Bleacher Report · Mar 10, 2021
Artemi Panarin Returns to Rangers Practice After Taking 2-Week Personal Leave
New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin returned to practice Wednesday for the first time since taking personal leave from the NHL team on Feb. 22.
ESPN's Emily Kaplan reported Panarin stepped away from the club indefinitely after Andrei Nazarov, his former coach with the KHL's Chekhov Vityaz, alleged he was involved in a physical altercation with a woman in Latvia a decade ago.
The Rangers described the allegation as "clearly an intimidation tactic being used against [Panarin] for being outspoken on recent political events" in his native Russia.