Capitals Rally Around Kuznetsov, Offer Support As He Enters Player Assistance Program: 'There's No One Person That Can Do What Kuzy Does'

The Capitals respond to Evgeny Kuznetsov entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

ARLINGTON, V.A. — As the Washington Capitals made their return from the All-Star Break, they were hit with tough news that teammate Evgeny Kuznetsov entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

Head coach Spencer Carbery said he got his group together to discuss the situation, and that one of the biggest takeaways was concern and support for the 31-year-old center.

"There's not a lot I can share, other than just, 'Here's what's going on with your teammate, your brother, a member of our family,'" Carbery said. "And so it's a lot of people that are concerned for him and his family, and that's really where a lot of the conversations and thoughts have gone."

While it's been a frustrating season — and past couple of years — for Kuznetsov, who has just 17 points in 43 games, there is no denying what he means to the group. He is among the team's top centers and ice time leaders, while also logging critical minutes on the power play and penalty kill.

Beyond that, there's his presence and value to the team as someone who played an integral part in the team's Stanley Cup run back in 2018, leading the way with 31 points en route to the franchise's first title. He also means a lot in the room thanks to his sense of humor and place in organizational history.

"Any time we lose kind of one of those core players to our group, especially these days with one of the players that was here when we had our Cup run, that's a big hole to fill. There's no one person that can slide in and do what Kuzy does," T.J. Oshie said. "You just can't do it, so it's going to come from a group... first and foremost, we're thinking of Kuz and hope he's doing well and getting healthy."

The younger players in the room, including Aliaksei Protas, who got help from Kuznetsov with learning English, overcoming his language barrier and adapting to life in North America, also noted how tough the news is on the team. 

"I will say it's been tough for everybody who played with him. He's a great teammate, great guy to have around," Protas said. "He was one of the guys who was helping me the most and helped me the most. For sure it's tough. We're wishing him to recover quick and get back."

Taking a piece like that out of the equation is a tough pill to swallow, especially for a team like Washington that needs to pull together now more than ever as it sits seven points out of a playoff spot with half the season left to play.

So now, the Capitals are focused on returning the favor and coming together to fill the void while rallying around their teammate.

"It's tough when you see a player and a teammate and a friend going through that," Tom Wilson noted. "We want to pick up the slack a little bit."

Michael Sgarbossa has come up from the AHL's Hershey Bears to help fill in for Kuznetsov on the third line, and Connor McMichael and more young players will be trusted with stepping up and playing bigger minutes. All the while, the core group and veterans plan to lead by example and chip in however they can, too.

"It's going to come from a group. It's going to be important for our centermen as a whole to help with those faceoffs, help wth those PK, power play minutes, to help us down the middle and the rest of us to make it easy on our centermen, because we do know they have a little bit of a larger of a load than maybe they normally would have."

But beyond hockey, his teammates are focused on making sure that he is getting the assistance that he needs and being a shoulder to lean on.

"Just let him know that we're here for him, here for his family," Wilson said. "He's going through a tough time and supporting his family, his kids and him as a friend and a teammate is all we can do. Just let him know that we're here for him, for whatever they need."

"For us, as organization, staff, players, it's just supporting him and his family as he gets the help that he needs," Carbery added.