Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov was cleared to resume practicing with the team on Saturday and has entered the follow-up phase of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, per a league announcement. However, he won’t get that opportunity as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Washington has placed the veteran on waivers.
Notably, Kuznetsov still needs to be cleared to return to game action through the program, which makes the timing of this placement a little surprising. The 31-year-old entered the Player Assistance Program last month and hadn’t been counting against Washington’s books since then; that will be changing and his $7.8M AAV will soon be back on their books.
In his prime, Kuznetsov was a legitimate top-line center and even just two years ago, he was hanging around the point-per-game mark. However, his production dipped from 78 points to 55 points last season; this year, the drop-off has been even sharper. Despite seeing his average ice time go up from a year ago, Kuznetsov has been limited to just six goals and 11 assists in 43 games with Washington while logging under 19 minutes a night. Those numbers won’t be going up anytime soon due to this placement.
Kuznetsov has one year left on his contract after this one at that $7.8M price tag so it’s hard to envision a scenario where he gets claimed. Assuming he clears waivers on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT, he can be assigned to AHL Hershey, freeing up a pro-rated $1.15M in salary cap space.
Speaking with reporters following the placement including Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, GM Brian MacLellan indicated that this move is about getting Kuznetsov a fresh start. With an unlikely waiver claim, that fresh start must come through a trade or buyout.
Washington could move Kuznetsov to a position where they could retain up to 50% of his cap hit and salary, which might get them some takers as a low-risk flyer. If that doesn’t happen, buying Kuznetsov out would cost $3.8M against the cap next season and $2M in 2025-26. With the buyout charge and cost at 50% retention being pretty much the same for 2024-25, it wouldn’t be surprising to see MacLellan push to get something done on the trade front with the buyout being a last resort. Either way, it looks like Kuznetsov’s time with the Capitals is about to be over.
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