AFP
Los Angeles

Defenseman Slava Voynov (pictured), who pleaded no contest to domestic violence charges in July, has severed ties with the Los Angeles Kings and plans to return to his native Russia.
Voynov’s decision to begin the process of trying to leave comes in the aftermath of his legal troubles in the US which included being sentenced to 90 days in jail and probation stemming from an October fight with his wife.
“Earlier today, I notified the National Hockey League, the National Hockey League Players’ Association and the Los Angeles Kings of my decision to immediately begin the formal process of returning to Russia with my family,” said Voynov in a statement Wednesday.
“I sincerely apologise to those in and around the game of hockey who have been affected by my situation.”
His statement comes one day before the Kings had planned to officially terminate his contract.
“Mr. Voynov has been in the custody of the Seal Beach Detention Center and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (since the plea on July 2),” the Kings said Wednesday.
“During this period of detention, the Los Angeles Kings decided he would no longer play for the team.  
“The method by which we would ensure this outcome was something we carefully considered and we established a deadline of September 17 — the beginning of our 2015-16 training camp—to reach this outcome.
“Recently it became evident to us that our conclusion to this process would be to terminate Mr. Voynov’s Standard Player’s Contract. However, Mr. Voynov’s announcement today of his intention to leave the United States and return to Russia makes the termination unnecessary.”
Voynov’s decision to leave must still be approved by immigration officials. He was facing possible deportation after being taken into custody earlier this month by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Voynov still had four years and $19.2 million left on his contract with the Kings.  
Voynov won two Stanley Cup titles with the Kings in 2012 and 2014. He was one of the Kings’ top four defensemen and scored 18 goals and 81 points in 190 games spanning four seasons with Los Angeles.
Voynov is the third Kings’ player to run into legal trouble in the past six months.  
Even before this year’s arrests there had been a bad-boy image associated with the Kings’ colours. Some Los Angeles area schools have in the past banned students from wearing Kings’ paraphernalia on their campuses.   
The Kings have committed to cleaning up their reputation.  
“As part of that commitment, we will soon announce a series of new Conduct Awareness Training Initiatives that reflect the values and principles central to our franchise,” Wednesday’s statement said.