Los Angeles Kings make the right decision with Slava Voynov
The Los Angeles Kings have announced that suspended defenseman Slava Voyonov will not play for them. They still maintain his rights.
It has been nearly five years since Slava Voynov last played in the NHL. The former Los Angeles Kings defenseman had his contract terminated in 2015 after he was suspended indefinitely following a domestic violence incident in October of 2014. He was convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence and served 90 days in jail, after which he elected to move to Russia rather than face deportation proceedings.
After Voynov was granted a dismissal of his misdemeanor domestic violence conviction in July of 2018, he returned to the KHL. Recently, he has sought a return to the NHL, but in April, the league suspended him for the entire 2019-20 season and the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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However, after appealing to independent arbitrator Shyam Das, though Voynov had his suspension upheld, he was credited for serving half a season, meaning the suspension has 41 games remaining.
Immediately after this ruling, the Kings issued a statement regarding Voynov.
“Today the NHL arbitrator rendered a final decision on further discipline to Slava Voynov. From our perspective, the player will not be playing for the Kings. We will now determine the impact of the arbitrator’s decision on our rights to the player and consider our options going forward.”
Credit the Kings for making the correct decision, both on and off the ice. Voynov would serve as nothing but a negative influence in what should be a younger locker room. I warn against reading this because there are some very violent descriptions, but here’s the police report detailing the domestic violence incident.
There is no place in the NHL for someone who did what Voynov did to his wife. Allowing him to play would be nothing short of hypocritical considering the league’s claim that “hockey is for everyone”. Voynov’s mere presence would be a disgrace to the NHL and a slap in the face to every fan who has endured the horrors and terrors of domestic violence or knows someone who has.
Technically, the Kings still own the rights to him. So they control his future. It appears likely the Kings are, at the very least, going to wash their hands of Voynov. Hopefully, they will be consistent with their strong condemnation of his actions and refuse to trade his rights to any team that inquires.
Frankly, any team who so much as inquires about Voynov deserves every single ounce of criticism that they get. If there’s any justice, he has played his last NHL game and teams will be wise enough to realize the implications of acquiring him.
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Voynov has the right to have a job, but playing in the NHL is a privilege he lost long ago. Nothing is stopping him from going back to Russia and playing in the KHL. The Kings have taken a strong stance against Voynov. They haven’t made many good decisions lately, but hats off to them for making the morally right one here.