While basking in the glow of watching Evgeny Kuznetsov take over the Stanley Cup Final in 2018, helping to deliver the Capitals their first NHL championship, some Washington hockey fans may have dared to dream of what was ahead.
After all, while the great Alex Ovechkin won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the series’ most valuable player, and no one protested that selection, everyone also knew Ovechkin’s Russian teammate had been just as impactful — maybe even more so — on the ice for the Capitals over their championship run.
Kuznetsov led all skaters with 32 points in those playoffs (12 goals, including the series-clinching overtime winner in Game 6 against Pittsburgh) and 20 assists. While celebrating the Capitals’ long-awaited title, there was speculation that we were watching the beginning of the Kuznetsov Era in Washington. Ovechkin 2.0 perhaps.
Ovechkin knew he had a special teammate. “He was unbelievable,” Ovechkin told reporters. “He makes magic over there.”
Coach Barry Trotz knew he had a special player. He spoke of how Kuznetsov took over games for Washington in the playoffs and even offered that the star of the team, Ovechkin, might have to share MVP honors for the series. “You probably have to split that in half for me,” he said.
Kuznetsov, selected by Washington with the 26th pick in the first round of the 2010 NHL draft, was just 26 when they won the Stanley Cup, and the possibilities, on the ice, seemed limitless. Ovechkin and Kuznetsov, skating their way together to NHL glory.
But in hindsight, 2018 was it. That was as good as it got. Off the ice, the challenges were too great for Kuznetsov, whose time in Washington now seems to have come to an ignominious end after the team placed him on waivers Saturday.
Kuznetsov, who had been in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program for the last month, had been cleared to return to the ice. He is now assigned to the Capitals’ minor league club in Hershey. His Wikipedia page already lists Kuznetsov as a “professional ice hockey forward with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League.”
But it seems unlikely he will play for Hershey — or Washington — and he will likely be released if no trade can be arranged. He has one year left on an eight-year, $62.4 million contract he signed in 2017.
“It’s about a fresh start for Kuzy,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan told reporters. “He’s been looking for a change in an environment, and I think this might set the wheels in motion for that to be accomplished.”
Kuznetsov, 31, never lived up to the expectations fueled by the Stanley Cup run. The Kuznetsov Era turned out to be an era of broken promises, failed expectations and personal dramas.
In 2019, there was a video that surfaced that showed Kuznetsov near two lines of a white powdery substance on a table. He issued the following statement: “I have never used drugs and do not intend to. If you have questions, I am ready to undergo a medical examination.”
Oh, there were questions. There were always questions with Kuznetsov. He was banned by the International Ice Hockey Federation for four years after testing positive for cocaine and then suspended for three NHL games for “inappropriate conduct” in 2019.
He disappeared at times on the ice, then would show flashes of the talent that Ovechkin called magic. In 2022 Kuznetsov made the NHL All-Star team for the second time. He told reporters he was a changed man, committed to his game on the ice. Then he would disappear again. Kuznetsov entered the player assistance program last month.
“We have a history here that’s gone on for a while, and I think it’s frustrating on both sides,” MacLellan said. “It’s just an opportunity for our side, too, to start fresh and try to give him an opportunity to continue his career.
Rookie coach Spencer Carbery didn’t need the burden of having to develop the Capitals’ young players while trying to manage Kuznetsov’s troubles. Carbery benched Kuznetsov earlier this season, but it did little to change his lack of presence or increase his production.
So now Kuznetsov’s time in Washington appears to be over — 11 seasons, 723 games played, 568 points (171 goals, 397 assists).
Everyone thought there would be more.
Yes, it is disappointing. But Kuznetsov also delivered in the most important moments for this franchise — the 2018 championship run. He and Ovechkin brought the Stanley Cup to Washington, and Kuznetsov will always be celebrated for that.
• You can hear Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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