The silence about Artemi Panarin is getting deafening

It’s now been 15 days since Artemi Panarin took a leave of absence from the New York Rangers to deal with accusations of an assault over a decade ago in Latvia.  His departure was accompanied by a message of support from the team and the NHL and widespread support from the fanbase. It was portrayed and perceived as a hit job by a Putin hack and the concern was for Panarin and his family in Russia.

Since that time, there has been no word from anyone associated with Panarin and the team has not provided any kind of update about his status.  Every day, the press asks David Quinn about Panarin and other than saying that he speaks with him daily and that the Russian is skating, there is no new information.

David Quinn was asked about Panarin on Sunday and said “Out of respect to him him…it’s just the right thing to do to keep these conversations between Artemi and I.”

The change has been subtle, but fans are beginning to get impatient and are looking for more information.  No one is criticizing Panarin for staying away, but the frustration is building as the Rangers’ playoffs hopes fade without him.  Every day that passes with no new information and the silence is become deafening.

What makes the situation even more frustrating is the belief that the accusations are completely baseless.   Andre Nazarov is the only person who has made these charges and it’s significant that no one has come close to verifying the story.  Without any evidence to support the allegation, fans are beginning to wonder why Panarin is still staying away from the team.

One theory is that this was a smear campaign orchestrated by the Putin camp as a result of  Panarin’s support for  Alexei Navalny.  If that is so, then Panarin’s family may be in danger and it is Panarin’s primary responsibility to make sure that they are safe.   In that case, he should take whatever time he needs to make sure that that is the case.

Others are speculating that the silence is an admission of some kind of guilt, a theory that has no basis in fact.

What most agree is that if Nazarov’s purpose was to disrupt Panarin’s career, he has accomplished that and it continues with every game he misses.

No matter what, after two weeks, the Rangers owe their fans some kind of update.   Here was their statement on February 22.

"“Artemi vehemently and unequivocally denies any and all allegations in this fabricated story.  This is clearly an intimidation tactic being used against him for being outspoken on recent political events. Artemi is obviously shaken and concerned and will take some time away from the team. The Rangers fully support Artemi and will work with him to identify the source of these unfounded allegations.”"

Some kind of statement from the team would be very helpful in putting an end to the speculation about Panarin’s absence.   The lack of any statement is actually creating more speculation as fans are wondering why the team cannot provide an update.   It would be smart for the team to nip that kind of talk as soon as possible.

Do the Rangers owe their fans an update?  They owe them something.  It doesn’t have to be a definitive return date or specifics on how Panarin is dealing with this situation, but anything would be helpful, even a message of continued support for the player and some reassurance to the fanbase that they are working towards a resolution. Anything.