Capitals Trade Chatter: Team Has Reportedly Been 'Around' Blue Jackets, Does Kuznetsov Scratch Impact GM MacLellan's Next Move?

The Capitals will scratch Evgeny Kuznetsov for what would have been his 700th NHL game.

Just a few weeks back, general manager Brian MacLellan said that he and the Washington Capitals are still looking for some top-6 scoring, as has been the goal since the offseason. And one of the teams that could be on their radar as a potential trade partner is the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts, Washington is one of the teams that has been "around" Columbus on the trade front. It is unclear if the Capitals are interested in a certain name, though Patrik Laine's name has popped up on trade boards after the Finn's rough start to the year that resulted in a recent healthy scratch.

Meanwhile, Washington has its own player in a similar boat, as Evgeny Kuznetsov was the odd man out on Monday, with head coach Spencer Carbery healthy scratching him to get back on track following offensive struggles, poor penalties and questionable efforts to open 2023-24.

"It's just a mental reset for him," Carbery told reporters in Tempe, Arizona on Monday. "He’s just been struggling of late to find his game. We’ve talked to him, we’ve looked at some different stuff and I think it’s a good opportunity for him to take a step back, reset mentally and focus on getting his game back to where it’s capable of being.”

Kuznetsov's name has come up in trade talks quite a bit over the last couple of years, which have been inconsistent for No. 92. There were reports that he requested a trade, though the Russian wouldn't exactly clarify if they were accurate, dismissing them as mere speculation used to drive attention and "likes" on social media.

Ultimately, despite aggressive pushes to make a move at the draft and a rumor-fueled summer, the Capitals hung onto Kuznetsov with the hope that a new coach could get him to bounce back. It was also reported that his trade value wasn't the highest given his cap hit and recent track record.

It's unclear what's next and only time will tell, but a healthy scratch could change things, especially when he was also benched to close out Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Kuznetsov hasn't been in this position since May 2021, when he sat out a game due to disciplinary reasons, and before that, his last healthy scratch was in his rookie year. He also leads all Washington forwards in ice time this season (21:00) and ranks 10th among all NHL forwards in that department to boot.