2024-03-18 19:55:00
Evgeny Kuznetsov restarts his career. 10 days following the exchange, we can already say this with confidence. The move from Washington to Carolina looks like a good decision for all parties. And first of all for the hockey player himself, who for the first time in a long time glows with happiness not only off the ice, but also on it.
In six matches for the Hurricanes, the Russian striker scored 4 (2+2) points. He might not boast of such performance before with the Capitals. It is worth noting that in this period everything is going great for the team: five wins in six matches. The Hurricanes are ahead of Toronto in the East standings and are closing in on the top three. Kuznetsov is praised following almost every meeting. In general, there is very close attention to him: constant interviews, discussions of his game, questions from partners regarding him.
There was a lot of skepticism around the Kuznetsov exchange. Despite the fact that the player was acquired for modest compensation (a choice in the third round of the draft, but the capital club agreed to withhold 50% of the hockey player’s salary), there were many who wondered: why did Rod Brindamore need a player with such a reputation? The 31-year-old striker has just completed the assistance program, in which he spent a month and a half. He had no playing experience for a long time, his last season and a half in Washington were a complete nightmare, and talk regarding the player’s bad habits did not subside. However, the Russian did everything to quickly forget regarding his dark past.
He jokes with journalists, poses for photographers, and most importantly, gets into game shape. It was clear from the first matches that Evgeniy lacked conditioning, and it took time to adapt to the new team. His Russian teammates helped him with the latter. Mainly Dmitry Orlov. In the last match with Ottawa (7:2), the defender scored 4 (2+2) points, and he assisted in Kuznetsov’s goal. After the victory, the Russians gave a joint interview.
“That’s fantastic. We were both in a situation where we needed each other. We spend a lot of time together and enjoy each other’s company. We have been friends for 15 years. It was great to get support from him and I hope he got it from me too. It’s incredible how life can turn out,” Kuznetsov said.
“It’s great that we’re playing together once more. We communicate with each other a lot in the offseason. We were both going through difficult times and needed support. Sometimes you keep your feelings inside for too long, which is not good for you. Now we’re both smiling and playing great hockey. I hope this will continue and we will enjoy what is happening,” Orlov said.
Kuznetsov started playing in Carolina on the fourth line, and in the first game he received only 13 minutes. But the very next time he was promoted to the second top three. Evgeniy played several games on a team with another newcomer, Jack Guentzel, who is also making everyone happy in Raleigh so far. With Ottawa, the Russian also came out in the second line, but instead of Guentzel they put Svechnikov on him, and Jack was moved to the first line. And it turned out well too. In addition to his points, Kuzi also has a +5 utility rating and 47.9% of faceoffs won. This is not the best indicator of the game on the point, but in “Washington” it was worse – 45.3%. Even in this he excelled in his new team.
I would like to believe that all of Kuznetsov’s psychological problems are a thing of the past and that they were the only obstacles to a successful game. Now Evgeniy looks like a man who enjoys being on the ice. And when he does this, everyone around him gets high.
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