Rangers Coach Confirms Artemi Panarin's Injury After He Leaves Practice Early

“He’s just day-to-day with a lower-body injury,” Sullivan said. “It’s more precautionary than anything. It’s so early in training camp, we just want to make sure we get ahead on anything that could potentially be on the radar.”

Sullivan went on to acknowledge the importance of the Russian winger to the Rangers, acknowledging that the team cannot afford to overlook Panarin’s role.

“What I can tell you is every time we played the Rangers and had our pre-scout conversations that he was on the film for a fair amount of it,” Sullivan said. “I mean that with all due respect because of how talented he is and his ability to change a game. He’s a game-breaker in so many ways.

“There's a number of players across the league that probably fall into that category, but there's not a lot of them and he's one of them.”

Panarin, who turns 34 in October, is entering the final season of the seven-year, $81.5 million contract he signed in 2019. Contract talks have yet to yield an extension, and general manager Chris Drury said earlier this week that negotiations will remain private.

Panarin also sidestepped specifics, but said he is unfazed by the uncertainty surrounding him and his future.

“That’s obviously good for everyone to feel that security, but I’m not in my first year in hockey, so I’m used to being in those situations, not every year, but it is what it is right now,” Panarin said Thursday. “I’m not complaining right now. I’m ready to work hard.”

Since joining the Rangers, Panarin has led the team in scoring every season, producing 550 points in 430 games for the team during that span.

Panarin is coming off scoring 37 goals and 89 points in 80 regular-season games last year, though the team missed the playoffs.