Slava Voynov could one day find himself back on an NHL roster, although not before the former Los Angeles Kings defenceman faces further sanctions from the league.
“At some point in the last couple of months, Slava Voynov had a hearing with the National Hockey League and the expectation is that sometime in the next 24-48 hours the league is going to announce a significant suspension on top of his time already out,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday during the Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada.
Voynov hasn’t suited up in an NHL game since Oct. 19, 2014 after he was arrested and eventually convicted of misdemeanour domestic abuse stemming from an altercation with his wife.
He was sentenced to 90 days in jail, suspended indefinitely by the NHL, his $25-million contract was terminated by the Kings, and he wasn’t allowed to represent Russia at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
A 2008 second-round pick of the Kings, Voynov played 190 games over parts of four seasons with L.A. He moved back to Russia in September 2015 after serving his jail sentence, eventually joining SKA Saint Petersburg in the KHL and winning a Gagarin Cup in 2017. He also won a gold medal in 2018 as a key member of the Olympic Athletes from Russia team.
Voynov’s conviction was dismissed by a judge in July 2018 after his three-year probation period ended, which opened the door for him to apply for reinstatement to the NHL.
“I think the biggest question is going to be if this [expected suspension] gets appealed,” Friedman added. “Nobody knows yet but we are expecting the league to give him a significant suspension.”
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