Free Agency Memories Part 2: NHL Edition
In this edition, I'm looking back at the Rangers landing Artemi Panarin and why I was probably the last person in NYC to find out that news...
I’m back with Part Two of my Free Agency recollections from years past.
If you haven’t yet, you can check out Part One HERE. These two memories overlap, so I’d suggest reading Pt 1 before you proceed.
Anyway, I’m going to dive right in.
Following directly on from the NBA edition of my Free Agency memories, I was dealing with the crushing heartbreak of the Knicks missing out on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. I was still wallowing in that disappointment as I boarded my flight back to New York City.
Now, acting as a backdrop to all of that, NHL Free Agency was opening at noon ET on July 1. Due to my schedule I was actually going to be in the air once the slew of moves started going down. With no workable WIFI on the plane, I would be completely shut off from the outside world and have no idea about who was signing where.
With that in mind, and still reeling from the Knicks whiffing on two of the biggest prizes available, I was also bracing myself for a double dose of disappointment.
The New York Rangers, looking to take the next giant leap in their rebuild, were hoping to take a huge swing in Free Agency and superstar forward Artemi Panarin appeared to be the glittering main attraction. The only problem was that at the time of boarding, multiple reports were stating that both the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders had bigger offers on the table. In fact, the Isles reportedly offered Panarin a $12.5 million AAV.
So, you can just imagine. Having already had to stomach the body blow of the Knicks missing out on Durant and Irving, I was now settling into a seven-hour flight fully prepared to land and find out Panarin was an Islander.
It was not a good feeling.
And, yes, I needed a couple of beers in order to get through that flight, which seemed even longer thanks to the bum hands I had been dealt with my sports teams.
I mean, just put yourself in my shoes for a minute. Hours after discovering the Knicks had come up empty-handed in the biggest way possible, I was now getting ready for the same outcome with the Rangers. It was enough to make me question certain life choices.
Fast forward several hours and I dragged my weary and jet-lagged body off the plane, through a crowd of bodies and to customs, where I was greeted by a sight no man or woman wants to see after a lengthy flight. A never-ending sea of people that made a crowd at a sold-out Taylor Swift gig look minuscule in comparison.
I will never forget the feeling I felt in the pit of my stomach when I saw the lines. It was 8:30 PM ET and I was honestly prepared to have to sleep on the floor of JFK that night. The queues were never-ending and it was taking forever to get people through customs.
At that point, as we were taking roughly two paces every 10 minutes (it sure felt that way), I took a deep breath, switched my phone back on and braced myself for a plethora of celebration Tweets from Islanders / Panthers fans about Panarin signing with their team.
I was ready for the second dose of heartbreak of the day.
However, unlike the Basketball Gods, the Hockey Gods decided not to shatter my dreams and then spit the shards back at me. As I frantically opened up Twitter, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
Artemi Panarin - the Russian stud who had 28 goals and 59 assists for the Blue Jackets the previous season - was signing a seven-year, $81.5 million contract with the New York Rangers.
Yes, the Breadman turned down bigger offers from both the Panthers and the Islanders in order to play at MSG and for a storied Original Six franchise. It was a euphoric moment that made the pain of the rebuild well worth it.
And, just like that, the day was saved. I’ve always been a bigger hockey fan anyway, and the fact that the Blueshirts walked away with the biggest prize of NHL Free Agency erased most of the heartbreak and pain the Knicks had inflicted on me earlier in the day.
From that point on, as I was soaking in all the reaction to the Panarin signing as I could consume, the customs line appeared to speed up and before I knew it I had collected my luggage and was in a cab back to Manhattan.
I was riding an all-time high as I gazed longingly out of the cab window, taking in the breathtaking sights of the Manhattan skyline as it gradually came into view. I was back in the city that I loved, and my Rangers had swung for the fences and hit an all-time grand slam.
What a crazy turn of events.
Once I had dropped off my luggage - or rather launched it all into the corner of the room - I headed to MSG and just looked up in awe at The World’s Most Famous Arena. It is always more beautiful at night.
From there, I had a couple of ice-cold Bud Lights at Mustang Harry’s to celebrate, before heading across the street to Pizza Suprema to inhale a couple of celebratory slices. By the way, I won’t be argued with that Pizza Suprema is one of the best spots for a slice in the city. It is criminally slept on by most New Yorkers. You won’t find a better slice anywhere else. And, if it is good enough for Robert De Niro, then it is good enough for yours truly.
Beginning to feel the impact of a long flight and an even longer day, I retreated to my bed and proceeded to crash out safe in the knowledge that Panarin was a New York Ranger.
That was a hell of a feeling.
Fast forward to the next day and there was only one thing to do. March over to the NHL Store and splash $200 plus dollars on an authentic Panarin jersey. After having consumed a mouthwatering stack of chocolate chip pancakes from Bubby’s - the best brunch place in the city without a doubt - of course.
The jersey was worth every single cent.
I then spent the next few hours making hopeful walks past MSG in the hopes of catching a sight of Panarin, who was being paraded outside of The Garden that day. I worked out I missed him by about five minutes.
Despite not seeing the man of the moment in person, it was still one hell of a 24 hours and I was so glad to be in NYC the night Panarin became a member of the New York Rangers.
That entire week was pretty special and there was a tangible sense of excitement in and around MSG. The Rangers were dominating the back pages of all the big New York papers, while the Knicks were left to lick their wounds.
All in all, I estimate that I experienced nearly every emotion known to man during that 48-hour period between the heartbreak of the Knicks missing out on Durant and Irving, and the sheer euphoria of the Rangers beating out the Panthers and the Islanders to bring Panarin to The Big Apple.
I will never forgot those two weird, wonderful and incredible days in 2019.
After all, that’s why we all love sports and so are deeply invested in our teams in the first place. For moments like that. Good and bad.
So, those are my Free Agency memories. As I was watching Klay Thompson sign with the Mavericks and the Predators morphing into contender mode by signing Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei, I couldn’t help but think back to that moment in time when my entire life revolved around what two of my teams were doing. Or not doing.
And, given how hyped up we all get when it comes to our teams and Free Agency, I wanted to share those two days with you.
I hope you enjoyed reading about them as much as I enjoyed living through it.
I would love to hear about some of your most cherished Free Agency memories, too. Let me know in the comments below. Or email me.
Now I need to go and dust off that Panarin jersey…