Artemi Panarin is beginning to shake off his early season struggles.
With a newly shaven head, the star Russian wing has posted nine points — three goals and six assists — in the last four games after assisting on four goals in the Rangers’ 7-3 win over the Lightning on Wednesday night at Benchmark International Arena.
Just like that, Panarin leads the Rangers in points (16).
“I think when he’s at his best, the puck follows him around,” head coach Mike Sullivan said Wednesday after an optional morning skate. “He finds a way to have it a lot. I thought the last game he had it a lot. There are probably a number of reasons for that, but that’s what the game looks like when he’s at his best. I think he’s a threat off the rush. I think he has an uncanny ability to delay or slow the play down and allow the rush to go by him and then create opportunity. I think he’s getting better as far as supporting the play in the offensive zone. We’re trying to encourage him to be a little bit closer to his linemates, and I think he’s doing a better job there.
“I thought his line had more offensive zone time. I think that line has the ability to create offense in a number of different ways. They’re going to be dangerous off the rush because they’re talented, but they can build that grind game and they can be dangerous there also, because they’re talented. But that takes collective effort there, and that’s where we’re trying to help them. But I thought the line in general had a strong game last game.”
Artemi Panarin battles Jake Guentzel for the puck during the Rangers’ 7-3 blowout road win over the Lightning on Nov. 12, 2025.
Despite looking rather disconnected through the first few weeks of the season, Panarin has collected four multipoint games through the first 18 contests — including one three-point game and two four-point efforts.
The Rangers have a record ofare 4-0 every time Panarin has collected multiple points in a game this season.
“My confidence [is] OK now,” Panarin said after his two-goal effort on Monday against the Predators. “Better than before.”
Igor Shesterkin saved 33 of the 36 shots he faced in his sixth win of the season.
In a move he said was largely due to matchups, Sullivan shifted Will Cuylle up to play with J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad toward the end of the second period and through the third.
“[Lightning coach Jon Cooper] wanted that match with [Nikita] Kucherov, [Jake] Guentzel and Brayden Point,” Sullivan said. “We just felt like that’s a tall task for a young kid [Gabe Perreault] that hasn’t played a whole lot in the league. If that was going to be the match, we thought it made more sense to have a guy like Will play with J.T. and Mika in that circumstance. Some of it was just based on the feel of the game, but some of it was just from a matchup strategy standpoint.”
The Rangers signed Spencer Martin to a two-year contract Wednesday before putting the 30-year-old goalie on waivers. If he clears, Martin will be assigned to Hartford.
Appearing in nine games for the Hurricanes last season, Martin posted a 3-4-1 record with an .846 save percentage and a 3.89 goals-against average.
Noah Cates has had an excellent start to 2025-26 for the Flyers. It’s that level of play that might make Sean Couturier’s long-term deal a bit easier to swallow over time.
Nov 6, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Philadelphia Flyers left wing Noah Cates (27) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against the Nashville Predators during the second period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
When Sean Couturier signed his eight-year, $62 million dollar deal on Aug. 21, 2021, Chuck Fletcher was the Flyers general manager and Alain Vigneault was the head coach. That same summer, Noah Cates was entering his fourth and final year of U.S. college hockey at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, coming off a season that saw him only play 28 games and manage a meager five goals. The 2017 fifth-round Philadelphia draft pick and the then 28-year-old Couturier were miles apart financially, geographically, and where they were in their respective careers.
However, things have a way of changing. Danny Briere is now the Flyers general manager. Rick Tocchet is the new head coach, and both Couturier and Cates find themselves being key pieces down the middle of the Flyers’ roster. And while the duo are still at different stages of their careers, it appears that the Flyers might have served themselves quite well by keeping Noah Cates around. His four-year deal worth a $4 million Average Annual Value is a mere 15 games in prior to the Edmonton game Wednesday night. But already it appears that Briere might have gotten away with highway robbery for Philadelphia while also possibly making the Couturier contract that much more agreeable or easier to swallow. Yet before we dive in, let’s first look back in time, shall we?
The team dodged a major bullet or two the last few seasons with Couturier. After missing essentially two complete seasons due to back issues and surgeries, there was some concern that the Flyers captain would be a shell of himself if he ever returned to the ice. It was bad enough the Flyers were dealing then with Ryan Ellis and that disaster and news that Cam Atkinson wasn’t quite right either. Adding Couturier to Injured Reserve for the rest of the ’20s would have been almost farcical if it wasn’t so depressing envisioning.
Some challenging seasons ensued which weren’t alleviated one bit by head coach John Tortorella. After possibly riding his center too hard early, Tortorella then decided to cause a stir by scratching Couturier without much explanation given to the forward. Couturier really wasn’t playing well, but he certainly didn’t need Tortotella to add insult to the injury he was just getting over. Regardless, Couturier is now three years removed from wondering if his career was at a crossroads. Or over.
Although it’s probably clear Couturier isn’t going to reach the 76-point plateau he did during his prime (along with the Selke Trophy), it’s safe to say he’s not going to be a huge detriment in the lineup. At least not in the near future. And most likely not for the next four seasons (or a good portion of that term). The reasons? Well, there are a few. Couturier is not being called on to be the lone center on a team that is still needing a center or two to speed up the rebuild. He’s still holding his own on the faceoff circle (53.55 per cent), has 10 points through 15 games, and is providing guidance to his winger in Matvei Michkov despite what the rage-baiting intelligentsia might opine in 280 characters or less. Couturier has never been shy to showcase his defensive skills and his solid two-way play. But the Flyers are being quite wise, knowing Couturier can’t handle the workload of previous years. Rather than run him into the ground, they are easing his workload a bit, particularly against the biggest stars and the top lines from opposing teams.
It’s here where Noah Cates enters the picture. And boy has he entered the picture! Cates, who signed his four-year, $16 million contract in early June, has provided a huge lift to the Flyers’ fortunes with his play. He is integral to the success of the line featuring himself, Tyson Foerster, and Bobby Brink (who were reunited against Edmonton last night). And through that line taking it to the best and biggest stars around, the Flyers are fortunate to have one of the better, cheaper, and highly underrated lines in all of hockey. Both Cates and Couturier have 10 points apiece so far, but Cates has been the guy who has often been tasked with dealing with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Mark Scheifele, Auston Matthews and others who are top-tier talents. Couturier is capable of doing the job, yet that would also probably empty his gas tank a lot quicker these days. After all, he’s less than a month from turning 33.
Granted, Cates isn’t quite Couturier on the faceoff dot. He’s lost 23 more faceoffs than he’s won so far this season and is hovering over 40 per cent (42.94). Last year was a career-high for him there (46.8 per cent), but he’s still needs to work at that more to be in the same conversation as Couturier or former Flyer Claude Giroux. Although that needs some improvement, Cates is eating up those tough, shadow-the-star minutes that were once allotted to Couturier. It’s not like Couturier is punching the clock or on cruise control during games. It’s just that everyone in the decision-making process is aware Couturier can’t carry the burden he once did. Call it load management or whatever you wish, it’s been fantastic that Cates has picked up the mantle. And in doing that he’s enabled Couturier to indirectly (or directly) look better 15 games into this season then he has at nearly any point post-surgery.
When Couturier was injured those two seasons, and when he hit the wall in his first season back, there were plenty of skeptics who saw the eight-year contract (which concludes at the end of the 2029-30 season) as an anchor that could not be moved. A buyout after this season would see Philadelphia still hit with a cap hit next year of $6,520,833 followed by three years of $6,770,833. Essentially you’d be buying out a player and still paying roughly over 80 per cent of his salary. Then an additional four seasons at just over half a million per season. So that idea was basically out the window from the start. As well, Couturier has a full No Movement Clause for the first seven years of the eight before a 10-team trade list kicks in during the 2029-30 season. The Flyers were either going to swim with the Couturier contract or they would be trying to sweep it under their own financial rug. So far, they’ve been fine with it. Couturier can be lauded for doing his part. But Noah Cates has also done a huge part in making the Couturier contract far less of a nightmare.
The Flyers have a few things staring them in the face this offseason and some bigger questions. Who is available (or enticing, if anyone) in the class of 2026 when it comes to unrestricted free agents? What current restricted free agents (Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, Nikita Grebenkin, Egor Zamula, Emil Andrae and Brink) will be tougher to negotiate with than others? And who might need to go in order to make room for the likes of maybe Oliver Bonk, Porter Martone, or whoever else is knocking on the door? A rising salary cap should help Briere navigate those waters rather smoothly for the most part, particularly when all of the retained salaries and buyouts are off the books completely. One can’t also forget contracts for Foerster and Michkov will be on the table after next season.
Nonetheless, when it comes to Couturier and Cates, one would expect Couturier to hopefully not fall off a cliff in terms of his production and play. A gradual decline might be fine considering how his hockey IQ hasn’t diminished much since coming into the league. He might be a step slower, but he knows that already, enabling him to be positioned better despite not having the blazing speed he really never had to begin with. He should be good for a few seasons to come barring any major injury or a recurring back issue. At least that’s the hope. Meanwhile, Cates might be looking like one of the bigger bargains in the league in a season or two. Although he’s at the mercy of the Flyers with no control over trade or movement, Philadelphia would have to be clinically insane to part with Cates unless a superstar or stud blueliner was coming back.
On the whole, Couturier right now looks like a contract that might not provide the value in the seventh and eighth years. That’s shouldn’t come as a huge shock. That would be normal as he’ll be 37 during the final year of the deal. And with a rising cap ceiling, that current share of the total team cap (8.1 per cent) is forecasted to be under six percent near the end of his contract. But for the time being, Noah Cates is making his own contract look great while also sheltering Couturier from some heavy minutes and the spotlight that might come with that. If anything, Couturier’s value on the ice near the twilight of his career could be around $4 million. Meanwhile Cates might be playing at a pay scale that could see comparable players earning well over $7 million a season in 2027-28.
Couturier’s deal, as it goes on, might be seen as a problem. For now Noah Cates is making that contract seem far less of a burden. And for that kudos to Cates and, to a lesser extent, Danny Briere. It’s doubtful the National Hockey League Players Association would have Couturier swap paychecks with Cates in 2027-28 and 2028-29, but that’s essentially what Cates looks like he might be doing with his stellar, consistent play.