"He's a close friend of mine, a great person, a great teammate," the Capitals captain said of Kuznetsov.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin has been keeping track of the headlines this offseason and is well aware of the situation and trade rumors surrounding countrymate and linemate Evgeny Kuznetsov. And for No. 8, he hopes they don't pan out.

Ovechkin told RIA Novosti, a Russian state-owned news agency, that he hopes Kuznetsov doesn't end up getting traded amid ongoing speculation and rumored tensions between him and the front office.

"I don't have any information about Kuznetsov's trade [situation]," Ovechkin said, via a DeepL translation, "How would I react to a trade? This is the business of hockey. Today you're here, tomorrow there, the day after tomorrow on another team. I hope it won't happen."

Kuznetsov is coming off of what general manager Brian MacLellan called a "disappointing" season in which he had 55 points in 81 games, marking his lowest scoring rate in over a decade. His shooting percentage also plummeted to a career-low seven percent. Just a season before, he put up 78 points in 79 games and was among the NHL's All-Stars.

Capitals writer Mike Vogel reported this summer that Kuznetsov did, in fact, request a trade, though No. 92 said that was "not quite true" and that "95 percent" of the speculation surrounding him has been "superficial."

However, Kuznetsov said his agents have been in touch with the team as they wait for what's next, while MacLellan has reportedly been pushing hard to make a move to change up the top-6. Though those trade talks haven't panned out yet, Washington is remaining aggressive going into the season.

As for Kuznetsov, he is confident that he can bounce back, regardless of where that may be.

"There's a lot of time to think about [it] and refocus, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to find a solution," Kuznetsov said.

In the end, Ovechkin had nothing but good things to say about Kuznetsov, who joined the 37-year-old in Russia this past week, and expressed the desire for him to remain in the Nation's Capital.

"He's a close friend of mine, a great person, a great teammate. So I wouldn't like that," Ovechkin said. "But it doesn't depend on me."