Apr 10, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin (10) skates across the blue against the New York Islanders during the first period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

Artemi Panarin and Madison Square Garden Sports paid financial settlements to a team employee last season after she accused the Rangers’ star winger of sexually assaulting her, according to a report from The Athletic’s Katie Strang. 

The woman, who left the Rangers in August of 2024, signed a non-disclosure agreement and no admission of wrongdoing clauses in both settlements — one with Panarin and one with MSG Sports, which owns the Rangers. 

Per Strang, the alleged assault took place in December 2023 while the Rangers were on a road trip. The woman, who regularly traveled with the team, met with “a dozen other players and staff members” at the team hotel when Panarin took her phone, claiming she could get it back in his hotel room. 

The woman followed Panarin to his room when, according to the allegations, he “pinned her down on the bed.” She was able to push him away, take her phone, and leave his room.

Both MSG Sports and the woman sent Strang identical statements: “The matter has been resolved.”

The NHL also echoed those sentiments to Strang: “The Club retained an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation, which the League was fully apprised of. We consider the matter closed.”

The woman did not alert the Rangers about the incident until three months later, while she was being investigated for supplying a player with anti-anxiety medicine due to his fear of flying. The team placed her on paid leave while investigating the issue.

Feeling as though she was being treated unfairly, she then alerted the team about the alleged assault. MSG Sports and Panarin reached their settlement agreements with her in August, and then she left the organization. 

This is not the first time that Panarin has been linked to assault charges. In February 2021, a Russian newspaper claimed that he beat up an 18-year-old Latvian woman in 2011 while playing in the KHL. 

The Rangers denied those allegations, stating that they were “an intimidation tactic,” used by publications in favor of Russian President Vladimir Putin to smear Panarin’s reputation. The star forward had been vocal in the past in his support of Alexei Navalny, who at the time was one of the Kremlin’s most prominent opponents. 

Navalny, who survived an assassination attempt by poisoning in 2020, died in February 2024. 

For more on Artemi Panarin and the Rangers, visit AMNY.com