Artemi Panarin was living off grid and just found out the New York Rangers lost Ryan Strome

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Sam Hutch
September 5, 2022 (10:50)

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The National Hockey League off-season is full of moving parts. With NHL free agency, having to become cap compliant and trades, there are very few days where nothing happens around the league. As a player or a fan, it's hard not to hear about moves as the season approaches, but, it wasn't hard to go off the grid for this New York Rangers star.

According to Artemi Panarin in an interview, the star forward spent the summer living without access to the internet or cell service, essentially living off the grid, not knowing any of the moves the Rangers made during the off season. The only way Panarin found out about the moves was through limited contact with his girlfriend Alisa Znarok recently.

Alisa told me the news, who was traded, who was signed, back and forth. To be honest, I didn't want to think about it. There will be no Ryan Strome - but what's there to think about in the summer? What could I change?

I lived ten days without a connection in the woods. A worker there had wi-fi in his cabin. But I don't need it for fuck's sake," Panarin continued. "My friend Artem and I would get up at 4:30 in the morning and go fishing an hour later. We sat with our fishing rods, practiced, and by 11 am had already done everything. What a day! Beautiful!

What internet? What news?! Then we went - we ate handfuls of strawberries in the woods. My face was red from the juice, my soul was happy," Panarin said.

This is a very good reminder to fans. Sometimes as fans we are invested in everything our team does, but it's very different for the players themselves. The off-season is a time for them to recharge their batteries away from the game.