NHL defenseman Slava Voynov will return to Russia, self-deporting with his family in order to bring the legal issues stemming from his domestic violence arrest last season to a close. Voynov announced the decision via his agent Rolland Hedges on Wednesday. From TSN:
"Earlier today, I notified the National Hockey League, the National Hockey League Players' Association and the Los Angeles Kings of my decision to immediately begin the formal process of returning to Russia with my family. I sincerely apologize to those in and around the game of hockey, who have been affected by my situation, and I also wish the Players of the LA Kings success in the future," the statement read.
Voynov, a two-time Stanley Cup-winner with the Kings, plead no contest to a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence against his wife, Marta Varlamova. He spent two months in jail as a result of the arrest and was suspended indefinitely by the league.
The Kings released a statement of their own regarding Voynov:
"On July 2, Slava Voynov entered a plea of no contest to domestic violence. Since that development, Mr. Voynov has been in the custody of the Seal Beach Detention Center and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. During this period of detention, the Los Angeles Kings decided he would no longer play for the team. The method by which we would ensure this outcome was something we carefully considered and we established a deadline of September 17 - the beginning of our 2015-16 training camp - to reach this outcome. Recently it became evident to us that our conclusion to this process would be to terminate Mr. Voynov's Standard Player's Contract. However, Mr. Voynov's announcement today of his intention to leave the United States and return to Russia makes the termination unnecessary.
"As we have publicly stated since Mr. Voynov's arrest last year, the Kings organization will not tolerate domestic violence. As part of that commitment, we will soon announce a series of new Conduct Awareness Training Initiatives that reflect the values and principles central to our franchise."
Translation: the Kings don't want to give up an asset if they don't have to. Voynov may never play in the NHL again, but on the off chance he does, Los Angeles will retain his rights and can at that time either welcome him back into the fold or move him for other assets.
