Evgeny Kuznetsov is officially gone, traded to Carolina for a 2025 third-round pick prior to Friday’s NHL Trade Deadline – and after Grant & Danny gave Kuzy a sendoff as only they can, Caps GM Brian MacLellan was VERY candid when G&D asked him just what went wrong to get to this point.
“I think both sides were trying to create a new situation. It was difficult given his contact situation and the circumstances to get Kuzy another opportunity to continue his career, but I think waivers set the conversation in motion and it resulted in today,” MacLellan said. “I think he’s been looking for that, and for the last two seasons, both sides have been getting frustrated with each other, and it was time to make a change. I feel like we’ve tried everything we could to get things back on track with the player and the person, and it just didn’t happen for us, so we ended up moving on.”
MacLellan had conversations over the last two off-seasons, particularly this past one, about moving Kuznetsov, but his contract made that onerous until today, when they took on 50 percent of his remaining cap hit this year to move him.
“We tried to do the best we could to help him continue his career elsewhere,” MacLellan said. “We had a couple conversations, but it was difficult at those times.”
And, it’s still difficult to really say why it all went bad.
“I don’t know, that’s probably a question for Kuzy,” MacLellan said. “I think we had some decent seasons, but the last two were significantly worse with where we were at, and not sure why. I don’t know what went on with him, but obviously, he’s a gifted and entertaining player, and exciting to watch, and a huge part of our history. Maybe he just desired something different.”