{"id":446197,"date":"2026-02-03T08:22:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T08:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/446197\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T08:22:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T08:22:15","slug":"heart-ripped-out-of-your-chest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/446197\/","title":{"rendered":"‘heart ripped out of your chest’"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York Rangers News<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Not all trades are created equal in the NHL. And there\u2019s no question few if any trades in New York Rangers history mirror the circumstances of the one they\u2019re attempting to make this season involving Artemi Panarin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Simply, it\u2019s not every day a team ships out one of its all-time greatest offensive players. But that\u2019s the case with retooling Rangers, who opted to re-stock their pipeline and re-set their roster by trading Panarin, an unrestricted free agent at season\u2019s end. Though no trade\u2019s been completed just yet, Panarin played his final game<\/a> with the Rangers and is now focused on leveraging where his next NHL destination will be, considering he owns a full no-movement clause in his contract.<\/p>\n

Panarin reportedly was surprised by the Rangers\u2019 decision to publicly announce a retool and move on without offering him a contract extension a few weeks ago. But any angst or sad feelings likely are tempered by the fact that he has control over what happens next and there\u2019ll be no surprises ahead of the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t exactly the case for Derek Stepan nine years ago.<\/p>\n

Stepan is the first to tell you he\u2019s not in the same league as Panarin. But make no mistake, Stepan was a very important \u2014 and popular \u2014 member of the Rangers\u2019 core for seven seasons. So, when the homegrown Blueshirt got the call from general manager Jeff Gorton on June 23, 2017, that the Rangers traded him to the Arizona Coyotes,<\/a> he was, shall we say, less than thrilled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got the call from \u2018Gorts,\u2019 and as soon as I saw it, I was kind of like \u2018He\u2019s never called me before.\u2019 It was kind of a sick feeling. There\u2019s no way this is a good call. This isn\u2019t a \u2018Hey, just wanted to check in and see how your summer was going,’\u201d Stepan told Forever Blueshirts<\/a> on the RINK RAP podcast. \u201cThen I picked up the phone and your heart kind of sinks, and there\u2019s a lot of emotions with it, and kind of like your heart ripped out your chest type feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where Panarin is one of the few star players to have time to adjust to the idea of being traded well before it actually happens, Stepan received no such heads up from the Rangers.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a standpoint of if I knew it was coming, there was \u2026 a lot of chatter (rumors) about me, but I was kind of like \u2018No way, this is my home, I\u2019m going to be here forever,\u2019 which, I still was young at the time (27), maybe a little naive,\u201d Stepan explained. \u201cBut yeah, I had an inkling, I knew there was a probability, but I was like \u2018man, there\u2019s no way,\u2019 in my own head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stepan was able to draw some similarity between his trade out of New York and Panarin\u2019s current situation. Each occurred after a Rangers downturn following several years of success. The Stepan trade \u2014 for defenseman Tony DeAngelo and a first-round pick (No. 7 overall, which ended up being bust Lias Andersson), with goalie Antti Raanta also heading to the Coyotes \u2014 really set up what happened next, when the Rangers announced a full-on rebuild in February 2018. Panarin\u2019s upcoming trade is the next big move in the latest organizational retool following a string of deals in the past year.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, if I sit back and really take a look at it, the group we had when I was there was pretty much gone a few years later after I left. Maybe I was one of the first dominoes,\u201d Stepan shared.<\/p>\n

Derek Stepan \u2018wanted to stay in New York\u2019 when traded by Rangers in 2017<\/p>\n

\"NHL:Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Stepan never missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in his sevens seasons on Broadway. He helped the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Final three times (2012, 2014, 2015) and the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, when Jonathan Quick<\/a> and the Los Angeles Kings defeated them in five games.<\/p>\n

The 97 postseason games Stepan played with the Rangers are fourth-most in their history<\/a>. His 49 playoff points (19 goals, 30 assists) are ninth all-time \u2014 and his Game 7 series-winning goal in overtime against the Washington Capitals in the 2015 second round is one of the most iconic postseason moments in Rangers history.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo disrespect to the other organizations that I played for, but, hell no, I wanted to stay in New York,\u201d Stepan stated firmly.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Still, he played six more seasons in the NHL, including the final four remaining on a $6.5 million AAV contract<\/a> he originally signed with the Rangers in July 2015. Stepan retired after the 2022-23 season and now works for the Minnesota Wild in a player development role.<\/p>\n

In 890 regular-season games as a solid two-way center with the Rangers, Coyotes, Ottawa Senators, and Carolina Hurricanes, Stepan totaled 515 points (182 goals, 333 assists).<\/p>\n

\t\t\"avatar\"<\/p>\n

\t\tJim Cerny is Executive Editor at Forever Blueshirts and Managing Editor at Sportsnaut, with more than 30 years of … More about Jim Cerny<\/a><\/p>\n

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