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Slava Voynov pleads no contest to misdemeanor 'corporal injury to a spouse'

Slava Voynov pleads no contest to misdemeanor 'corporal injury to a spouse'

A judge has accepted a plea deal for Kings defenseman Slava Voynov in his domestic violence case.

According to Larry Altman of the Daily Breeze, Thursday, Voynov entered a plea of “no contest” to a misdemeanor count of corporal injury to a spouse.

Initially, Voynov was charged with felony “corporal injury to spouse with great bodily injury” for his part in a late October altercation with his wife.

According to Altman on Twitter, Voynov will get three years probation and 90 days in jail. If Voynov violates probation, the DA reportedly said the 90 days in jail could turn into 364. He will also have 52 weeks of domestic violence conseling and eight hours of community service

There were some questions about the deal meriting deportation for the Russian-born Voynov but according to Rich Hammond of the Orange County Register, the judge presiding over the case said that is for immigration court to decide.

Voynov’s trial was set to start on July 6.

According to earlier testimony in the trial, authorities said Voynov’s wife had a laceration over her left eye, blood streaming and red marks on her neck. They also said Voynov pushed her to the ground multiple times, kicked her repeatedly and choked her three times.

Below is a statement by Voynov’s wife, Marta Varlamova from shortly after the initial felony charge:

Marta was stunned by the news today and she is devastated. She did not believe, and does not believe, that her husband intended to injure her and she believes that he is not guilty of any crime. She is worried about her family's privacy and concerned that she and her family are going to be subjected to ridicule, embarrassment and hatred because of this decision. In fact, she has already seen that beginning to happen. It is unfortunate that no one seemed to care what she wants, and that the authorities gave little or no weight to her view of the facts of the case. Despite this unwelcome news, she still expects her husband to be cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.

Los Angeles recently terminated the contract of forward Mike Richards alleging a material breach. Following the termination, there were reports Richards had a border crossing situation involving the prescription pain killer oxycodone, though TMZ said Richards had not been charged with a crime. The NHL Players’ Association has yet to say how it will respond to the termination.

The felony cocaine possession charge of former forward Jarret Stoll was recently reduced to misdemeanors. 

Voynov was suspended with pay by the NHL after his initial arrest, which led to the eventual felony charge. The Kings were on the hook for Voynov’s $4.167 million salary cap hit at the time.

The NHL then said the Kings were not responsible for the cap hit and eventually gave LA salary cap relief for Voynov. There is still no official word on how the Kings may proceed with Voynov's contract, or whether his suspension has been lifted by the NHL.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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