The New York Rangers played their first season in 1926, back in an era when the only statistics the NHL kept were goals, assists, points, goals against, and wins. Finding out which players wore specific numbers is almost impossible unless someone can access game sheets from the early days.

This is unlike Major League Baseball, which used to assign jersey numbers based on a player’s spot in the batting order, which is how Babe Ruth (No. 3) and Lou Gehrig (No. 4) got their iconic digits. So, the most accessible information regarding hockey numbers dates back to 1950.

Considering that the Rangers are an Original Six franchise about to celebrate their 100th anniversary, it’s almost certain that someone wore jersey No. 10 in the inaugural campaign. However, we know that Hockey Hall of Famer Edgar Laprade is the first skater in Rangers’ recorded history to wear the sweater.

Laprade played his entire career with New York, winning the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1946 and the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play in 1950. He recorded 280 points in 500 games. Eventually, his totals were surpassed by other Rangers who wore No. 10 like Bill Fairbairn (1970-77), Ron Duguay (1978-83) and Pierre Larouche (1984-88).

For over 40 years, Fairbairn held the team records for skating in 535 games and netting 362 points while wearing the No. 10 jersey. Current Rangers All-Star Artemi Panarin is closing in on 500 points wearing the No. 10 Blueshirt and will achieve that total in less than 400 games.

This leads us to the question: is Panarin the greatest Rangers player to wear No. 10?

The answer is yes.

Artemi Panarin is greatest player to wear No. 10 in Rangers history

In just five seasons on Broadway, the 32-year-old forward has skated in 350 games, scoring 149 goals, adding 312 assists and totaling 461 points. Regarding his production in Rangers history, his 120-point season in 2023-24 is the second-highest single-season total, behind Jaromir Jagr’s 123-point season in 2005-06.

In 2021-22, Panarin recorded 74 assists, which is six shy of the franchise mark held by Hall of Famer Brian Leetch in 1991-92. After an outstanding 2023-24 campaign, Panarin maintains two of the top 10 best single-season assists totals, with 71 helpers last year.

Regarding his place in the Rangers record book, Panarin has collected 312 assists in just five seasons, now ranked 10th all-time. Considering he’s averaged 62 helpers a season, if he maintains that pace in 2024-25, he’ll pass Steve Vickers (340) and James Patrick (363) to sit in eighth place.

Panarin has two seasons left on his current contract. Depending on his production, he’s on pace to surpass Ron Greschner (431) but fall short of Mark Messier (441), Walt Tkaczuk (451), and Andy Bathgate (457) unless he collects a few more helpers than his average.

Panarin is chasing teammate Chris Kreider (552 points) to climb into 10th place all-time. With an average of 92 points a season, Panarin has a chance to finish his current deal with roughly 645 points. These totals could place him eighth on the scoring list, depending on how many points Kreider collects over the next two years.

Panarin is the kind of superstar who puts fans in the stands and fills their hopes that the Rangers won’t go another 54 years without a Stanley Cup championship. As the centerpiece of a lineup that set franchise records for wins and points en-route to another Presidents’ Trophy, he’s on a path to becoming one of the best players to wear a Rangers sweater and could have his number No. 10 raised to the rafters one day.

Even though we don’t have all the evidence from the franchise’s early days, there’s no denying that Panarin is already the best player to wear No. 10 in Rangers history, achieving so much in such a short period.