The intent of the allegations of aggression against Artemi Panarin without a lint of evidence or corroborating witnesses by his former KHL coach Andrei Nazarov, in an interview with a Russian tabloid appears to have been to tarnish the Rangers winger’s reputation and to promote a personal and political agenda, not to seek justice.
Panarin “unequivocally and vehemently” denied the charge of punching an 18-year-old woman on the floor in a hotel bar after a game on December 11, 2011, as claimed by Nazarov. The former NHL wing also said that Latvian officials were bought for $ 40,000 in euros after a criminal case was opened.
Panarin denied it through a statement from the Rangers that described the story as “fabricated”.
“This is clearly an intimidation tactic used against him for being frank about recent political events,” the statement continued. “Artemi is obviously shaken and worried and is going to get away from the team a bit. The Rangers fully support Artemi and will work with him to identify the source of these baseless claims. “
Panarin has openly criticized the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin, evidenced for the last time by his social media support for opposition leader Alexi Navalny, who was poisoned and now serving a 32-month sentence for alleged parole violations handed down in early February.
A well-positioned source with knowledge of political dynamics in Russia told the Post that this spurious attack on the 29-year-old Korniko native was not a direct government retaliatory measure against Panarin, but Nazarov becoming dishonest.
Nazarov, who has been extremely critical of Panarin’s opposition to Putin, is believed to be trying to win favor with the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and its first vice president, Roman Rotenberg, whose family has close ties to Putin.
This is not the same as a woman filing charges of assaulting a man 10 years after the fact. These claims would have to be taken seriously and investigated independently. This is different. There is no claimant. This is not a “He said, she said”. Instead, it appears to be “A third party with a claimed agenda, without evidence”.
Indeed, Latvian journalist Aivis Kalnins reported that a hotel spokesman said that such an incident had not occurred. In addition, no player from the Vityaz club, who had lost 2-0 that night to Dynamo, supported Nazarov’s claims.
Remember this, too: at the time of the alleged assault, Panarin was considered a mediocre 20-year-old man, completely passed over by the NHL during two years of recruitment. He was certainly not a high profile athlete. As such, there would be little reason to engage in bribery and engineer a cover-up.
So here we are again, caught in the vortex of the interaction of politics and sports. Here is Panarin, who almost always seems to be the happiest man on Earth, pausing the game for an indefinite period of time after getting that punch in the stomach.
If Panarin was innocent before and is too smart and perceptive to be labeled naive, then it certainly is not now. The prospect of retaliation and retribution by various means has always existed, even though this attack on him appears to have been launched by an ordinary citizen with an agenda and not through a coordinated effort led by the Kremlin.
Still, Panarin is paying. Just like the Rangers, who are losing their most dynamic, important, valuable and best player for an indefinite period of time. Suggesting that the Blueshirts cannot lose No. 10 qualifies as an euphemism award winner.
A finalist for the Hart Trophy a year ago that practically led the club to the first half of 2019-20, Panarin elevated the Blueshirts in each of his recent wins over Philadelphia and Washington, after being sidelined by a pair with an unidentified injury. He’s the straw that shakes the drink, and he just shakes well.
He is also universally popular in the room, as he was in the Chicago and Columbus rooms, where he shared his first four seasons in the NHL playing for the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets before signing his seven-year, $ 81.5 million contract as an agent. free with the Rangers on July 1, 2019.
His popularity, his personality, his remarkable stature do not absolve him of charges of transgression. This is obvious. But there is something very suspicious about all of this. It does not meet the smell test.
An opponent apparently motivated by a personal and political agenda made incendiary charges without the support of evidence against Panarin. By the way, this kind of thing doesn’t just happen in Russia.