After a lengthy meeting with a prosecutor and attorneys for Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov, a Torrance judge handling the domestic violence case cryptically suggested Tuesday that a deal might be in the works just a week before trial is set to begin.

Judge Eric Taylor met with defense attorneys Pamela Mackey and Blair Berk for about 30 minutes Tuesday afternoon in closed chambers. Nothing was revealed about what was said, but Taylor asked everyone involved to return to court Thursday.

“You all are talking now, which is good,” Taylor said when the case resumed in open court. “Come back Thursday.”

The attorneys responded “yes” when Taylor asked the attorneys if he should keep the July 8 trial date.

Voynov, 25, sat in the court audience as the attorneys met. He faces a domestic violence charge resulting from an incident at his Redondo Beach home Oct. 19 that resulted in a trip to a hospital emergency room with his wife.

Redondo Beach police arrested Voynov early Oct. 20 at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center when he took his wife, Marta Varlamova, for treatment of a 1 1/2-inch cut above her left eye.

The National Hockey League immediately suspended Voynov. <URL destination="http://www.dailybreeze.com/general-news/20141120/los-angeles-kings-player-slava-voynov-charged-with-felony-domestic-violence">Prosecutors charged him with spousal abuse.

</URL>Testimony and court documents during the lead-up to next week’s scheduled trial revealed Voynov allegedly punched his wife at a Kings team Halloween party in Manhattan Beach, then kicked and choked her at home. He allegedly pushed her into the corner of a flat-screen television in their bedroom, causing the gash that required eight stitches.

For months the case has focused on whether Varlamova would testify against her husband, and whether statements she made to police and nurses could be used during the trial if she refused.

Varlamova has said in court documents that her injury was an accident and she did not want her husband prosecuted.

Voynov, who was additionally suspended by his own team last week, faces a felony that could result in a prison sentence. It was unclear what would happen if a deal for a guilty plea reduces the charge to a misdemeanor, both for his status with the team and his ability to remain in the United States with a conviction. Voynov is a native of Russia.