The Capitals have made some big headlines in the last week and a half. One, if not the biggest, surprise was Evgeny Kuznetsov’s monster contract. The 25-year old Russian signed an 8-year contract that will pay him $62.4 million ($7.8 million AAV). We all know that Kuznetsov was in line for a large pay raise, but by this much?
Kuznetsov had a breakout year two seasons ago, scoring 20 goals and 77 points, which led the Capitals in scoring for the 2015-2016 season. After a down postseason in 2016 – only scoring two points in 12 games, Kuznetsov got off to a slow start in the 2016-2017 season, scoring just 3 goals the first 37 games. Kuzy finished the season with 19 goals and 59 points in 82 games, 3rd on the Caps last season.
This wouldn’t have been a shock following the 2015-16 season when Kuznetsov was 9th in the NHL in scoring, but with his production dipping by 18 points, most analysts predicted he’d make around $6 million a year in his new deal. No one expected him making close to $8 million, particularly with an 8 year deal.
Part of the reason the Caps overpaid him, according to Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan, is that they wanted to prevent him from going to KHL and returning to the NHL as an unrestricted free agent in two years. On a conference call on Monday morning, Caps’ GM Brian MacLellan said that Kuznetsov had a lot of leverage and it was important to avoid letting Kuzy go to the KHL. He’s right, the Caps are better off getting Kuzy under contract for the long term rather than risking losing him without any compensation.
If Kuznetsov left for the KHL, it would leave a HUGE hole in the Capitals lineup. He gives the Capitals more flexibility than before. The Capitals have two legitimate No. 1 centers, something they didn’t have before he arrived. They may have overpaid him, but the Caps had little alternative. The price was high, but it was a necessary move, even if it meant they had to dump Marcus Johansson, who’s coming off a career year, for picks instead of a player. The Capitals can replace Johansson more easily than Kuznetsov, because they have Jakub Vrana in the pipelines and he has the potential to become a legitimate Top 6 forward.
Evgeny Kuznetsov has been terrific for the Capitals ever since coming to North America. It would’ve been difficult, if not impossible, for MacLellan and the Capitals to find a No. 2 center to replace Kuzy, something the team struggled to find before Kuznetsov came to Washington. Now it’s up to Kuznetsov to show the doubters that he deserves his massive contract.
By Harrison Brown
Follow @HarrisonB927077
He is making .9 mill less than Crosby, the greatest player in the world currently and #1 center for the Pens. But the Caps are filled with players that are a plane ticket away from pulling an kovalchuk bc there is no loyalty… and that is why they fail.
That is because Crosby signed a few years ago. In a few years Kuzy deal will seem like a good deal just like Crosby’s now does.
nice – NovaCaps must be honored to have drawn a troll. It means the Caps are an interesting team. I think it’s a great deal: Kuznetsov has shown he’s one of the best centers already. And he’s done something Crosby has not done: he’s added a new meme to all players at his position, the go-behind-the-net-and-flip-it-out-in-reverse pass which should properly be called the Kuznetsov. So he’s a creative thinker. He’s probably the best player on a very good team, a team that has won the President’s Cup two year’s running and which is arguably more indicative of consistent, season long sustained excellence than is successful participation in a two months long tournament whose outcomes are frequently decided by injury and luck and how tightly or not-tightly officials choose to call the games. As for “loyalty”: he’s here, he signed for 8 years which to me is almost surprising. Would he pull a Kovalchuk? Don’t you think the Devils had more than a little hand in that move? They were in disastrous financial straits and were not going to be able to pay him at the time so the move was a godsend for them. If the Caps go bankrupt also and cannot pay their players then yes I’d expect them to leave also.
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