WASHINGTON. Russian ice hockey player Yevgeniy Kuznetsov was not selected within 24 hours from the list of unprotected players, and Washington sent him to the reserve team in Hershey (AHL).
The Capitals put him there after he returned from the NHL and NHLPA assistance program. However, his time in the US capital is likely to come to an end as the club look to replace the 31-year-old forward.
MacLellan: We’re open to anything
Kuznetsov was one of Washington’s long-time regulars, he also participated in winning the Stanley Cup in 2018.
In the past two seasons, however, his productivity decreased, this year he scored only 17 points (6+11) in 43 games.
In previous weeks, he graduated from the NHL and NHLPA assistance program, which serves to help players with addiction treatment and mental health problems.
Over the weekend, the program administrators gave him the green light to return to the training process, but the Capitals do not count on him any further.
General manager Brian MacLellan said: “We’re open to anything that gives him the opportunity to continue his career the way he wants to. I think he needs to sort out some things in his personal life. He needs to find his level of play, he can to work at Hershey or another organization,” MacLellan said, according to nhl.com.
Will he report to the farm?
“I feel for him as a person and I hope it works out for the best for him and his family,” coach Spencer Carbery said before his team’s game against Arizona on Sunday.
However, it is not clear whether Kuznetsov will report to the farm. However, according to the AP, he will not play any more games for Washington.
Kuznetsov’s current contract with an average annual salary of $7.8 million will expire after the 2024/25 season.
So far, he spent his entire professional league career in Washington, where he played 723 games in the regular season with a record of 171 goals and 397 assists. In the playoffs, he made 87 starts with 29 goals and 38 assists.
In 2019, he received a three-game suspension from the NHL management for “inappropriate behavior”. Just less than a month earlier, he received a four-year suspension on the international stage for a positive cocaine test.
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2024-03-03 21:32:34
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