Earlier this week, Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov reacted to a report that he was rated as having one of the league’s the “worst” contracts. On July 31, Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic published a story about the efficiency of NHL contracts on a team-by-team basis, ranking the teams and listing the ratings of individual players. The Capitals were rated 25th overall and Kuznetsov was rated near the bottom for the Capitals.
Kuznetsov’s contract is $7.8 million for three more years. Its surplus value was rated at -$ 9.4 million” and its efficiency at 10%. The most efficient contract among all Russians was that of Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes, who is earning $7.8 million over six more years. His contract’s surplus value is $ 17.1 million and its efficiency is 77%.
Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals is just ahead of Kuznetsov’s for efficiency, as he will earn $9.5 million for three more years. His contract has a surplus value of -$ 8.8 million and an efficiency of 21%.
From The Athletic
Kuznetsov discussed his reaction to the The Athletic rating on the telegram channel, Hockey on Kinopoisk.
“It’s okay. I’m not going to prove anything to anyone. As I said, for me there was only one task – to heal injuries. Then we’ll see. Everyone can talk, but no one climbs into the depths, no one finds out what the problem was, the reason,” said Kuznetsov.
“Probably, people don’t care. The main thing is to discuss superficial information, to rot someone, to pollute. Probably, the whole point of life in this is to read such nonsense. This is something that people are always interested in. And good interviews, empathy – this is something that no one needs, added Kuznetsov. “It has always been, is and will be in the press.'”
Kuznetsov, who posted 24 Goals and 78 Points in 79 Games Played in the 2021-22 season, recorded just 12 and 55, respectively, in 81 contests in 2022-23.
The 31-year old forward, who has played his entire 10-season career in Washington, has once again found himself in the offseason trade rumor mill. He was not asked about this in his end-of-season exit interview, although Kuznetsov described his emotions surrounding the team’s failure to play into the summer as “very low”.
By Diane Doyle