The Capitals center is ready to tune out the outside noise and just play hockey as 2023-24 gets underway.

ARLINGTON, V.A. — Evgeny Kuznetsov leans casually against the wall of the locker room, grinning as usual as he stares out at the practice rink. He and the Washington Capitals just wrapped up training camp, and after a noise-filled summer, the start of the regular season can't come soon enough.

And now, with days to go until the real deal, Kuznetsov is putting everything in the rearview and is entering 2023-24 hungry to help the Capitals get back to their winning ways after missing out on the postseason for the first time in nine years.

"We have a chip on our shoulders. There's always been high standards here," Kuznetsov told The Hockey News, adding, "As a group, we're gonna play for each other, and I feel like everything is on the table for us. We just have to make sure that you know we put the work in together and work as a one-man unit."

Kuznetsov is hoping to not only bounce back as a team, but individually. Through 81 games last season, Kuznetsov struggled with inconsistency and ended up with 12 goals and 43 assists for 55 points, marking his lowest scoring rate in nearly a decade. His shooting percentage also plummeted to a career-low seven percent.

"It's something that's probably very hard to get better at. You want to just not get worse," Kuznetsov joked, adding, "It's a little bit of luck, and it depends from when you shoot also."

A disappointing year led to trade rumors and weighed heavily on the Russian, who returned to Chelyabinsk to train with his former KHL club, Traktor, and get away from the speculation and pressure this summer.

"I feel like every time you've made the playoffs, it's much easier mentally and physically to prepare for the next season. And when you're not making the playoffs, it sucks, it's hard; you feel like you waste the whole year," Kuznetsov said. "You try and make some changes or whatever; you're looking for something right? Sometimes, you don't have to change anything. You just keep working, keep doing the same stuff and the less you have time to think about it, the better.

"You want to get better all around. Especially when you come into the camp here, you know what the coach wants to see from you and you try to focus on those things during the camp and grow. In the summer, it's hard to be better in those game situations; it's opposite," he explained.

Kuznetsov admitted at the start of training camp camp that last season weighed heavily on him, and that things got complicated with regard to an alleged trade request and questions surrounding his tenure in D.C. He described the situation as "complicated," while adding that there were "a lot of bad thoughts in my head and negativity" due to his lackluster play.

Now, as the team heads to Easton, Maryland, for some team bonding, practice and time away before the season opener on Friday, the 31-year-old isn't getting hung up on the past. Instead, he's focused on the present and stressed the need to trust the process.

"I believe," he said, adding, "You gotta make sure that there is all these little pieces every day. There's gonna be bad days, we're gonna drop down a couple steps, but it's a matter of how soon we're gonna understand what goes wrong and work together and execute.

"It's not just in the games, it's the practices too... good practice can give you a lot of positivity and good energy for the rest of the day and when you wake up next day. If you had a good day before, it's always easy to come back and work."

Washington's locker rooms at MedStar Capitals Iceplex and Capital One Arena now have new signage, with the words "something to prove" now hanging above the stalls. The new motto rings true for the Capitals and Kuznetsov.

That being said, Kuznetsov is ready to live up to those words, and he believes he'll do that by achieving one team-centric goal.

"I want to make the playoffs. As a team, I think it's very important for us to be there. Big for the fans, for the organization, but as players, that's the goal," Kuznetsov said simply.