*In lieu of the recent developments in the Slava Voynov case, today's blog that was already posted will be re-posted tomorrow. Sorry for any confusion.*
Slava Voynov may have played his last days in the NHL.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office officially announced on Thursday that it had officially charged the L.A. Kings defenseman with Felony Domestic Violence.
From the ESPN article
Voynov has been charged with one felony count of corporal injury to spouse with a great bodily injury. He is set to be arraigned Dec. 1, and faces a maximum sentence of nine years in state prison if convicted as charged.
NINE years max if found guilty.
There is also a noted immigration issue for Voynov if he is found guilty. Many foreign NHL players are on work visas while here in the United States, and any felony charge against him could revoke his work visa, thus leading to deportation.
The Los Angeles Kings have released a statement, . and currently have a post up on LAKingsinsider.com updating the proceedings as it goes along
The following is the statement released by the Kings:
“We maintain our support of the NHL’s indefinite suspension of Slava Voynov. As an organization we will continue to closely monitor the developments of the legal proceedings and work in partnership with the NHL to determine the proper course of action in the future.…
The Kings remain in cap hell though, as the NHL is still suspending Voynov WITH pay. With both the NHLPA and the NHL reluctant to make a move to help the Kings out, roster moves remain difficult for the team. As of today, they have just $15K available in space which is not enough to make any sort of move for personnel.
A hearing date is still set for December 1st, at which point the Kings and Voynov will find out whether or not the judge decides there is significant evidence to move ahead with the trial. This may all be a ploy by the district attorney in an attempt to look stringent in the face of athletes and domestic violence, but the news of charges actually being filed is a significant development, and not a good one.
More to come.
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