Artemi Panarin Taking Leave of Absence from the Rangers
Earlier this morning, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks broke the news that New York Rangers superstar forward Artemi Panarin would be taking a leave of absence from the team. Brooks reports that a politically inspired hit piece from Russia regarding Panarin is the reason.
In the story, Panarin is accused of beating up an 18-year-old girl in Russia back in 2011. It is being heavily speculated that the story has come about due to political retaliation. Panarin has been openly vocal and critical of Vladimir Putin and the Russian government. He has also voiced his support for opposition leader Alexi Navalny.
This sort of retaliation was something that was feared after Panarin’s Instagram post on January 21, 2021 in which he captioned the post, “Freedom for Navalny.”
The story originated from Andrei Nazarov, Panarin’s former coach in the KHL. In a translated story from sports.ru, Nazarov claims that Panarin had been drinking after a 2-0 loss. He states that Panarin “beat the girl, then hurried to his room.” “Panarin was detained.”
The New York Rangers have come out with a statement this afternoon in which they fully support Artemi Panarin and show that they do not believe the allegations against him to be real, or substantiated.
Panarin is in the second year of a 7-year deal that is paying him $11,642,857 AAV. He currently leads the Rangers in goals (5), assists (13), and points (18). He is also leading the team with 7 powerplay points.