The New York Rangers were dealt a potentially huge blow days before pre-season action begins.
Star forward Artemi Panarin exited training camp on Friday with a lower-body injury and did not return, the Rangers told reporters.
Head coach Mike Sullivan later said that Panarin is day-to-day, and pulling him from the ice was precautionary.
Since the 2019-20 season – the year Panarin joined the Rangers – the 33-year-old ranks fourth in the league in points with 550 (186 goals, 364 assists) and has led New York in scoring all six seasons. Over his 10-year career, the winger totalled 870 points (302 goals, 568 assists) in 752 games.
Panarin's durability has also been key during his Rangers tenure, missing just two games over the last three seasons. The severity of the injury is unknown, but any significant missed time would be a major blow to a Rangers offence that lost some firepower over the off-season.
New York traded forward Chris Kreider to Anaheim on June 12 in a move that not only cleared cap space, but also dealt away its leading goal score since the 2019-20 campaign.
