The Islanders on Tuesday announced that they have suspended Evgeni Nabokov after the goalie claimed on waivers refused to report to the team.

Nabokov, who had been playing in Russia, signed a one-year contract with the Red Wings on Jan. 20 but had to clear waivers to join them.

The Islanders, by virtue of their next-to-last-place standing in the NHL, claimed Nabokov last Thursday but he has refused to play.

The team announced the suspension on its website.

“I think I’m going to stay home for now, I’m sticking with my decision,” Nabokov told ESPN.com. “It’s nothing against the Islanders and their organization. It’s nothing to do with that. It’s just that I’m at the point in my career where I want to help a team win in the playoffs. I don’t see how I could help the Islanders or what I could do for them. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. And I hope they understand that.”

The Islanders prepared a locker and put Nobokov in their game notes last week.

“I don’t see why somebody who has this opportunity would not want to play and fulfill his contract,” owner Charles Wang said last week. “It’s nuts, right? I don’t understand any of it.”

According to The Associated Press, the Islanders control Nabokov’s rights and could keep him out of the NHL for all of next season.