Around the League 24:The Return of Tony DeActivated

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Panarin's been over here for a few years...and now out of nowhere someone lobs this at him about something that allegedly happened a decade ago...and coincidentally after his political comments.

Definitely seems like a hit piece.

Why take a leave of absence? Is the league/team forcing him?

im sure it is for publicity purposes. It would look bad on the Rangers if they allowed someone to play who was accused of assault against the opposite sex. It would be "not taking the accusation seriously."

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Panarin's been over here for a few years...and now out of nowhere someone lobs this at him about something that allegedly happened a decade ago...and coincidentally after his political comments.

Definitely seems like a hit piece.

Why take a leave of absence? Is the league/team forcing him?

Either the team wants to "investigate" and try to clear him to avoid potential PR (which doesn't make a ton of sense because it's not even a direct accusation and there's zero chance of the team actually getting any legitimate info about this "case")

OR

(more likely) Panarin wants to make sure he and his family in Russia are safe and once that's dealt with then he can think about hockey again

 

[DaveG]

Either the team wants to "investigate" and try to clear him to avoid potential PR (which doesn't make a ton of sense because it's not even a direct accusation and there's zero chance of the team actually getting any legitimate info about this "case")

OR

(more likely) Panarin wants to make sure he and his family in Russia are safe and once that's dealt with then he can think about hockey again

That's what I'm thinking. Something like this is just an opening salvo from the powers that be over there. He's likely trying everything in his power to make sure his immediate family has their affairs in order to make the move here ASAP.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The accusations are a first step, intended to bruise his image so he doesn't get enthusiastic public support for the next thing that happens.

At a minimum, you'd expect this to lead to a drummed-up arrest warrant which will keep him from being able to come back home in the future. That could impact his career in various ways, and it would also keep him at a distance if anything unfortunate were to happen to people he cares about.

This sort of thing happens all over the world to some degree, but Putin has become remarkably bold about it over the past few years. Just outright jailing people and killing them off. There's legitimate reason to be concerned for anyone who speaks out.

 

[hblueridgegal]

 

[The Stranger]

Either the team wants to "investigate" and try to clear him to avoid potential PR (which doesn't make a ton of sense because it's not even a direct accusation and there's zero chance of the team actually getting any legitimate info about this "case")

OR

(more likely) Panarin wants to make sure he and his family in Russia are safe and once that's dealt with then he can think about hockey again

If retribution against family is a concern, I can't believe one would publicly criticize Putin and support his opposition and just wait for shtf before taking action. I'm not sure how prevalent familial retribution is in Russia...I believe Grigory Rodchenkov's family is still in Russia and doing OK.

If the league or team put him on leave to "investigate", that is complete horseshit.

 

[Lempo]

im sure it is for publicity purposes. It would look bad on the Rangers if they allowed someone to play who was accused of assault against the opposite sex. It would be "not taking the accusation seriously."

Someone from NYC kowtowing to Putin well I never!

 

[Lempo]

On the lighter front, zany things the NHLers do that the US broascasters necessarily won't mention: a Finnish twitter user notices that Kotkaniemi's stick reads in Finnish "Get angry already you f***ing asshole". Armia and Lehkonen are suspected.

 

[LakeLivin]

The accusations are a first step, intended to bruise his image so he doesn't get enthusiastic public support for the next thing that happens.

At a minimum, you'd expect this to lead to a drummed-up arrest warrant which will keep him from being able to come back home in the future. That could impact his career in various ways, and it would also keep him at a distance if anything unfortunate were to happen to people he cares about.

This sort of thing happens all over the world to some degree, but Putin has become remarkably bold about it over the past few years. Just outright jailing people and killing them off. There's legitimate reason to be concerned for anyone who speaks out.

I wonder what some of the factors are that might have contributed to that?

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

The NYR really should not have to worry about this. We will take Panarin off their hands

 

[bleedgreen]

I actually remember Nazarov as a prospect/player. That was right when I first started paying attention to this aspect of the game. I had to look it up, he was San Jose’s second first round pick ever taken - 10th overall. I remember reading all about him and looking forward to watching him. I probably have the hockey news draft issue with him somewhere. He never really had an impact.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

It's been 10 years since Pegula bought the Sabres. How's his claim of "multiple Stanley Cups" working out?

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

It's been 10 years since Pegula bought the Sabres. How's his claim of "multiple Stanley Cups" working out?

Well, there have been multiple Stanley Cups awarded since then, so in a sense, he was right.

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

Well, there have been multiple Stanley Cups awarded since then, so in a sense, he was right.

Little known fact but they actually use the same Stanley Cup every year

 

[tarheelhockey]

I actually remember Nazarov as a prospect/player. That was right when I first started paying attention to this aspect of the game. I had to look it up, he was San Jose’s second first round pick ever taken - 10th overall.

I didn't realize he was drafted that high. What I remember of him was this huge guy cruising around trying to intimidate people without actually being much of a fighter, and scoring like one time a decade. Crazy to think of that guy as a top-10 draft pick.

 

[bleedgreen]

I didn't realize he was drafted that high. What I remember of him was this huge guy cruising around trying to intimidate people without actually being much of a fighter, and scoring like one time a decade. Crazy to think of that guy as a top-10 draft pick.

Yup. They always made a big deal about the huge angry Russian coming to rip your arms off and beat you with them. An angrier, dirtier, uglier Ivan Drago. Which is so different than how he was drafted, which was to be a scorer.

He wasn’t very good at being either guy.

 

[DaveG]

I didn't realize he was drafted that high. What I remember of him was this huge guy cruising around trying to intimidate people without actually being much of a fighter, and scoring like one time a decade. Crazy to think of that guy as a top-10 draft pick.

The 90s were wild man, remember when Marcus Naslund on pace for nearly 70 points was traded for a giant (in both sense of the word) bust that wouldn't even play 70 games in Pittsburgh? Pepperidge Farms remembers

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Little known fact but they actually use the same Stanley Cup every year

As a side note, IIRC, the Canes cup win was right after one of the rings was retired, so their names would be on the cup longer than anyone else on the same ring.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Well I'd say that clears up the reason for the leave of absence... Actually pretty amazed at how ardently the team is supporting Panarin, given the media/public still being a bit touchy with allegations of abuse, but it's likely the right response.

 

[tarheelhockey]

As a side note, IIRC, the Canes cup win was right after one of the rings was retired, so their names would be on the cup longer than anyone else on the same ring.

Meaning we’ll eventually have a decade where the Canes are the oldest team on the Cup (not counting the mega-old ones at the top)

 

[Chrispy]

Well I'd say that clears up the reason for the leave of absence... Actually pretty amazed at how ardently the team is supporting Panarin, given the media/public still being a bit touchy with allegations of abuse, but it's likely the right response.

The speed and strength of the denial makes me think someone threatened Panarin with this and he (correctly) went straight to the Rangers to warn them. The Rangers have likely already debunked the claim.

 

[Sens1Canes2]

Are the Habs even that good? I don’t think they are. We actually outplay them pretty much every game. And we, of course, are no good. Yet.

 

[The Stranger]

Are the Habs even that good? I don’t think they are. We actually outplay them pretty much every game. And we, of course, are no good. Yet.

What's this "we" shit?

 

[Sens1Canes2]

What's this "we" shit?

It’s 6 characters shorter than typing “the Sens” every time. I also feel like I can say we, quite confidently, without being douchey sports fan.

edit - actually, I’m fine with anyone on here who says we.

edit again - the GDT starts with we !!!