After making his intention to return to North America known, it was expected that free agent center Evgeny Kuznetsov would be snapped up relatively quickly in a UFA market that wasn’t exactly deep this summer. But instead, his market has been slow-played as he remains unsigned.
However, it appears that he may not be without a contract for much longer. His agent Shumi Babaev told Sports Daily’s Mikhail Nyukhin that his client has now identified two NHL teams that he’ll sign with; he didn’t specify who they were, however. Both of those teams are now in the process of trying to open up salary cap space to sign Kuznetsov. When asked about him signing a minimum-salary contract worth $775K, Babaev indicated that there have been no talks about that.
Last summer, the 33-year-old signed a four-year deal with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL which strongly suggested that his days of playing in the NHL had come to an end. But after a solid season that saw him record 12 goals and 25 assists in 39 games, the final three seasons of the agreement were terminated back in April but instead of looking for another team in Russia to sign with, he set his sights on returning to North America.
Kuznetsov last played in the NHL in 2023-24, starting that year with Washington, the only NHL team he had known after they drafted him in the first round in 2010. However, he re-entered the Player Assistance Program in February of that season and upon being cleared to return, the Capitals subsequently waived him. After he cleared (an unsurprising outcome given his $7.8MM cap charge), he was dealt with 50% retention to Carolina for a third-round pick.
Kuznetsov went on to pick up seven points in 20 games with the Hurricanes before tallying six more in 10 playoff outings, looking as if he could be a useful secondary contributor for them. However, he requested and was granted the termination of the final year of that contract to allow him to return to Russia; one year later, the opposite has happened.
In his prime, Kuznetsov was a legitimate number one center, allowing him to amass 173 goals and 402 assists in 743 games at the top level. But toward the end of that time, his production was starting to slow down and it’s fair to question how much of an impact he’ll have on a lineup now. However, it appears that there was enough of a market for him to be at least a little selective on where he’ll play at a salary higher than the minimum. It looks as if we’ll know somewhat soon where Kuznetsov will be suiting up in 2025-26.
Why?
Guy keeps quitting on everyone. Why take a chance?
What are your examples?
Read the article
Here. I did it for you.
However, he requested and was granted the termination of the final year of that contract to allow him to return to Russia; one year later, the opposite has happened.
Do you know anything about hockey? Everyone knows about his issues.
Are people no longer allowed to change their minds?
Name one person you know that doesn’t have any issues. You don’t know anything more about him than what you read online.
He was a beast for the Caps when they won the cup and has value to a team that needs secondary scoring.
There’s more upside than downside to bringing him in, he’s not going to sign for a lot because he has to prove himself effective in the NHL again. It would be dumb NOT to throw him a bone, he could have a resurgence.
My guess is Vancouver or the Rangers. Rangers would have to clear some cap though.
Sullivan would want nothing to do with Kuznetsov.
Trying to open up cap space…maybe Edmonton? Possibly a low cost gamble on a former top sixer?
Has MTL written all over it. They just made cap space and need centers
Cocaine Bear