Rangers' Panarin Taking Leave of Absence After Shocking Reports Surface

The New York Rangers will be without superstar Artemi Panarin for the foreseeable future as he's decided to take a leave of absence from the team. His decision comes on the heels of some disturbing reports stemming from a potential assault on a female back in 2011.

Breaking news: Panarin is taking a leave of absence from NYR in aftermath of political hit piece against him from Russia alleging that he beat up an 18-year-old girl in Russia in 2011.
— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) February 22, 2021

While the details are extremely limited Larry Brooks of the New York Post shared that tweet earlier today and it sounds like Panarin may head back to Russia to work out these legal troubles.

So far this season the 29-year-old has recorded 18 points in 14 games and the Rangers currently sit with a 6-7-3 record, good for 24th overall in the league.

Andrei Nazarov, the mentally unstable ex KHL coach/NHL goon is claiming that Artemi Panarin beat up an 18-year-old girl in a Russian bar years ago. He says it set a pattern of evil behavior that has culminated in his anti-Putin statements.
Russian media is running with this. https://t.co/mQYk2bN4H3
— Slava Malamud (@SlavaMalamud) February 22, 2021