Kuznetsov Addresses Trade Request, Rumors; Where Do He & Capitals Go From Here?

The 30-year-old addressed reports of him requesting a trade and also opened up about his tough year with the Washington Capitals and his future.

ARLINGTON, V.A. -- Evgeny Kuznetsov saw his name pop up across social media over the weekend as reports of a requested trade and disappointment from management made their rounds online.

Kuznetsov read the reports and saw the headlines, but he didn't have much to say about it. And when asked why, his answer was blunt.

"There's not really anything to comment on, to be honest with you," he said.

The trade speculation arose after The Athletic's Tarik El-Bashir pointed out in his recent mailbag that the Capitals' front office has been "disappointed" with his performance this season, which has seen him struggle at both ends of the ice. After that, Russian outlet Match TV wrote that he had requested a trade, and that's what led to the reports of Kuznetsov asking for a trade out of D.C.

For Kuznetsov, though, it's all just noise -- noise that he doesn't want to tune in now with his team still in the throes of a playoff race and looking from the outside in with just eight games to go.

"You know how this is. It’s just people trying to put whatever they want to get the likes and Instagram or Twitter, whatever," he shrugged it off. "I talked to those people. I said, ‘Where did this come from?’ There is something that we can talk later probably for sure, but at this point, there is nothing to even talk about."

Kuznetsov didn't hide from the fact, though, that this season hasn't gone according to plan.

After bouncing back last year with an All-Star campaign following a lackluster 2020-21 that saw him record just 29 points in 41 games, test positive for COVID-19 twice and be scratched for disciplinary reasons, the Russian star has struggled and is again dealing with inconsistencies in his game this year.

Through 73 games, the 30-year-old's production has dropped from a near-point-per-game pace to .73. He has a team-leading 41 assists but has lit the lamp just 12 times, with his shooting percentage at a career-low 7.5 percent. His defensive play hasn't impressed either, as he has visibly struggled on the backcheck and has a plus-minus rating of minus-19.

"There is some areas that just didn't go well this year, but there is some other areas that is good," Kuznetsov said. I know you think I'm playing bad defensive, but I'm still playing shorthanded and 5-on-6 all the time, so there's some things that I'm doing good and some things not good.

"You could be sad and happy [about it at the] same time. Sad that it’s not good but it’s happy you have room to grow. You have room to work and I’m pretty sure I have a bright future ahead of me. And I have no doubt in my mind that I’ll come back even stronger."

Whether that will happen in Washington remains to be seen, though, as it's still unclear what the future holds for the Russian center.

He has two more years left on his deal with a cap hit of $7.8 million, and if the Capitals don't make the playoffs, there could be major changes coming over the summers.

General manager Brian MacLellan also said after his sell-off ahead of the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline that Washington will have more flexibility over the summer and also noted in a local radio interview that the team needs more "skill" and could look to add a top-6 winger in the offseason as well.

Still, Kuznetsov doesn't like to rely on speculation, rumors or talk, and he advised against reading into things too much.

That being said, Kuznetsov believes that there is a future for him in the District.

"My both kids grow up here, born here and I’m happy here. I like the guys, I like everything. But you never know, right?" he said. "It’s not always on me, right? I’m always all of these accepting things. I live in reality, I don’t live somewhere else, and I don’t blame people. I’m always trying to work on myself and always think about how day went and then turn the page and trying to work on the bad habits on the ice and get better. So it’s not easy to work on yourself, right? It’s always easy to think about, to talk about somebody else, but I’m trying to be better.

"It’s just a little bit tough situation right where we are in," he added.