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Former Devils F Ilya Kovalchuk offended fans with comments he made about Semyon Varlamov's domestic abuse case.

(Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger)

Ilya Kovalchuk already has a large group of die-hards in New Jersey who hate him for leaving the Devils to play in the KHL.

But the former star forward has now infuriated many others with comments he made about Semyon Varlamov -- the native Russian and Avalanche goaltender was charged last month with a count of third-degree assault after alleged domestic violence in which he's accused of beating his girlfriend, Evgeniya Vavrinyuk.

"I hope to God it all pans out well and maybe he can somehow reach an agreement with his princess and finally she'd be given a green card, which she really wants," Kovalchuk told R-Sport, a Russian website, adding that fellow teammates from the country are "all supporting" the netminder.

Fans are taking to Twitter to express their extreme displeasure at the comments: