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Montreal Canadiens Reportedly Make Final Decision on Signing Longtime NHLer Evgeny Kuznetzov

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Tom Banks | Last updated Jul 11, 2025 4:43 PM ET

The Montreal Canadiens have reportedly been looking to upgrade the 2C spot this off-season, and now, it's been confirmed they won't offer a deal to Evgeny Kuznetsov.

The 2024/25 season was a coming out party for the young Montreal Canadiens, and with so much young talent for the future, they're an organization that's set up to succeed for a very long time to come.

One spot on the roster that this team needs to fill however is the second-line centre role, and over the past few weeks, we've heard many trade and free agency options for the team to fill such a spot.

Now, one player can be ruled out from their plans, as it has been officially revealed that the organization will not be offering a free agency deal to veteran Evgeny Kuznetsov, who is looking to make his return to the NHL after spending last season in the KHL.

The long-time Washington Capital has played over 700 games in the NHL thus far, but last season departed for the KHL where he tallied a solid 12 goals and 37 points in 39 games played, with the veteran realizing he still has plenty of gas left in the tank.

Without much available in the way of centre's in free agency, Kuznetsov was hoping to cash in and land a big time deal, but as of right now, he's one of very few names remaining on the open market.

With internal options for Montreal, it appears they're looking to go that direction to keep some financial flexibility heading into the 2025/26 regular season, with Kuznetsov set to continue waiting to find his newest team at the NHL level.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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