end up with the Florida Panthers, the Rangers swooped in and landed a player who was arguably the top free agent on the market. The 27-year-old had a career-high 87 points last season and has now had at least 77 points in each of his four campaigns. He’ll now be the highest-paid winger in the league.

? @9Artemi#NYR pic.twitter.com/qg5fw6l7gt

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 1, 2019

Landing with the Rangers is a bit of a surprise as, all along, he had suggested that he wanted to be in Florida. However, in the end, it was down to the Rangers and the New York Islanders, and Panarin chose the Rangers.

Will Panarin Accelerate Rangers’ Rebuild?

It’s been well-known that the Rangers are rebuilding. They finished second-last in the Metropolitan Division last year with just 78 points and had a -45 goal differential. The question is how much of a difference can Panarin make? Remember, this is a team that finished the year with just five wins in their last 21 games.

Coming soon @TheGarden…#NYR @9Artemi! pic.twitter.com/5DX2F4GqkL

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 1, 2019

Sure, Panarin gives the team a true offensive superstar but who else is there with him? This team scored just 2.70 goals per game last season (23rd in the NHL). It’s not as if he’s the final piece; he’s closer to the first piece.

Rangers Have Had A Good Offseason … So Far

Panarin definitely speeds up the rebuild but so will a number of other acquisitions. The Rangers picked up Jacob Trouba – a top-four defenseman – and drafted Kaapo Kakko no. 2 in the NHL Draft. They also collected a good prospect in Adam Fox. At the same time, there’s still lots of work to do.

Trouba is a good addition to the blueline but this team allowed 3.26 goals per game last season, the ninth-most in the NHL.

Goaltending is a concern as Henrik Lundqvist is now 37 and is coming off a year where he had a 3.07 GAA and a .907 save percentage – the worst of his career. This team is still a long ways away.

What’s The Best Bet?

Betting the Rangers to win the Stanley Cup at +2500 is a hard pass; even betting them at +6600 is a no-go.

They’ve made some nice moves and they have a number of quality prospects in the system – like Vitali Kravtsov – but let’s remember that this team missed the playoffs by 20 points. They could be in playoff contention next season but not Stanley Cup contention.