He has previously played for Vityaz Chekov, Ak Bars Kazan, SKA Saint Petersburg, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Originally an undrafted player, Panarin began his professional career playing in the Kontinental Hockey League in his native Russia.

[2] Panarin attended the Traktor Ice Hockey school in Chelyabinsk, where he trained six days a week for six months a year.

[3] On 31 January 2013, having produced 18 points in 40 games, Panarin was traded to SKA Saint Petersburg in exchange for a draft pick.

[10] Panarin found instant chemistry with Patrick Kane and fellow Russian Artem Anisimov on the Blackhawks' second line.

Kane, who was the NHL's MVP and leading scorer in 2015–16, cited Panarin as a major contributor to his successful season.

[19][20] He completed his second North American season scoring a career-best 31 goals in collecting 43 assists and 74 points in all 82 games played and was named to the NHL's Second All-Star Team.

[21] On 8 December, Panarin had a record-tying achievement of picking up five primary assists in one game on goals by Pierre-Luc Dubois, Scott Harrington, Lukáš Sedlák, Zack Werenski and Alexander Wennberg to help Columbus defeat the New Jersey Devils 5–3.

[22] On 20 March 2018, Panarin scored his second career hat-trick (and added an assist on a goal by Markus Nutivaara) to clinch a 5–3 Columbus win over the New York Rangers.

[24] Panarin would also record two goals and five assists for seven points in all six games in the 2018 playoffs during the Blue Jackets first round loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals.

[34] Panarin was ruled out for the final three games of the season with a lower-body injury following an on-ice brawl with Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson on 3 May.

[38] On 13 January 2024, he became the fastest player in Rangers history to record 400 points in the fewest games with 310,[39] surpassing Mark Messier (322), Brian Leetch (380), Phil Esposito (405), and Andy Bathgate (423).

Panarin made his Russian senior team debut, when he was included on the roster, in one of the rounds of EuroHockeyTour in the 2013–14 season.

He was selected to the top senior squad for Russia's hockey team in the 2015 IIHF World Championship, earning a silver medal.

[43] Panarin was affectionately nicknamed the "Breadman", a reference to the Panera Bread restaurant chain, by his teammates and coaches on the Blackhawks.

[44][45][46] In a July 2019 interview with Vsemu Golovin, Panarin strongly criticised president of Russia Vladimir Putin, saying, "The mistake in our society is treating him like a superhuman.

[47] On 22 February 2021, Panarin announced he would take a personal leave of absence after the Russian tabloid newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda published allegations that he physically assaulted an 18-year-old woman in 2011, and bribed law enforcement to drop the charges.

[49] The story was released after Panarin voiced his support for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, openly criticizing Putin.