Artemi Panarin speaks for the first time about the trade rumors surrounding him

Ever since the New York Rangers were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs last season, there's been rumors growing that there was a rift between Ranger's General Manager, Chris Drury and superstar forward Artemi Panarin. It's believed that Drury wasn't happy with Panarin's efforts in the playoffs especially when the Rangers were trailing.

Drury is also believed not to be to thrilled to be paying Panarin the $11,600,000 million dollars he's making against the cap for the next four seasons. But Drury is also not looking to retain salary in any deal, which he'd likely have to in any Panarin deal.

In an interview posted on the YouTube channel for Sports-Express, Panarin was asked specifically about that criticism and subsequent trade rumors coming out of New York.




Panarin had a good playoffs racking up 16 points in the 20 games

Despite Panarin downplaying the rumors, Two league sources said Drury was vocally unhappy about Panarin's play in the postseason, for not the consistent and lackluster.