It seems that the intention of the allegations of aggression against Artemi Panarin without evidence or evidence corroborated by his former KHL coach, Andrei Nazarov, in an interview with a Russian tabloid, had been to tarnish the reputation of the Rangers winger and promote a personal and political agenda, not to pursue justice.
Panarin has “unequivocally and vehemently” denied the accusation that he punched an 18-year-old woman on the floor in a hotel bar after a game on Dec. 11, 2011, according to al legar Nazarov. The former NHL winger also claimed that Latvian officials were bought for $ 40,000 in euros after opening a criminal case.
Panarin issued his denial in a Rangers statement describing the story as “invented.”
“This is clearly an intimidation tactic being used against him to be outspoken in recent political events,” the statement continued. “Artemi is obviously moved and worried and will take some time off from the team. The Rangers fully support Artemi and will work with him to identify the source of these baseless allegations.”
Panarin has been a outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime, last demonstrated by his support on social media of opposition leader Alexi Navalny, who was poisoned and is now serving a 32-month sentence for alleged violations of provisional release that were issued in early February.
A well-positioned source, with knowledge of political dynamics in Russia, told The Post that this spurious attack on Korniko’s 29-year-old baby was not a direct government measure of retaliation against Panarin, but rather Nazarov who he was a scoundrel.
Nazarov, who has been extremely critical of Panarin’s opposition to Putin, is believed to have been trying to favor the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and its first vice president, Roman Rotenberg, whose family has close ties to Putin.
This does not amount to a woman being accused of assaulting a man ten years after the fact. These allegations should be taken seriously and investigated independently. This is different. There are no complainants. It’s not a “She said, she said.” Instead, it appears to be a “third party he vindicated with an agenda, with no evidence.”
In fact, Latvian journalist Aivis Kalnins reported that a hotel spokesman said no such incident had occurred. Also, no player from the Vityaz club who had lost 2-0 that night to Dynamo has backed up Nazarov’s claims.
Remember this, too: At the time of the alleged assault, Panarin was considered a 20-year-old mill runner who had been transferred entirely by the NHL for two years of drafting. He was certainly not a high profile athlete. As such, there would have been little reason to participate in the bribe and work out a cover-up.
Here we are again, trapped in the vortex of politics that interacts with sports. Here is Panarin, who almost always seems to be the happiest man on the surface of the Earth, taking a break from the game for an indefinite time after having taken this blow to the gut.
If Panarin was an innocent before, and is too smart and insightful to be considered naive, then surely he is not now. The prospect of retaliation and retribution by different means has always existed, even if this attack on him seems to have been launched by a private citizen with an agenda and not through a coordinated Kremlin-led effort.
Still, Panarin is paying. So are the Rangers, who lose their most dynamic, important, valuable and best player for an indefinite period of time. Suggesting that Blueshirts can’t afford to lose the number 10 is classified as an award winner for underestimation.
A Hart Trophy finalist a year ago that took the club to less than the first half of 2019-20, Panarin lifted the Blueshirts in each of his recent victories over Philadelphia and Washington after being sidelined by a pair with an unidentified injury. It’s the straw that stirs the drink and just stirs it well.
He is also universally popular in the room, as he was in the Chicago and Columbus rooms, where he split his first four NHL seasons playing the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets before signing his seven-year free agent deal. and $ 81.5 million. with the Rangers on July 1, 2019.
His popularity, his personality, his tent-size, do not absolve him of charges of mischief. This is obvious. But there is something very heavy in all this. It does not meet the odor test.
An opponent apparently motivated by a personal and political agenda has made arson charges without the support of evidence against Panarin. By the way, this kind of thing doesn’t just happen in Russia.