Mr. Voynov’s announcement today of his intention to leave the United States and return to Russia makes the termination unnecessary.
Advertisement
On July 2, Slava Voynov entered a plea of no contest to domestic violence. “I sincerely apologize to those in and around the game of hockey, whom have been affected by my situation, and I also with the Players of the LA Kings success in the future”.
Beckerman also addressed the thought that the Kings should have terminated Voynov’s contract, as they did Richards’ contract, before Wednesday’s decision.
The Los Angeles Kings and defenseman Slava Voynov have officially parted ways. He was initially charged with a felony after a prolonged fight with his wife in late October. He remains in a federal facility in the custody of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement pending a hearing before an immigration judge.
The 25-year-old defenseman, who played on the Russian ice hockey team that finished fifth at last year’s Sochi Olympics, won Stanley Cups with the Kings in 2012 and 2014.
Richards, 30, had the final $22 million of his contract terminated by the Kings on June 30 for a “material breach” after he was detained at a Canada-U.S. border crossing in Manitoba.
The Kings will announce a series of new Conduct Awareness Training Initiatives in the coming days.
Instead, by voluntarily leaving – with the consent of the U.S. government – Voynov would avoid deportation and leave open the possibility that he might return multiple years from now, through a waiver application, and resume his NHL career. Los Angeles spent last season with minimal room to adjust their roster, partly due to the strictures of paying Voynov’s hefty salary while he wasn’t playing.
If anything can be gained from this, let’s hope that – at the very least – the Kings as an organization have truly realized areas in which they needed to improve. Local officials and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EIOR) in Washington require an alien registration number and, potentially, a privacy waiver to supply case information. Earlier in the summer, Kings general manager Dean Lombardi announced he would bring in people to teach the team about domestic violence along with drug abuse.
Advertisement
Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports.
