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Evgeny Kuznetsov

COVID Notes: Protocols, Kuznetsov, Backstrom, Ontario

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The league NHL has implemented enhanced protocols through January 7 to battle the recent spread of COVID-19 among its member teams, according to multiple reports including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Among the new measures (which are similar to those used all of last season) are restrictions on indoor dining while on the road, masking and distancing in club facilities, and daily testing.

Darren Dreger of TSN notes that the protocols will be reviewed in early January and could be extended. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic adds that the NHLPA will hold an executive board call with the 32 player representatives to answer any questions regarding the enhanced protocols.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Kuznetsov, Gravel

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The NHL has released their Three Stars for last week, and at the very top is a name familiar to individual awards. Leon Draisaitl has been named the first star of the week after racking up ten points in five games and jumping in front of teammate Connor McDavid in the league scoring race. Draisaitl not only is leading in overall points but is also tied with Alex Ovechkin for the league goal-scoring lead with ten in his first ten games. The 2020 Art Ross and Hart Trophy winner, Draisaitl now has 529 points through the first 488 games of his NHL career.

The other two spots belong to a pair of goaltenders who could potentially be teammates at next year’s Olympics. Jack Campbell and John Gibson receive the second and third honors respectively after near-perfect weeks. The Toronto Maple Leafs netminder went 3-0 with a .968 save percentage, stopping 92 of 95 shots against some tough competition, while Gibson allowed just a single goal on 63 shots, winning both his games last week. While not considered much of a candidate for the U.S. Olympic squad until recently, Campbell’s play so far has put him in that conversation. Across ten games, he leads all American netminders with a .936 save percentage.

  • In 2019, Evgeny Kuznetsov received a four-year suspension from the IIHF after testing positive for cocaine at the World Championships. That would normally have meant he would not be eligible to play for Russia at the upcoming Olympics, but a report from RIA Novosti indicates that there is renewed hope that the suspension will be reduced and Kuznetsov will be able to play. Alexei Zhamnov, head coach of the Russian team, told Sport-Express that either tomorrow or the day after they should know more about Kuznetsov’s situation.
  • Alexis Gravel, who was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2018, is leaving the ECHL to join the University of Quebec-Trois-Rivieres for the rest of this season. The 21-year-old netminder will be remembered fondly by Halifax Mooseheads fans, where he starred in the QMJHL and even took home a Memorial Cup Most Outstanding Goaltender award. Gravel did not sign an entry-level contract with the Blackhawks and is an unrestricted free agent. He posted an .863 save percentage in two appearances with the Allen Americans this season.

Latest On Evgeny Kuznetsov’s Future In Washington

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For months now, there have been whispers that the Washington Capitals are “running out of patience” with forward Evgeny Kuznetsov, and when GM Brian MacLellan spoke to the media today he certainly didn’t douse the flames of speculation. As Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press tweets, MacLellan indicated that is open to trading anyone (save for Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom) this offseason if it makes the team better. When asked specifically about Kuznetsov, he expressed some of that lack of patience:

If he can’t play at his highest ability, we’re not going to be a good team and we’d have to make some other decisions. 

I don’t know, I think it’s been inconsistent for a few years here, and it has hurt our team. 

In January, the 29-year-old Kuznetsov was part of the group that broke COVID protocol and caused the Capitals to incur a $100K fine from the league. He ended up on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list for the next 18 days, unable to practice or play with the team in the early part of the season. Earlier this month, he and teammate Ilya Samsonov were late for a meeting and benched for a game, only to show up on the COVID list once again. He would spend 13 days unavailable this time, right as the team was preparing for and playing in the first round of the playoffs. Kuznetsov would return for three games against the Boston Bruins but failed to record a point as the Capitals were defeated.

In 2019, Kuznetsov was given a four-year suspension from the IIHF after he tested positive for cocaine at the World Championships. The NHL eventually suspended him for the first three games of the 2019-20 season due to inappropriate conduct. Kuznetsov accepted both suspensions, apologizing to those that he let down and vowed: “to take ownership of my situation and my actions from this point forward.”

At his best, Kuznetsov can be one of the most dynamic players in the NHL. He showed it in 2017-18, scoring 83 points in 79 games and then leading the league in playoff scoring en route to a Stanley Cup. He could have easily been the choice for the Conn Smythe Trophy that went to Ovechkin, who scored five points fewer than Kuznetsov’s 32 in the 24-game run. In his career overall, the playmaking center has 418 points in 520 games and scored 29 this season in 41. There is no one who questions his talent, just his consistency.

Kuznetsov is signed through the 2024-25 season at a $7.8MM cap hit and carries a 15-team no-trade list. That kind of contract isn’t easy to deal but it is easy to see why a team might be interested. Centers of his offensive ability don’t reach the market very often, especially not at his age and experience level. For the Capitals, who will need to re-sign Ovechkin this summer and tweak the lineup for another run, that cap space could be useful. So could Kuznetsov if he’s playing to his capabilities, which is why a trade certainly isn’t a guarantee.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

NHL Announces Blank COVID Protocol Related Absences List

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May 25: The list is empty again today. Moving forward we will only publish it if a player is added to the protocol.

May 24: The long-awaited day has finally arrived. When the NHL released it’s COVID Protocol Related Absences list on Monday evening, it contained no names. It is the first time since the list originally debuted at the start of the regular season that the contents has been empty. Granted, the list now only includes the 14 active playoff teams as opposed to all 31 clubs, but it still marks a major achievement in the league’s battle against the Coronavirus.

Of course, the final step toward a league-wide clean bill of health actually came with the elimination of the St. Louis Blues on Sunday. When the Colorado Avalanche completed their sweep of the Blues, they also ended the seasons of the only two players on the latest CPRA list: David Perron and Nathan Walker. In fact, every player who has appeared on the list since the playoffs began on March 15 has now been eliminated – Perron, Walker, and Blues teammate Jake Walman and Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov, whose team was bounced by the Boston Bruins on Sunday as well.

With the NHL already feeling confident enough in its COVID-19 status as to allow relaxed policies to vaccinated teams, the hope is that this empty CPRA list becomes the norm and not the exception. With postseason results obviously carrying much more weight than regular season results, the league does not want to see any of their playoff series tainted by COVID results. The Blues’ absences, particularly Perron’s, were certainly felt, but as major underdogs against Colorado anyhow, the league escaped without much controversy. They hope that can continue throughout the postseason and that the CPRA list becomes a permanent thing of the past moving forward into next season.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/16/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:

St. Louis – David Perron, Jake Walman, Nathan Walker

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals

For the second straight day, a Washington player was removed from the list after Ilya Samsonov came off on Saturday.  However, don’t expect an immediate return for him (or Samsonov who returned to the ice for the first time today).  Kuznetsov has been on the list since May 4th which means he has been away from the team since then; expecting either of them to jump into a playoff series after being off for that long would be tough.  However, at the very least, the Capitals should be looking forward to having some reinforcements as their series against Boston progresses.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/15/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. While the league is waiting on a report from the Florida Panthers, here is today’s list for all remaining active teams:

Florida – TBA
St. Louis – Jake Walman, Nathan Walker, David Perron*
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Ilya Samsonov, Washington Capitals

While Washington will be happy to see that Samsonov was one-and-done on his second stint on the CPRA list, the goaltender was still absent from morning skate earlier and he is not expected to play in Game One against the Boston Bruins tonight. Nevertheless, having Samsonov available for the remainder of the series is certainly a plus for Capitals. Their young goaltending tandem is the team’s biggest question mark heading into the postseason, but having both healthy improves the situation. Whether the Capitals will get Kuznetsov back during their first-round series remains uncertain.

In St. Louis, this is certainly not the news that the team hoped for on the eve of their postseason run. While the Blues would have liked to have Walman and Walker available as depth options if need be, their losses are not much of a factor to the team’s success. Perron’s addition to the COVID Protocol is another matter entirely. The veteran led the Blues in scoring this season with 58 points in 56 games and is a difference-maker on the ice and in the locker room. If he misses any time, it makes the daunting task of upsetting the Colorado Avalanche that much harder. The team and the league alike hate to see a player of his caliber sidelined at this time of the year.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/14/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:

St. Louis – Jake Walman, Nathan Walker*
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov*

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Devan Dubnyk, Colorado Avalanche

Kuznetsov has been officially joined by Samsonov on the list, though the goaltender has been in the COVID protocol all along. Since he was on the taxi squad during the regular season, the team was not required to include him. The fact that they remain ineligible means they will not have any real practice time before the Capitals open their first-round playoff series tomorrow. Even if they were to be cleared tomorrow, it is looking very unlikely that either will be dressed for game one.

Walker joins Walman as well, though neither have quite the same impact as the Washington players. The fact that Colorado’s backup goaltender is out though is a helpful step for the Avalanche, especially since the team has two more days before opening their series on Monday.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/13/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:

Colorado – Devan Dubnyk
St. Louis – Jake Walman
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: None

Kuznetsov and his teammate Ilya Samsonov remain in the protocol, meaning they will have at most one day of practice before their first-round series against the Bruins opens on Saturday. The 28-year-old center is a big part of the team but hasn’t played since May 1, first for disciplinary reasons and then after showing up on the COVID protocol. It’s unclear when Kuznetsov will be inserted into the Capitals lineup, or even when he will be allowed to practice with the team.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/12/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:

Colorado – Devan Dubnyk
St. Louis – Jake Walman
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: None

Despite the Blues originally believing that Walman was in the protocol due to a false positive, they released this statement today:

After additional testing, it has been confirmed that Jake Walman has tested positive for COVID-19. Walman, who has been vaccinated, will now fall under the NHL/NHLPA quarantine protocols. Per the NHL/NHLPA agreement, the League will provide all updates.

A positive test result for Walman likely means that he will be unavailable for at least two weeks. He will not be in the Blues’ lineup when they face the Wild tonight or tomorrow, nor when they open the playoffs in the coming days.

Kuznetsov remains in the protocol for his ninth day and it is unclear whether he will be cleared in time for Washington’s series opener against Boston on Saturday. At the very least, he will have not played in a game since May 1. Teammate Ilya Samsonov was also put into the protocol, but since he is on the taxi squad does not need to appear on this list. It will not be clear that he has been removed until he arrives at practice with the Capitals, or the team releases the information.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/11/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:

Colorado – Devan Dubnyk
St. Louis – Jake Walman*
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: None

Walman is added to the protocol today following his positive test result yesterday. The Blues have already indicated that they believe it is a false positive because Walman has been vaccinated and pasted the POC test, but he will remain out for the time being.

*denotes new addition

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