His agent, Neil Sheehy, said he did not know whether Visnovsky will remain with the KHL’s Slovan Bratislava, where he played during the lockout.

Visnovsky issued a statement through Sheehy last week expressing his desire to remain in Europe. The Islanders can suspend Visnovsky for failing to report.

The KHL and NHL have an agreement that all players with NHL contracts are obligated to return to the NHL once the lockout is lifted.

Visnovsky’s case might be the first legitimate test of the sincerity of the agreement.

“The KHL has repeatedly said that they will not permit him to play, so I guess we will have to see what happens,” deputy commissioner Bill Daly said when reached via email.

According to International Ice Hockey Federation spokesperson Szymon Szemberg, the IIHF has not yet received an official letter of complaint from the NHL on the situation.

Should the league appeal to the IIHF, international hockey’s governing body, that probably would be the next step.

The IIHF’s involvement would likely only come should the NHL and KHL fail to resolve the situation on their own.

“Please keep in mind that even before IIHF regulations come into play, the NHL and the KHL have an independent memorandum of agreement drawn up specifically to avoid cases where each other contracts are not respected,” Szemberg said when reached via email. “Bill Daly has repeatedly stated that he expects the KHL to respect their side of the agreement.”

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Datsyuk is one of a number of players who went to the Kontinental Hockey League during the NHL lockout. Now that players and owners have reached a tentative agreement to end the lockout, the KHL has needed to replace several selections to its All-Star Game. But a spokesman for the Russian league says Datsyuk and New Jersey Devils star Ilya Kovalchuk are still expected to participate.

NHL players have until Saturday to vote on the new labor deal that would end the four-month lockout. If a majority of players choose to accept the deal, training camps will open Sunday, and a 48-game regular season will begin Jan. 19.

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Letang, who likely will play for the team Sunday, joins a roster that includes Ilya Kovalchuk, Vladimir Tarasenko and Sergei Bobrovsky.

The NHL lockout reached its 111th day Friday as the league and union met separately with a mediator.

Letang, 25, had 10 goals and 32 assists for the Penguins last season. He is a two-time All-Star and won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2009, his second full NHL season.

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