Traded to the Carolina Hurricanes directly out of a stint in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program for what Kuznetsov has labelled “big issues,” it’s a small wonder he can even play at all right now after enduring a 38-day, midseason stretch in which he was unable to skate or work out while receiving treatment for those undisclosed issues.
He’s essentially jumped onto a moving treadmill with the speed cranked up to 10 since joining the Hurricanes. The team sent a private plane immediately after acquiring him in a trade with Washington on the morning of March 8, which allowed Kuznetsov to practice with the Hurricanes that day.
Since then, there’s been time for only one more practice while Carolina played seven times in 11 days. Despite his lack of conditioning and lack of familiarity with the new surroundings, Kuznetsov managed to dress for all seven games, picking up two goals and three assists while helping the Hurricanes to a 6-1-0 record.
The team has held a decided advantage in shots, attempts, goals, expected goals and scoring chances during Kuznetsov’s 94 minutes played for Carolina at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“His skill level really sticks out,” Hurricanes GM Don Waddell said. “He’s not a guy that panics with the puck. He’s got a pace that he plays at, but he’s a smart player.
“Maybe this last year and a half hasn’t gone as well for him, but I think the change of scenery has been good for him.”
He last played for the Capitals on Jan. 27 and said he wasn’t able to exercise in any meaningful way while formally under the care of the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program from Feb. 5 to March 2. After being cleared to move into the program’s follow-up phase, Kuznetsov was seeking a fresh start and figured it would come in the American Hockey League with the Hershey Bears.
He’d joined the Capitals affiliate after clearing waivers on March 3 and accompanied them on a seven-hour bus ride to Charlotte, N.C., for a game when Carolina made the move to acquire him just before the NHL trade deadline.
At his peak, Kuznetsov was one of the NHL’s top playmaking centers, and yet, by age 31, he’d fallen so far that the Hurricanes got him for a third-round draft pick in 2025 — an especially meager return because Washington agreed to eat half of his remaining salary and cap hit through the end of next season.
Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan told The Athletic this week that Carolina was his only potential trading partner. While he would have preferred to send Kuznetsov outside of the Metropolitan Division, MacLellan ultimately felt it was best for both sides to get a fresh start following a lengthy period where they had tried and failed to make things work together.
That extends back to 2019, when Kuznetsov was suspended without pay for three regular-season games by the NHL for “inappropriate conduct.” A month earlier, he’d been banned from playing for Russia for four years because of a positive test for cocaine.
Kuznetsov’s play on the ice was inconsistent in recent years and he was having the worst of his 11 NHL seasons before entering the player assistance program with just 17 points in 43 games for the Capitals.
His career, essentially, has trended in the wrong direction since its pinnacle six years ago when he led the playoffs in scoring while helping Washington win the Stanley Cup.
That it was Carolina taking the unusually aggressive swing to add both him and Jake Guentzel at this trade deadline speaks to the organization’s desire to break through. The Hurricanes have posted the NHL’s fourth-best regular-season points percentage since Rod Brind’Amour took over as head coach before the 2018-19 season. They’ve won seven playoff rounds during that span but have often seen the goals dry up at the most critical moments.
“We didn’t give up a lot as far as the draft pick,” he said. “It’s more of a financial risk, but my owner Tom (Dundon) was willing to take that on.”
They’re banking on the fact he’ll find comfort in a dressing room featuring three other Russian players, including close friend Dmitry Orlov.
Orlov has seen old glimmers of the light, good-natured humor Kuznetsov was always known for dating back to their time playing national team games together as teenagers.
The lines of communication remained open between them even after he left Washington last season, so he was aware that Kuznetsov was going through a difficult period.
“I talked to him on the FaceTime a lot too during the season, during that time, so obviously you can see he’s having more fun now, more of a smile on his face,” said Orlov. “Sometimes it’s not easy. Nobody knows what’s going on exactly in anyone else’s life.”
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes’ frantic schedule hasn’t left Kuznetsov much time for contemplation or reflection.
He says he hasn’t yet found the words to describe what the years in Washington meant to him. He played more than 800 games in a Capitals sweater, won the Stanley Cup in 2018 and had a hand in some of countryman Alex Ovechkin’s best seasons. But he also ended his time there at a personal and professional low.
While he hopes to eventually be held up as a redemption story — an example others trying to reclaim their life can look to — he hasn’t yet wrapped his mind fully around that possibility.
“Maybe. Maybe one day. Maybe,” said Kuznetsov. “That’s a cold six weeks in my life, you know? Things start from down there (at rock bottom) to way up here in six weeks.
Kuznetsov has another game to play for his new team Thursday before returning to Washington to face the Capitals on Friday night.
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