Media Bytes: A Bullish Outlook, Panarin's Future, Larry's Legacy

Welcome back to Media Bytes, a weekly column from Blueshirt Banter. Every Sunday, we’ll help you start the week right with a quick catch-up on the latest stories and developments around the New York Rangers and the broader NHL media landscape.

Start Planning the MxG Parade?

1. At the risk of stating the obvious, the New York Rangers’ season has gotten off to a strange start. They’re hovering around .500, and boasting one of the most lopsided home-and-away splits in recent memory. Their underlying metrics rank among the league’s best, yet their actual goal production sits at the bottom of the league.

Despite that contradiction, Frank Seravalli remains optimistic. On Monday, he called the Rangers “one of the more interesting teams in the league” and said he believes “they have a better shot to win now than they did at any point over the last three to four years.”

Factoring in regression to the mean, poor shooting percentages that should improve, strong possession numbers, and elite goaltending, his optimism isn’t entirely misplaced. Still, Seravalli stopped short of putting the Blueshirts in his “Cup contender" category. Citing struggles in their bottom six, he suggests the team "need to get deeper and tougher—a team that comes at you in waves."

He also dismissed any notion of a rebuild, arguing the team’s window is still open due in part to playing in a weaker Eastern Conference. Seravalli asked, "Outside of maybe Carolina, who is really standing in [their] way that [they] feel like is such a big, overarching roadblock?"

2. If you’re craving even more hockey content, you’re in luck. Jonny Lazarus of Morning Cuppa Hockey has teamed up with former Ranger and NHL Network analyst Mike Rupp, and The Athletic’s Arthur Staple, for a new podcast focused on tri-state hockey—fittingly titled Tri-State Hockey.

In the debut episode, released this week, the trio took a deep dive into the Rangers. Rupp, like Seravalli, remains optimistic about the team despite their uneven start. He told his co-hosts he believes the Rangers are a playoff-caliber group. “To what level? I don’t know,” he said. "I don't know if they're going to score a boatload of goals this year, but their defensive play is night and day better than what it was."

Damned if They Do, Damned if They Don't?

3. Despite his overall optimism about the team, Rupp expressed concern about Artemi Panarin’s future, calling it his biggest concern. “Is there something that’s going to get done here?” he asked, hinting at the possibility of an extension for the pending UFA. "I don't think you can afford to have him walk [in free agency]," he added, "but at the same time, can [they] afford to trade him? The team doesn't score goals, or has trouble scoring."

4. Later in the show, the trio revisited the Panarin debate after a fan called in to ask whether it would be “almost negligent” not to trade him if the Rangers aren’t a top-two team in their division.

Lazarus answered first, saying he couldn’t imagine Chris Drury or James Dolan considering a trade if the team remains competitive—nor should they. “Their job is to put a winning product on the ice,” he said. “If they’re winning with Panarin, that makes the decision a lot harder.”

Rupp agreed, emphasizing that as long as the Rangers are in playoff position, Panarin isn’t going anywhere. "They’ll make a run and deal with it later," he said. Looking ahead to the off season, Rupp added, "I think that they believe that they are the New York Rangers and they will have a chance even with Artemi Panarin in free agency or some other options, depending on whoever that is."

Staple closed out the discussion by throwing cold water on the entire idea, pointing to Panarin’s full no-movement clause. "I understand Chris Drury has worked his way around some of those in previous years, but from everything I know about Artemi Panarin, he's not going anywhere unless you can tell him he's going to Florida," he said. "I don't think he'd say yes to Carolina. I don't know that he'd say yes to anybody out west. Certainly don't think he'd say yes to anybody in Canada."

He went on to caution that moving Panarin could have long-term consequences. “If you trade him, you’re essentially punting on this season,” Staple said. “But you're punting on a few other seasons, too. There's not going to be a lot of free agents out there. There's talk he might want to go back to Chicago, [but] like I said, I think it's Florida or New York for this guy."

Heroes Get Remembered, but Legends Never Die

5. Larry Brooks—a media giant who spent nearly four decades covering hockey and the New York Rangers for the New York Post—died Thursday at age 75 after a brief battle with cancer, the Post reported. In the hours that followed, industry colleagues, peers, and players shared an outpouring of tributes for the legendary Hall-of-Fame writer.

In an op-ed for the Post, fellow Hall-of-Famer Henrik “The King” Lundqvist—a nickname Brooks himself coined—remembered him as “more than just a reporter.” Lundqvist said he held immense respect for Brooks and his understanding of the game, calling him both “very honest” and “fearless.”

Wayne Gretzky also reflected on Brooks' influence in a separate Post column. Celebrating his legacy, Gretzky told writer Mike Vaccaro that “no one knew more” about hockey than Brooks—high praise from the greatest to ever play the sport. Or as Vaccaro wrote, "let’s call that one GOAT chronicling another."

Brooks’ impact stretched far beyond the rink as well. On Thursday’s episode of The Sheet, Jeff Marek spoke glowingly of Brooks’ presence off the ice, highlighting the “mentor/mentee” relationship he formed with fellow Post reporter Mollie Walker—a bond Marek called “beautiful to watch.”

"You’ve heard the expression, ‘get to the top and kick the ladder down’?" Marek said. "That was the opposite of Larry [Brooks]."

Walker herself delivered one of the most moving tributes in her own Post column, describing Brooks as “a mentor and a best friend wrapped into one person.” She wrote that “no one had a pulse on the NHL or the Rangers like he did,” a testament to the relationships Brooks built and nurtured across the league over decades.

Brooks' voice shaped generations of Rangers fans; his reporting helped elevate the sport, and his generosity will guide the journalists who will now carry his legacy forward. His byline may be gone—a truth I’m still struggling to accept—but his voice, his influence, and his spirit will echo through hockey for years to come.