The National Hockey League may bar former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov from the World Cup of Hockey for Team Russia in September in Toronto.
Voynov, who was among the final roster members named to Team Russia on Friday, was suspended by the NHL early in the 2014-15 season after being charged with spousal abuse in the Los Angeles area, and the league announced Friday it would review Voynov's ability to take part in the tournament.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement he did not think Voynov, 26, would be eligible to compete. The NHLPA, which is co-hosting the World Cup with the NHL, also is reviewing the matter with the league.
"We will obviously have to review his status with the Players' Association prior to the start of the tournament in September," Daly said. "It is not my current expectation that this player will be deemed eligible to play in the World Cup of Hockey."
Voynov, who won two Stanley Cups with the Kings in 2012 and 2014, was suspended for all but six games of the 2014-15 season pending the resolution of his court case. He pleaded no contest to a reduced misdemeanor charge in July 2015 and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, serving about two-thirds of that sentence.
Facing deportation, Voynov left the United States for his native Russia last fall, when he played in the Kontinental Hockey League's franchise in St. Petersburg this past season.
