Rangers' Artemi Panarin held out of lineup and has likely played his final game with club, source says

Artemi Panarin has apparently played his last game for the Rangers.

The Russian winger, who leads the team in scoring this season — and has led them in scoring in each season since he signed with the team as a free agent in 2019 — was held out of the Rangers’ lineup in their 5-2 loss to the Islanders on Wednesday night at UBS Arena for “roster management’’ reasons, as the retooling team works on trading him.

That makes Panarin (19 goals, 38 assists) the second player to be taken out of the lineup this week in preparation of an impending trade, though there is no indication a deal is imminent.

Panarin has been among the most productive all-time players for the Rangers — he ranks eighth in assists (402) and ninth in points (607) in franchise history in 482 games played.

Defenseman Carson Soucy was held out of the lineup for Monday’s game against Boston, then was traded after the game to the Islanders. He played for them Wednesday against the Rangers Wednesday.

According to an NHL source, Panarin will not suit up for any of the Rangers’ remaining games before the NHL’s Olympic break roster freeze, which begins Feb. 4.

The Rangers have another game Thursday night at the Garden against the Islanders, then go to Pittsburgh for an afternoon game Saturday. They finish the pre-Olympic schedule Thursday, Feb. 5, at home against Carolina.

Panarin was at the arena for the Rangers’ meetings and optional morning skate, though he did not skate. His teammates were informed in the afternoon, just before the game, that he would not be playing.

Mika Zibanejad said: “I think it was just getting the info that he wasn’t playing right before the game, you don’t have a lot of time to talk about that kind of stuff . . . but I played with him for seven years, so, it’s — we’re all human beings at the end of the day, so this situation is really difficult.’’

“It’s a little weird, obviously, with how it happened, later in the day, and you show up to the rink and he’s not here,’’ Vincent Trocheck said. “It’s just a weird feeling.’’

Trocheck had been centering for Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere, and those three had been a constant line for most of the last three years.

“Obviously, like I said before, we know what a situation like this [retool] brings,’’ Trocheck said. “For me personally, it being a guy like ‘Bread,’ who I’ve become extremely close with over the last four years, and was lucky enough to play with . . . it’s been a huge blessing for me. I’ve learned a ton from him. Yeah, it’s tough.’’

Panarin is in the final season of the seven-year, $81.5 million contract he signed in the summer of 2019. He was told by Rangers general manager Chris Drury on Jan. 16, the day Drury announced to the fans that the Rangers would be undergoing a “retool,’’ that the team will not re-sign him and would work with him to trade him somewhere he wishes to go. Panarin has a full no-move clause in his contract.

Trocheck could be joining Panarin and Soucy in leaving, as the Rangers look to sell off what players they can to stockpile draft picks and prospects in an effort to get younger and make their way back into playoff contention.

Although Trocheck (11 goals, 22 assists) is not a pending free agent, like Panarin and Soucy, he is a gritty, two-way center who plays both power play and penalty kill, and who excels at winning faceoffs. He is the type of player who would be attractive to playoff contenders and would likely bring back a nice return.

And unlike Panarin, he does not have a no-move clause in his contract, only a 12-team no-trade clause. So it would be easier to move him to any number of different places, thus likely increasing the number or quality of assets the Rangers would get back.

At this point, any player who doesn’t have no-move protection is potentially available for trade. Rangers captain J.T. Miller was asked after Monday’s win over Boston if the players are trying to savor these last days they have together as a group.

“I try not to think about it,’’ he said. “You know, we have a close group in here. This isn’t the position any of us thought we were going to be in at the start of the season. But it’s a business, and we’re just trying to treat it like normal days, you know? We have a lot of fun together in this room.’’

Notes & quotes: D Adam Fox and F Conor Sheary (both out with lower-body injuries) skated in red, no-contact jerseys at the lightly attended optional skate. Fox, who was placed on long-term injured reserve on Jan. 6, is eligible to return Saturday in Pittsburgh, but it is unlikely he will play . . . G Igor Shesterkin (lower body) skated on his own in Greenburgh.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.