Panarin's former KHL teammates come to his defence

Earlier today, there were reports regarding about Artemi Panarin allegedly getting into a physical altercation with an 18-year-old woman in Latvia in 2011. Shortly after, it was announced that Panarin was taking a leave of absence from the New York Rangers, causing a major buzz on social media. However, it is starting to sound more and more like a politically thought-out hit on the 29-year-old Russian superstar, rather than a factual story. Several of Panarin's teammates at the time on Chekhov Vityaz have come out today and said the story is 100 per cent false, according to KHL reporter Igor Eronko.

This story was told to media by Panarin's former KHL coach, Andrei Nazarov. The bench boss was a former player himself, having suited up for over 500 NHL games in the late 90's and early 2000's. Nazarov is a well-known Vladimir Putin supporter, a man Panarin has been vocally opposed to in the past.

Simply put, this appears more likely to be a completely fabricated story by Nazarov than anything. If that is the case, it is a very unfortunate situation for Panarin, who is now taking a leave of absence for something completely out of his control. This story is no where near dead yet, but the fact that Panarin's former teammates are all sticking up for him speaks volumes on the situation.

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