Members of the Kings said they expect the team’s closeness — one of its signature strengths during two Stanley Cup championship runs in the past three seasons — to continue to be a source of support during the absence of defenseman Slava Voynov, who was arrested Monday on suspicion of domestic violence and suspended indefinitely by the NHL with pay.
The Kings were off on Monday when news broke of Voynov’s arrest and subsequent release on $50,000 bail. They practiced without the Russian defenseman on Tuesday for the first time.
Players were cautioned by team officials to be careful in responding to reporters’ questions about Voynov after Tuesday’s practice at El Segundo. Some players didn’t make themselves available for interviews; defenseman Alec Martinez — whose locker stall is next to Voynov’s — declined to comment altogether.
Winger Kyle Clifford said the Kings’ unity hasn’t been hurt by the incident involving Voynov, whose average ice time of 23 minutes and 11 seconds per game ranked second on the team only to Drew Doughty’s 27:07. Asked about the group’s noted closeness, Clifford said nothing had changed.
“We still are,” he said. “I think we’ve got leadership and we’re obviously concerned for everyone, and other than that there’s not much to say.”
Defenseman Matt Greene, one of the Kings’ alternate captains and a locker-room leader, expressed concern for Voynov foremost.
“It affects everybody but I think it affects those guys — his family — the most,” Greene said. “That’s it. We’re thinking about his family and everybody involved.”
Center Jarret Stoll said players were “disappointed” but prepared to let matters play out within the legal system. He said the organization supported the NHL’s decision to suspend Voynov pending investigations by both the league and the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
“He’s a great player for our team, for this team. We’ve got to be strong together,” Stoll said. “Speaking strictly about hockey, we’ve got a lot of depth. We’ve got a good team. Guys are going to have to step up, just like it was any other thing going on.
“Hopefully everything can get sorted out. It’s unfortunate for our team but we’ll deal with it as a team, as a group. We feel that we’re a strong enough team to do that.”
Stoll also said players were capable of preventing the uncertainty over Voynov’s status from becoming a distraction.
“If we were a younger team or less experienced team, I don’t know if that would be the case. But we talked about it. We’re aware of it obviously,” he said. “We have to move on as a team. We’re going to address it today to the media and we move on together. We have a hockey game on Thursday to focus on and worry about and a couple home games here and then a very tough, long road trip. We’ve got a lot to focus on ourselves. Within this room within this team, our group, we’re a strong enough group to get through this adversity and then we’ll move on.”
Voynov was arrested after a woman sought treatment at a Torrance hospital’s emergency room late Sunday night for injuries that were serious enough to prompt medical personnel to summon police.
After questioning the woman, Redondo Beach police arrested Voynov, who was with the woman at the hospital, on suspicion of inflicting bodily injury on a current or former spouse, cohabitant or co-parent, a felony.
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