Artemi Panarin is having himself a postseason to remember. 4 goals, 5 assists, and a 22.2 shooting percentage through seven games, definitely nothing to sneeze at. But is he a top three player… in the world?! According to his head coach John Tortorella, he’s right up there with the league’s best.
Torts spoke about his prized forward ahead of Tuesday night’s Game 3 tilt with the Boston Bruins, and made his thoughts on the Russian very, very clear. According to the 60-year-old, Panarin in among the world’s top trio of players.
Obviously, this sparked a little debate on Twitter.
Let’s break this down for a second. Connor McDavid obviously belongs in the conversation so that would leave Panarin to have to be better than one of Sidney Crosby or Nathan MacKinnon. Let’s not forget there’s still that Nikita Kucherov guy, who’s likely going to be awarded multiple pieces of hardware at this year’s ceremonies in Vegas,
For all we know, this could all just be part of a tactic to help keep Panarin in Columbus. The 27-year-old is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and rumours spread like wildfire that he was going to leave before February’s deadline. With a deep run, however, he might have reconsider re-signing with the Jackets more seriously.
Through 79 games this season, Panarin finished with 87 points; tying him for 17th in the league. Most fans probably wouldn’t put him in his top three, but there’s no denying his play has been up there so far through the playoffs.
Thoughts?
(H/T NHL)
