Varlamov cleared of all charges

At the end of October, Semyon Varlamov was accused of domestic abuse and kidnapping. The charges were born out of statements from his girlfriend at the time, who stated that the Avalanche goaltender had drunkenly and enthusiastically beat her, stomped on her, and dragged her around by the hair. When official charges were brought against him, Varlamov was only facing the domestic abuse charges as the kidnapping had been dropped due to lack of evidence.

Today, that lack of evidence has cleared him completely. The district attorney's office requested that all charges be dropped due to an inability to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Varlamov committed any crime. A Denver judge made the request official.

Per the Denver Post, the DA provided this statement:

"That's not to say we don't believe our victim," district attorney spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough said, adding that investigators reinterviewed witnesses whose statements began to shift. "It became clear we didn't have a belief we could prove it beyond a reasonable doubt."

While it's awesome that our goaltender has been vindicated, the negative impact this has had on his image will never completely fade. People will continue to believe he's guilty, just as they continue to think Patrick Roy is guilty. Fortunately, the ruling means that he can let go of that burden and continue to play hockey. He's also most likely solidified his spot as the number one goaltender for Team Russia in the upcoming Olympics.

More details from 9 News.