New York Rangers are assessing their season before making decisions on Artemi Panarin. Panarin is in the final year of his seven-year, $81,499,999 contract and will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026 at age 34.The Rangers have a record of 3-4-1 so far, and are placed 5th in the Metropolitan Division. Speaking about which, NHL insider Frank Seravalli said the team wants to see how it performs."I think the Rangers want to get a real clear indication of how good this team is in the here and now before then making a decision on Artemi Panarin," Seravalli said on Tuesday, via B/R Open Ice.GM Chris Drury has traded key players like former captain Jacob Trouba, defenseman K'Andre Miller, and forward Chris Kreider before if they didn’t help the team. So, trading Panarin is not going to be difficult for Rangers GM if the team is not performing."Do I think Chris Drury and company will be afraid to trade Artemi Panarin at the deadline if they're going nowhere? No, I don't, not even in the slightest," Seravalli said."You've seen how aggressive Chris Drury has been, whether it's been moving... [players] he felt has not contributed to this team's overall success and their future in terms of bringing a Stanley Cup back to New York for the first time since 1994. If you're not helping, you're hurting. That's sort of how the Rangers view it..."Panarin, 33, scored his second goal of the season in Monday’s 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild. He scored 57 seconds into the first period, but the offense struggled afterward. Seravalli said Panarin could still be part of the Rangers’ Stanley Cup plans."I'm in the minority, seemingly thinking that Artemi Panarin can be part of that puzzle to solve for the Rangers," Seravalli said.Panarin has seven points in eight games so far this season.Seravalli labels Rangers' Artemi Panarin as 'a storyline to watch'New York Rangers are not close to making a trade decision yet. Seravalli said Panarin’s situation will stay on hold as the team wants to improve overall play before making any decisions."I'm bullish on the Rangers, I'm bullish on Artemi Panarin," Seravalli said. "It's going to be a storyline to watch.. but I don't think they're anywhere near making that decision just yet."The Blueshirts did not make it to the playoffs last season, despite winning the Presidents' Trophy the year before that. So, for now, the focus is on stabilizing the team and improving results.