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.

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,

The alleged assault occurred in December 2023 during a Rangers road trip, according to two Rangers sources briefed about the matter.