Staal was a solid player when he was in his prime, and the context of his first few years, felt like a big deal. This was a franchise that was a desert for defensemen post-Leetch, especially when it came to production. Outside of one really, really good Rozsival year, there wasn't much and expectations were immediately heaped on Staal to be a legit #1. Same for Redden, even though he was second fiddle to Chara and never really was what we expected.
Once McDonagh arrived, he blew away everyone post-Leetch, including Staal, and really recontextualized how Rangers fans in my generation viewed defensemen. Then Fox blew away McDonagh and changed the standards again.
Staal, again, was good, but with the hindsight of McDonagh being a legit #1 and Fox being a future Hall of Famer, I'm not convinced Staal was any better than what Lindgren was at his peak.
Panarin has been a similar force at forward. What he's doing feels normal for Artemi Panarin but it sticks out like a sore thumb in Rangers history and makes everyone post-Jagr feel like a joke. Kreider is rightfully prasied for his place in Rangers history having surpassed 300 goals. If Panarin signs another extension with the Rangers, he's going to score 300 goals for the club in like two-thirds of the time it took Kreider. He's going to enter the top 10 all-time in assists by a Ranger before the year is over.