Voynov article

Does LA retain his rights? From the article it seems they may not.

The move freed L.A. from Voynov’s $4.16 million average annual cap hit. Per The OC Register, Voynov’s decision to “self-depart” the U.S. may have kept the door open for a return to North America at some point in the future.

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Interesting. Daly's comments indicate that there is a possibility of Voynov's return. For the league, I could see Bettman wanting a relevant Kings team back in the Playoffs and competing, which Voynov would help in restoring (Kings went Stanley Cup Final, Western Conference Finals, Stanley Cup Final with Voynov, and haven't been out of the first round since. Not only Voynov, but it shook up the makeup of the team).

At the same time, I also see the league using Voynov as the example against domestic violence. Voynov also didn't benefit from being in the wake of Jarrett Stoll and Mike Richards drug situations in that same general time period, as well as Ray Rice (NFL) being front and center bringing domestic violence to the mainstream. Maybe enough time has passed, but we'll see.

RP-29 said:

Does LA retain his rights? From the article it seems they may not.

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I don't think L.A. ever "terminated" his contract. He should still have 2 years left at about $4.2 M per year. Kings should keep Lombardi employed as a straight lawyer, and not a GM. He knew this was a possibility.

Voynov deserves the right to make a living according to his abilities. He paid the price for his crime. Let the man work.

Psych3man said:

Voynov deserves the right to make a living according to his abilities. He paid the price for his crime. Let the man work.

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Agreed. We are a society based in rehabilitation. If you took away opportunity from every individual that made an egregious mistake, the world would be even tenser place.

With that said, if the charges against Voynov are true, he 's a scumbag. Albeit, scumbags can work for a living too.

Bumping with today’s news
Per a Russian paper
Voynov not signing in Russia and will try to play in NHL again.
Kings not interested
Florida, Montreal, islanders, Jets and Rangers are.
I think the Kings still have his rights so they would need permission to talk.
The US and Canadian governments would have to let him work with a violent crime on his record

davnlaguna said:

Bumping with today’s news
Per a Russian paper
Voynov not signing in Russia and will try to play in NHL again.
Kings not interested
Florida, Montreal, islanders, Jets and Rangers are.
I think the Kings still have his rights so they would need permission to talk.
The US and Canadian governments would have to let him work with a violent crime on his record

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Here is a Habs fanblog linking the original article (in Russian, you will need to translate).

Montreal Canadiens rumoured to have interest in Slava Voynov

What the Habs page didn't mention - they probably don't know - is that the difference between Kovalchuk and Voynov is that Kovalchuk is a UFA where as Voynov is not. Sorry Habs fan, but they will not be able to simply write a check and have him on that roster.

There are two specific arenas that would need to be looked at closely were he to return to the NHL: one is the legal court of law, the second is the NHL.

1. Legally: put short, there is nothing standing in his way to returning to the US to play because his bases were all covered by his attorney(s). People are going to cite that he violated the conditions of his work visa. There are a few things here to know however:

- he pleaded no contest, which is not the same as a guilty conviction. Pleading no contest means you admit no guilt for the crime, but the court can determine the punishment after the defendant and the judge speak. This sometimes results in lesser sentences because there is no jury trial (or a guilty plea) that has specific sentencing guidelines attached to it and the judge must adhere to those guidelines.
- he terminated his contract, LA did not. Thus, you are correct, the Kings still hold his rights were he to return because his current contract would still be in effect (6 years/$25 million, has 1 year left) so no team can simply sign him, they would need to trade for his rights. If the Kings had terminated his contract he would be free to speak with any team and sign as a UFA (Richards for example, who subsequently signed with the Caps for a minute)

These next 2 kind of go hand in hand:
- he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor, not a felony, so that too doesn't violate his work visa status. One of the statutory no gos that results in either deportation or cancellation of a work visa is if you are convicted of an "aggravated felony".
- he self deported, the US government (ICE/INS) did not deport him. Since the US did not deport him, he never violated his work visa and thus that doesn't make him inadmissible. Had he been convicted of an aggravated felony (above) and he was deported (this point), he would not be eligible for 20 years to return to the US.

All in all, his attorneys guided him quite well to leave the door open for the NHL. I guess that's what happens when you have the big bucks.

2. NHL: he will need to have a pow wow with Bettman and the powers that be to get reinstated to play in the NHL. I actually think this will be tougher than any of the legal hurdles he has to jump because there has been such a heightened awareness to domestic violence in sports, especially after the Ray Rice incident, that I can see Bettman saying no because he doesn't want the negative press that would be sure to follow. And I wouldn't blame him.

On the flip side, if he does say no, Voynov could very well sue the NHL. We can talk the millions he made in Russia (he was the third highest paid KHL player at $4.5 million/season not including any bonuses) and the millions he would have made here ($4.16 million/season the last 4 years) but you can swap those numbers for $150,000 and the premise is still the same - the NHL is an employer, not a governing body, and could be sued for discrimination. And I wouldn't blame him.

It's a really complicated mess from a lot of different POVs, so for anyone reading "Voynov returning to the NHL" somewhere by a fan or a beat writer, beware there is a lot they either are unaware of or simply haven't taken a deeper dive into.

I thought I had read something recently that Voynov's parole ends this summer too (?). May help pave the way a little more. No matter what, he has got to show genuine remorse for his actions.

Sure hope the Kings do indeed retain his rights. Though his situation and time in Russia may diminish his trade value, the Kings should be able to package his contract into a decent trade return.

I think the Kings don’t want to tip their hand. Until they find out if/when he can come back. No sense creating a PR issue. Also if they really don’t want him teams may offer less in a sign and trade or even just to talk. Voynov may feel like the Kings didn’t do enough for him, so his agent may be stretching the facts a bit. Could the Kings use him? Of course, he has got to be better than Gravel or LaDue. Do they want the #metoo crowd in front of Staples center? That will blow over. It is up to Bettman and immigration. While normally a misdemeanor doesn’t void a work visa, domestic violence can. I believe when Voynov was set to be released they put an immigration hold on him, that is why he self deported instead of going through the hearinghttps://www.google.com/amp/s/www.oc...es-to-leave-kings-seeks-return-to-russia/amp/

davnlaguna said:

While normally a misdemeanor doesn’t void a work visa, domestic violence can. I believe when Voynov was set to be released they put an immigration hold on him, that is why he self deported instead of going through the hearinghttps://www.google.com/amp/s/www.oc...es-to-leave-kings-seeks-return-to-russia/amp/

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That isn't listed in the statutory violations, although I'm sure this could be a possible hold up. There is a specific list of crimes that will void a work visa and DV (surprisingly) isn't on it - drug trafficking, prostitution, etc. all are though. I'm sure it's on a case by case basis however so it'll be one of the many things that needs to be sorted out legally.

They did put a hold on him, ICE agents picked him up the moment he was released from Seal Beach (amazing, a Russian sports athlete gets picked up by ICE but the millions of illegal immigrants who commit crimes here in CA aren't allowed to be thanks to Governor Brown. This is a fucked up state, I can't wait to leave - 12 more years, that's all I keep saying to myself) but by self deporting legally he was not deported so that hurdle is clear at least.

I still believe the NHL clearance will be harder than the legal one. I also believe you are right, LA isn't showing their cards but I don't think he is being planned on for the future. Blake doesn't seem like the type who wants this controversy in LA so he will be reinstated and traded IMO.

Under Section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.), any noncitizen convicted after September 30, 1996 of domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment, is deportable.

It doesn’t matter how long the person has held the visa or green card—committing the crime at any time after being admitted to the U.S. is sufficient to make the person deportable.

Great find, I am not sure how I missed that. Full list of General Classes of Deportable Aliens (that just sounds funny):

INA: ACT 237 - GENERAL CLASSES OF DEPORTABLE ALIENS | USCIS

E) 6/ Crimes of Domestic violence, stalking, or violation of protection order, crimes against children and.-


(i) Domestic violence, stalking, and child abuse.-Any alien who at any time after admission is convicted of a crime of domestic violence, a crime of stalking, or a crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment is deportable. For purposes of this clause, the term "crime of domestic violence" means any crime of violence (as defined in section 16 of title 18, United States Code) against a person committed by a current or former spouse of the person, by an individual with whom the person shares a child in common, by an individual who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with the person as a spouse, by an individual similarly situated to a spouse of the person under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction where the offense occurs, or by any other individual against a person who is protected from that individual's acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the United States or any State, Indian tribal government, or unit of local government.

It still won't apply to him though because he was never convicted (the whole "no contest" thing), at least not in a court of law but definitely in a court of public opinion. Makes total sense why his attorneys went that route, to make sure he is not considered inadmissible, I never dove into his case much before these rumors popped up but now everything is coming together.

And you better believe he paid some boohoo bucks to his attorneys, those guys generally have good relationships with judges and can get favorable sentences compared to public defenders or even mid level attorneys.

If this is $50,000/year Slava Voynov, he ain't coming back.

So, is he going to be suspended for 3+ years????? Girlfriend had red marks on her body.

Predators' Watson charged with domestic assault

Hearing for Austin Watson's domestic assault charge rescheduled

Voynov will be in court Monday July 2
To get the conviction expunged and get a work Visa
If the conviction gets expunged, then Voynov has to beg Hall of Famer, Gary Bettman, to let him play. Voynov wouldn’t talk during the trial so Bettman is butt hurt.
However, Voynov was suspended a long time pre trial and that should count. After trial will not count as suspended.
Kings are going to pay Doughty big money for 8 years(11 mill or more) so Voynov fitting after this year would be hard. Heck, anyone after this year would be hard.

davnlaguna said:

Voynov will be in court Monday July 2
To get the conviction expunged and get a work Visa
If the conviction gets expunged, then Voynov has to beg Hall of Famer, Gary Bettman, to let him play. Voynov wouldn’t talk during the trial so Bettman is butt hurt.
However, Voynov was suspended a long time pre trial and that should count. After trial will not count as suspended.
Kings are going to pay Doughty big money for 8 years(11 mill or more) so Voynov fitting after this year would be hard. Heck, anyone after this year would be hard.

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I don't know whether to laugh or cry at Bettman hall of famer thing.

Psych3man said:

So, is he going to be suspended for 3+ years????? Girlfriend had red marks on her body.

Predators' Watson charged with domestic assault

Hearing for Austin Watson's domestic assault charge rescheduled

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Brought up the same thing in the Off Season Thread, I'm curious to see what the league does. Hope there aren't two sets of rules and they are consistent and follow the same process and protocol.

davnlaguna said:

Voynov will be in court Monday July 2
To get the conviction expunged and get a work Visa
If the conviction gets expunged, then Voynov has to beg Hall of Famer, Gary Bettman, to let him play. Voynov wouldn’t talk during the trial so Bettman is butt hurt.
However, Voynov was suspended a long time pre trial and that should count. After trial will not count as suspended.
Kings are going to pay Doughty big money for 8 years(11 mill or more) so Voynov fitting after this year would be hard. Heck, anyone after this year would be hard.

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I too believe if he gets the conviction expunged and Bettman reinstates him, his 3-4 year suspension should count as "time served" much like it does when someone is jailed during trial until sentencing.

If that happens, he could very well be in the NHL by fall. Whether that's in a Kings uniform remains to be seen, but they will hold his rights until next summer so he will either be on the Kings roster - which would be unreal to see after so many years - or he will be traded for an asset.

Blake is in a real tough spot; having Voynov back would alter the team significantly for the better in terms of skill and depth, I could see a set up like this:

8 24
26 6
3 27
38

With the moves Blake is making it clearly spells "win now", which Voynov would help accomplish. I also feel he has different views on the situation, which may explain the silence/vagueness surrounding whatever comments he has made. My point: Dumbo said no way, I'm thinking Blake may be OK with him on board and may be trying to figure out how to address the situation that would arise from him returning.

On the other hand there would be tremendous backlash around the league and the eye would be on the Kings (negatively) once again.

PuckinUgly57 said:

Brought up the same thing in the Off Season Thread, I'm curious to see what the league does. Hope there aren't two sets of rules and they are consistent and follow the same process and protocol.

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If the Watson ordeal is not resolved by training camp, NHL has to suspend. If he is found guilty, NHL has to suspend.
There had better not be two sets of rules.

Is Waston an American?