LAK's Voynov suspended over domestic violence charge

[AvroArrow]

I don't know why you're hung up on those words.  Innocent, guilty, right now it reflects poorly on the NHL regardless.  Suspending him doesn't mean they even take a side.

I get hung up on those words because if it was me and I was innocent, I'd be ticked off that the NHL is effectively considering me guilty and robbing me of playing time.

As I said in a reply to Busta, I think the NHL can wait to act, while simultaneously making it known they're not ignoring/avoiding/allowing/tolerating such behaviour.

 

[bustaheims]

I think if they're transparent about it, people should be able to accept how the league handles situations like this.  If the NHL appears to not care by doing and saying nothing, I can see the reputation of the league being hit.  On the other hand, if they come out and say something like, "We're investigating this along side the police and allowing our player the rights he's entitled to (ie: innocent until proven guilty).  If he is deemed guilty, we will respond in kind.", then eveyone know's they're waiting to see the outcome and will act if he's found guilty.

As I said, there are some situations where I think "guilty until proven innocent" is acceptable - I just question whether this is one (it's, unfortunately, not a obvious line).

PS: Before anyone misconstrues anything I'm saying, I am very much AGAINST any kind of abuse and think it should not be tolerated.

The league isn't denying him those rights, though. As long as they don't attempt to terminate his contract without a guilty verdict, they've 100% honoured those rights to the extent that is required of them. The NFL went with the kind of softball approach you're suggesting, and look where it got them. It's not the league's duty to investigate the criminal accusations, nor do they have the rights to conduct such an investigation. The league has to be proactive about this kind of stuff in order to attempt to minimize future incidents. They're not making a judgement on his guilt, they're making a judgement based on what is best of them as a league - and that's to distance themselves from the case as much as possible until it is resolved. The suspension also makes it mandatory for Voynov to enter the league's counselling program, which is an important part of this, as well. Regardless of the verdict, that's something Voynov should benefit from.

 

[Deebo]

I get hung up on those words because if it was me and I was innocent, I'd be ticked off that the NHL is effectively considering me guilty and robbing me of playing time.

As I said in a reply to Busta, I think the NHL can wait to act, while simultaneously making it known they're not ignoring/avoiding/allowing/tolerating such behaviour.

His union agreed to this and he likely voted in favour of this CBA. No rights are being violated.

After what went on in the NFL, I don't think letting a player play through a something like this in the best interests of the league. I think it would be perceived as a weak response.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

I don't know why you're hung up on those words.  Innocent, guilty, right now it reflects poorly on the NHL regardless.  Suspending him doesn't mean they even take a side.

I get hung up on those words because if it was me and I was innocent, I'd be ticked off that the NHL is effectively considering me guilty and robbing me of playing time.

As I said in a reply to Busta, I think the NHL can wait to act, while simultaneously making it known they're not ignoring/avoiding/allowing/tolerating such behaviour.

They're not effectively considering you guilty.  Getting arrested for domestic violence (especially now) should be unacceptable conduct for the league, and as a player in the league you can either reflect positively or poorly on the league and its partners.  This reflects poorly and until it's sorted out he's suspended from playing with pay. 

It's hardly considering him guilty, it's reflecting that, guilty or not, the arrest itself reflects poorly on the league and its partners.

 

[Kin]

He's not.  He's been suspended indefinitely.  The NHL is considering him guilty until proven innocent.

Which is their right as a private enterprise. Considering someone innocent until proven guilty is a bedrock concept of our legal system but private individuals and private citizens are under no such obligation to give someone the benefit of the doubt. If I watch you walk up to someone and hit them in the head with a baseball bat, I don't have to wait until the long, slow legal system takes it's course before I can decide that you assaulted them.

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

Slava Voynov and Semyon Varlamav.  I think the league is completely missing the issue here.  It's clearly a problem with guys with the initials S.V.

Sami Vatanen, we're watching you closely.

 

[Frank E]

Slava Voynov and Semyon Varlamav.  I think the league is completely missing the issue here.  It's clearly a problem with guys with the initials S.V.

Sami Vatanen, we're watching you closely.

I like that you took the time to find another S.V.  That's a commitment to good posting right there.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Slava Voynov and Semyon Varlamav.  I think the league is completely missing the issue here.  It's clearly a problem with guys with the initials S.V.

Sami Vatanen, we're watching you closely.

Nice try Sherlock, but his name is Vyacheslav Voynov!

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

Slava Voynov and Semyon Varlamav.  I think the league is completely missing the issue here.  It's clearly a problem with guys with the initials S.V.

Sami Vatanen, we're watching you closely.

Nice try Sherlock, but his name is Vyacheslav Voynov!

Nice try, "Vyachesami" Vatanen's agent.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Learning lessons from the NFL...

Memories of the NFL?s botched handling of the Ray Rice spousal abuse case are still fresh for everyone in professional sports. Bettman had surely observed how his counterpart, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, raised serious doubts about his ability to lead during that ordeal.

He may also have had some time to reflect on the NHL?s own experience with Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov.

The league remained quiet when Varlamov spent a night in jail on assault and kidnapping charges last October. He was even allowed to start a game for the Avalanche 48 hours after turning himself into police. Even though the charges were ultimately dropped, the optics of the situation were terrible.

some of the ramifications it carries. For starters, the Kings now have just six active defenceman on the roster and one of them, Jake Muzzin, still hasn?t played this season because of an injury.

That?s significant because the team has less than $500,000 in available salary cap space and might have to make a roster move before Thursday?s game against Buffalo.

There is also the possibility that Voynov will be found not guilty on these charges.[color]

For more, click here:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/slava-voynov-los-angeles-kings-domestic-violence-charges-gary-bettman-nhl/

 

[Tigger]

Voynov's lawyer says 'there's no crime here'...

http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/610751

 

[OldTimeHockey]

The only question I have is if this is all proven to be complete BS does the NHL apologize and is Voynov's earnings returned?

It seems to me that if it is in fact false accusations, Voynov could have lost substantial earnings.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not doubting the accusations...Just asking the question is all.

 

[Kin]

The only question I have is if this is all proven to be complete BS does the NHL apologize and is Voynov's earnings returned?

It seems to me that if it is in fact false accusations, Voynov could have lost substantial earnings.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not doubting the accusations...Just asking the question is all.

The CBA says the League is allowed to suspend players during investigations. That's what they've done. If he gets found not guilty or isn't charged, neither of which necessarily mean that the accusations are false, they don't lose that right retroactively.

 

[bustaheims]

The only question I have is if this is all proven to be complete BS does the NHL apologize and is Voynov's earnings returned?

He hasn't lost any. He's still getting paid at this point and he's under contract for long enough that, should these accusations prove to be false, it won't have a significant impact on his earning ability.

 

[Derk]

An interesting repercussion of this situation is that he still counts towards the Kings' cap. Kopitar was injured in the last game and is not going to play against the Flyers tonight. Since it is a day to day thing, he won't be out long enough to go on the DL so HE counts towards the cap too. The result: Kings are only dressing 19 players tonight due to cap issues. Not sure I like the team being punished for, in this case, a player's off ice problems.

 

[Chev-boyar-sky]

I read in the paper that the wife is back living with him and doesn't want to press charges.

Where does that leave LA, Voynov and the NHL?

 

[Bender]

I read in the paper that the wife is back living with him and doesn't want to press charges.

Where does that leave LA, Voynov and the NHL?

Nobody saw that coming  :

 

[bustaheims]

I read in the paper that the wife is back living with him and doesn't want to press charges.

Where does that leave LA, Voynov and the NHL?

Well, since in the state of California, the spouse doesn't actually have to press charges for criminal charges to be laid in cases like this, it doesn't change anything yet.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

An interesting repercussion of this situation is that he still counts towards the Kings' cap. Kopitar was injured in the last game and is not going to play against the Flyers tonight. Since it is a day to day thing, he won't be out long enough to go on the DL so HE counts towards the cap too. The result: Kings are only dressing 19 players tonight due to cap issues. Not sure I like the team being punished for, in this case, a player's off ice problems.

The best part is they're playing Philly, who should be in their own cap hell if the league actually followed its own rules.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

This is absurd:

The Los Angeles Kings will not have enough cap space to recall a defenseman from AHL-Manchester should one be needed in place of Robyn Regehr, who left practice earlier today with an undisclosed injury.

According to Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations and Legal Affairs Jeff Solomon, the Kings will be $160 short of the necessary cap space to be able to recall a player with a league-minimum salary. Had the game against Vancouver taken place on Sunday, the Kings would have had enough cap space to recall a player, as a team?s cap space grows daily.

http://lakingsinsider.com/2014/11/07/cap-crunch-could-see-kings-play-short-again/