The Capitals are still pondering Kuznetsov's future, but the Predators reportedly expressed interest.

The Washington Capitals and Evgeny Kuznetsov are at a crossroads when it comes to his future with the club, and the Capitals have explored opportunities to trade him. They did get one team to reach out: the Nashville Predators.

Per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the Predators are interested in a center and had talks about acquiring No. 92.

"Believe there were conversations around Washington's Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Barry Trotz sure knows him well -- but those appear to have quieted down," Friedman added.

Kuznetsov and Trotz, Nashville's new general manager, worked together for years during Trotz's tenure as the bench boss in D.C. Kuznetsov thrived in 2017-18 under Trotz's leadership and, in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, led the way with 31 points to help the Capitals capture their first-ever title.

The 31-year-old is coming off a lackluster season where he had 55 points in 81 games, as well as a career-low shooting percentage, points-per-games rate and plus-minus rating of minus-26.

General manager Brian MacLellan expressed disappointment in Kuznetsov's performance at the end of the season.

"For whatever reason, he never quite found his game... I think he underperformed the season he had last year," he said.

There were also reports that Kuznetsov had requested a trade (though he somewhat denied this), and longtime friend and agent Sergei Fedotov said in May that he doesn't have the same joy he did for hockey.

Overall, his off-ice conduct over the last few years, a decline in consistency and criticized effort have led to trade murmurs. And while the Predators showed some interest, it remains to be seen what Washington will do -- though there seems to be options.