Last week, it was reported that New York Rangers star forward Artemi Panarin “paid financial settlements to a former team employee last year after she alleged Panarin sexually assaulted her during a road trip in December 2023.”[1]
The New York Rangers told the NHL about the allegations for the first time in 2024. The Athletic first reported the settlements, stating that “Panarin allegedly took the woman’s phone at a postgame gathering and said she could retrieve it by coming to his hotel room.” [2]
“When she went to his room, Panarin allegedly pinned her down on the bed before she was able to push him off, retrieve her phone and leave the room.”[3]
The woman reported the accusation against Panarin three months after the alleged incident, and she left the Rangers organization in August.[4]
The settlements included a nondisclosure agreement, but no admission of wrongdoing by Panarin.[5]
According to the NHL, the Rangers “retained an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation, which the League was fully apprised of.”[6] The NHL also stated,
“[w]e consider the matter closed.”[7]
This is not the first time Panarin’s name has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons. In February of 2021, Panarin announced he was “taking a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons.”[8]
ESPN reported that Panarin’s leave of absence was a response to a “Russian newspaper publish[ing] allegations from Panarin’s former KHL coach, Andrei Nazarov.”[9] The allegations claimed that Panarin “got into a physical altercation with an 18-year-old woman in Latvia in 2011.”[10]
The New York Rangers took a firm stance in support of Panarin, affirming that they would “help Artemi through this difficult time”, and that the allegations were an “intimidation tactic” used against Panarin in response to his comments on Russian politics.[11]
Panarin had previously shown support for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a rare example of a Russian athlete speaking out against Putin or the Russian government.
Panarin has not offered any public comment regarding the 2025 settlement.
[1] https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/44717019/rangers-artemi-panarin-settled-sexual-assault-claim-per-report
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] https://nypost.com/2025/04/17/sports/artemi-panarin-accused-of-sexual-assault-by-rangers-employee-in-settled-lawsuit/
[7] Id.
[8] https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/30945519/new-york-rangers-artemi-panarin-taking-leave-assault-allegations-surface
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] https://nypost.com/2025/04/17/sports/artemi-panarin-accused-of-sexual-assault-by-rangers-employee-in-settled-lawsuit/
Photo Credit: https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/24664/artemi-panarin
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