The NHL said the New York Rangers informed the league last year they were looking into sexual assault allegations by a team employee against player Artemi Panarin after a report detailing the situation and settlement payments made to the woman surfaced Thursday.

New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin and Madison Square Garden Sports paid financial settlements last year to a former team employee who made sexual assault allegations against the forward, The Athletic reported Thursday.

Rangers forward Artemi Panarin and MSG, the company that owns the team, paid financial settlements to a female team employee last August after she alleged Panarin sexually assaulted her in a hotel room in 2023, according to The Athletic.