Slava Voynov’s tenure as a Los Angeles King finally appears to be over.
After months of speculation, he has formally decided to return to Russia with his family. This will be considered an act of voluntary departure. Leaving the country voluntarily keeps the option for him to return open, though my personal feeling on the matter is that such a move is incredibly unlikely to happen. Most recently, Voynov was detained by ICE who were pursuing his deportation themselves.
At this time, one has to hope that the rest of his family will be able to live happy, healthy, and safe lives back in Russia.
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. Let’s hope that this starts them down a better path that holds the lives of women in a higher regard. As it stands, the league has so much ground to cover in this regard that I don’t know how to express it in words.
The Los Angeles Kings released a statement regarding the matter, and perhaps most interesting is this line:
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 Kings will announce a series of new Conduct Awareness Training Initiatives in the coming days.
Voynov’s rights are still maintained by the Kings, as his contract has not been voided with this move. Officially, he will remain suspended by the club for the time being.