When the Los Angeles Kings won their second Stanley Cup in three years, the Cup-clinching hero, Alec Martinez, raved about the group of guys he was lucky enough to call teammates.
“We like each other. We love each other,” he said. “L.A.s the only thing I’ve ever known, being drafted here. But from what guys say that have played elsewhere, what we have here is pretty special, in terms of guys really liking each other, and that’s a testament to [general manager Dean Lombardi] putting together a group of guys like that.”
The arrest and subsequent suspension of teammate Slava Voynov after an alleged domestic assault raises a number of important issues outside the game of hockey. But one does have to wonder how this will affect such a tight-knit, successful team, and how management will respond.
Voynov is signed through 2018-19, with a cap hit of $4.17 million. Lombardi is still trying to find out how this could all play out...
Kings have little idea of what Voynov suspension means, in terms of length, salary cap, roster flexibility, etc.
— Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) October 21, 2014
Lombardi said Kings have combed through CBA, haven’t found anything. Conference call scheduled with NHL officials today
— Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) October 21, 2014
But suppose the allegations are true, that Voynov is indeed responsible for sending a woman to the hospital. Is that going to be someone the Kings welcome back into their “special” group?
“We’re still a strong group,” veteran forward Jarrett Stoll said, per Rich Hammond. “It’s adversity for us but we’re going to come through it.”
Whether they come through it with Voynov still a part of them remains to be seen.
Related: Sutter, Lombardi throw support behind Voynov suspension