Kuz Control

In just his third game in the National Hockey League, Evgeny Kuznetsov put on a tantalizing performance that whetted the appetite of the Capitals organization and its fan base. Despite playing less than 10 minutes in a home game against the Vancouver Canucks on March 14, 2014, the then-21-year-old Kuznetsov had a hand in each of Washington's last three goals in a 4-3 victory.

The most memorable of those helpers was a primary assist on sophomore winger Tom Wilson's third goal of the season. On that one, Kuznetsov - playing left wing at the time - took a pass from linemate Jay Beagle and gained the Vancouver zone. As he approached the top of the circle, he wound up as if to crank a slapshot. Instead, he fired a perfect laser feed cross-ice to Wilson, who beat Canucks goalie Eddie Lack on the short side.
In that contest against the Canucks, Kuznetsov became the first NHL player to record as many as three assists in one of his first three games in the league since the Los Angeles Kings' Anze Kopitar had three helpers in his second NHL game on Oct. 7, 2006 against St. Louis.
"He is such a creative player, a lot of fun to play with," said Wilson of Kuznetsov after that game. "The first couple of games he wasn't sure, but he's really finding his groove. Hopefully we can have some good chemistry for years to come."
That proved to be a prescient postgame quote, as Kuznetsov and Wilson have displayed considerable chemistry over the years, most notably during Washington's run to its first Stanley Cup championship in 2018 when Kuznetsov led the entire NHL in playoff scoring with 20 assists and 32 points in 24 games.

Washington's first-round choice (26th overall) in the 2010 NHL Draft, Kuznetsov has put on some memorable and dazzling displays over the years, starting with that game against the Canucks, including his first NHL hat trick/five-point night in Edmonton in October of 2015, and his memorable breakaway tally in overtime in Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2018 playoffs, the goal that finally pushed the Caps past the Pens in the postseason.
"It just feels unbelievable," said Kuznetsov after scoring that series-winning goal, his third breakaway goal of that series. "When you get first round and you get second round, it's pretty emotional. I don't have words for that, you know?"
The effervescent Kuznetsov is rarely at a loss for words. But last season, those words sometimes took a different tone, as did his body language. He seemed somewhat sour and moody, and his on-ice performance followed suit. Four games into an abbreviated 56-game season, Kuznetsov came down with the COVID-19 virus, sidelining him for a stretch of eight games.
When he returned to the lineup in mid-February, he didn't look like the same dynamic player he had been for several seasons, and he didn't seem to have the trust of first-year coach Peter Laviolette. Ice time is often as good a barometer as there is for a coach's confidence and trust level in a player, and Kuznetsov's average time on ice tumbled to a nightly average of 16:34, his lowest since his sophomore season in the circuit, when he was on his entry level deal and mainly deployed as a bottom six left winger who also saw some second unit power play time.
Only once in 41 games during the 2020-21 season did Kuznetsov skate more than 20 minutes in a game, and that was when logged 20:52 in a March 3 game in Boston that went to a shootout. Maybe it was lingering effects from the bout with COVID, maybe it was something else. But ice time per game aside, Kuznetsov's points per 60 minutes was way down in '20-21, and he managed just two goals and six points through his first 14 games of the season.
The Russian center rallied for a stretch in late March but didn't display the same consistency as in prior seasons, and alarm bells rang once again in early May when he was suspended for disciplinary reasons and stricken with COVID yet again, causing him to miss the last several games of the regular season and the first two games of the playoffs.

That forgettable 2020-21 season cast a murky shadow over Kuznetsov's future, and many believed he would become offseason trade bait, and might have played his last game in a Caps sweater. Clearly, the 29-year-old center was at a career crossroads, midway through his eight-year, $7.8 million per season contract. In what should have been one of the prime seasons of his career, Kuznetsov delivered a middling performance at best.
"We need him to play at his highest ability," said Caps general manager Brian MacLellan after the Caps' first-round ouster from the playoffs last spring, "and if he can't play at his highest ability, we're not going to be a good team."
Over the summer, Kuznetsov shook off the lingering after-effects from his bouts with the virus and he was also a regular at the Caps' MedStar Capitals Iceplex training facility, trying to get his body back to game shape. Not only did the Caps not end up trading Kuznetsov, they entered this season's training camp needing him to be their go-to guy in the middle of the ice when Nicklas Backstrom missed all of training camp and the first quarter of the regular season while rehabbing a hip ailment.
"Evgeny and I have had about as honest conversations as you can have since I've been here," said Laviolette on day one of September's training camp. "He's in a really good spot right now, he looks extremely fit and healthy and ready to play. Based on the conversations that I've had with him, his mind is in a really good spot and we'll be counting on him. He's really going to get an opportunity to take hold and show what he can do. He has proven to be a high-end player, a real impactful player, and we'll be counting on that."
"I think we've pushed the right buttons here," said Caps' general manager Brian MacLellan that same day. "He is aware of what went on last year, and he's a good player that has underperformed. And I think he is motivated to show people that he's still a good player. He's come in here and he looks like he has a good attitude, he trained hard over the offseason, put on some strength and some good weight. He has done the right things off the ice. Mentally, he seems sharp and engaged, and hopefully that transitions to the ice and on the ice."
For his own part, Kuznetsov embraced the opportunity for a fresh start.
"The toughest part was to come back after all that," he said as camp got underway. "But finally I'm feeling good, I'm healthy and a had a great summer. I practiced and I was able to push myself in terms of the medical staff, too.

"I'm hoping people will judge my game after this year. I'm hoping to stay healthy and I'm hoping you can see my real game this year. We're going to have fans back and we can travel nice and we can enjoy the life. This is a big part for our team because we feed off the crowd and we need people. I'm personally the type of player who needs people; I feel like watching on TV there is no one to perform for. This year is special, the fans are coming back, and I love our fans."
The abbreviated 56-game season in 2020-21 was like no other before it, and in a perfect world there will never be another like it, ever. Players were isolated from fans, from staff and from each other. Team meals and meetings were non-existent; players watched videos in lieu of those meetings and consumed all their meals on the road alone in their hotel rooms.
Everyone dealt with it differently, and the never-ending cloud of isolation affected everyone differently. And as it turns out, that isolation affected Kuznetsov adversely, and perhaps more than most.
"Normal life is huge for me because last year was disgusting, in terms of there is no energy in the game and we are stuck at the hotel and all that stuff," says Kuznetsov. "A lot of things was not right, so I'm glad that we are having a normal year and we can have fun.
"I'm a social person. I need people. I need to maybe not talk to them but to see people, see fans. You can say that I'm a flashy guy; I want to perform for somebody. I'm not playing for myself. Sometimes you want to play for your parents, wife, kids. But when you're out there, you don't think about that. You perform for the people who are in the building, right? And that's very important for me."

This season, the fans are back. And so is Kuznetsov, the effervescent and fun-loving Kuznetsov, the guy with the laugh that's so intoxicating that you're inclined to try to say humorous things in his presence so that you might get a chance to hear that endearing cackle. And seems to welcome conversations with reporters as he once did, urging you to sit down next to him and chat for a while.
"I felt very disappointed with the way that last year went," he says. "A lot of people said things about me without knowing the whole situation and now I practice well, I prepared well for this year and I just want to play, and not to prove something to those people, no. I don't want to prove anything to them because they're allowed to say [what they want] just based on the game. But I want to prove to myself and prove to the guys in the locker room that they can rely on me."
And on the ice this season, Kuznetsov is no passenger. If anything, he is helping to drive the bus.
On opening night against the Rangers, Kunzetsov skated 21:22 and dealt three assists including the first shorthanded helper of his NHL career on Alex Ovechkin's first shorthanded goal in more than a decade. Kuznetsov was over the 20-minute mark in his second game of the season, too, immediately doubling the number of 20-minute games he had last season. He hit that mark 23 times in the team's first 28 games this season, and his average of 22:01 a night ranks third among all NHL forwards, is nearly five minutes above his 17:09 career average, and well above his previous single-season high of 18:49 in 2017-18.
Clearly, he has Laviolette's trust and confidence now.
"To me, right now he is playing with speed," says Laviolette. "He has a high skill level but he's attacking the game with speed. His confidence I'm sure plays into that. He is driving play and driving this line with his puck possession and his ability. He probably has puck on his stick more than a lot of players. And now that he's in high gear, it makes it really difficult to get the puck back from him. And I think that the line [with Ovechkin and Wilson] has been good for different reasons - there's a goal scorer, there's a physical presence and there's somebody who can take the puck and drive the play and make plays, so the line has been good with regard to that. But probably the biggest thing is just his conditioning, his commitment to coming back here and wanting to be a difference maker. He's in a really good spot."
Some of that increased ice time and responsibility is due to Backstrom's ongoing absence, but Kuznetsov has relished the added responsibility and ice time.
"I think it all goes to 'take advantage of your opportunity,' and this is the opportunity for all of us," he says. "It's sad that it goes that way when you lose one of your brothers, but unfortunately that's where we are right now and that's a huge opportunity for so many guys.
"What I like about our team is the 12 forwards, it doesn't matter how we are mixed. We always talk and we always have chemistry. We are never sad if we get moved down the lineup or up. It's all part of the plan, the coach's plan. As long as you are on the same page with the coach and you know why he did that stuff, then that's it. We don't have to explain anything to the media, because that's the coach's plan. That's what I like about our group, there is nobody sad and nobody talks behind backs. We all understand and we work from there."
Twenty-eight games into the 2021-22 season, he has yet to go more than two games without collecting a point and he is tied for 13th in the League in scoring with 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists). Kuznetsov's only top 10 finish in the NHL's scoring race came in 2015-16 when he ended the season with 77 points, tied for eighth in the circuit.
"The difference in Kuzy from last year to this year has had a huge impact on our team, especially with Nick out," says MacLellan. "He has played well. They have him killing penalties, now, he has a pretty good two-way game, and he's contributing offensively at a higher rate than he historically has. I think he has been a big part of our success."
"Just overall - away from the rink and at the rink - he's having more fun," says Wilson. "I think he's a kid that just loved the game growing up and I don't know, last year maybe he just lost it a little bit and it's tough. You know, it's tough to be on. He has played a long time in the league, and it's tough to be on every night. He can be a superstar when he wants to be. I think this year he's just demanding the puck. He's having a ton of fun at the rink, he is back to his old self, and when he's on, it's pretty fun to watch. I think he's just really bought in and he's demanding more from himself, and he's really fun to play with when he's playing like that."

It's also fun to see him embracing a leadership role and playing a committed team game. Kuznetsov is still an electric and dynamic player, but he is also dedicated to doing what it takes to win games and collect standings points.
"Especially since we lost a couple of guys due to injuries, there is more responsibilities for me," says Kuznetsov. "I feel like I have to perform not just the way I want to perform every night, but it is very important to perform the way coach wants me to, and to do those little things.
"Sometimes maybe I'm not going to be much productive in the offensive zone, but I have to be good down low and I have to take care of other stuff and I have to spend more energy. It's tough to be more involved with that, and eventually I'm going to get so many scoring chances, but I'm going to take care of the other parts. So I've been thinking about that and focusing on being a bit more detailed."
As good as he has been in the first third of the season, Kuznetsov vows that the best is yet to come.
"I'll be better for sure, trust me," he says. "It's just the beginning of everything. I hope the [injured] guys will come back soon, and we can pressure even more the opposition. Now it's kind of like we have to sit back sometimes during the game, because that's the way it is right now, and we accept that. But when the guys will be back, we can force them with three or four lines, force them to play our game more. Right now, we just kind of adjust to what [the opponent is] doing and we just play for each other, we stick together, and we defend well."

A few seasons back, in the midst of a memorable postgame scrum, Kuznetsov was asked about the process of becoming one of the top players in the game. He cackled in the way only he can, and essentially said that he didn't want to put in the work and effort required to be one of the top players in the game, and that he was fine with being the player that he is.
Given his strong start and positive outlook and attitude this season, we thought it might be worth revisiting that question. But the Caps' engaging pivot hasn't budged. What you see is what you get.
"I absolutely still agree," he laughs. "I'm behind my words all the time. To be able to do that, that's a big commitment. You want to be with friends, you want to help people, you want to be there, you want to be there and you want to be there, you want to have fun and you want to enjoy a lot of things, and enjoy the life.
"But this year, it's just me, my family and hockey, you know? So I'm trying to do little things that I've never done before and we will see where it leads."