4th Period Report Kuz Team Interest

Forums/Armchair-GM

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Created by: ClockReads2113

Team: 2021-22 Washington Capitals

Initial Creation Date: Jul. 1, 2021

Published: Jul. 2, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Description

https://www.thefourthperiod.com/summer-trade-watch-2021#.YNvYaqXRtMI.twitter

According to that article it says Columbus, Seattle, Anaheim, and Florida are some teams interested in Kuz. I'm sure there more but these are the ones reported. Most important line is saying Caps aren't going to give him away for nothing. He's too highly skilled to just give away. Think they are okay with keeping him if they don't get what they want.

NOTE: I'm not saying Kuz will get ALL the players he's traded for, just 1 of them.

Free Agent Signings

CREATED		YEARS	CAP HIT
Kuznetsov, Evgeny		4	$7,800,000
Kuznetsov, Evgeny		4	$7,800,000

Trades

WSH

Additional Details:

I don't think CBJ is a good fit, mainly because it's almost a guarantee CBJ is on Kuz no trade list. Second, CBJ is in the division, which always makes it difficult for bigger name trades.

Also, don't know if there is a fit for a return. The Caps need a top 6 center back and Domi is probably the only one, but he is pretty terrible defensively, at least by analytic standards. But he is young and cheap so maybe?

Laine is another option, looks like he didn't fit in CBJ but think CBJ will hold onto him to see what the next coach can do with him. Also don't think Caps need him, they already have a pure goal scorers in Ovi and Sprong.

Bjorkstrand would be great but I think he's the Oshie of that team. The heart and soul type 2 way guy. Can't see CBJ moving him.

Foudy could be a fun add for the Caps. Young, skilled, cheap but an unknown at the NHL level. Can't see Caps taking that gamble since they are going for it every year, need something definite.

CBJ

Kuznetsov, Evgeny

WSH

SEA probably wants to be competitive off the bat and not a lot of teams are going to trade skilled top six centers so they will jump at the chance to get Kuz. Issue is they don't have any assets right now to judge. So until then it's hard to tell.

Think to make it work SEA would have to give up good picks that the Caps can then flip for a top 6 center themselves.

SEA

Kuznetsov, Evgeny

WSH

Additional Details:

I don't know why ANA is being linked to big names like Eichel and Kuz. They should still be rebuilding, but nonetheless, sounds like they are trying to go big name hunting.

Henrique makes the most sense but Caps shouldn't do it. Henrique is fine, but he's vanilla, you won't get anything great. You can crap on Kuz but he has game breaking talent, don't trade that for a higher ceiling but lower floor.

Rakell would be a nice add but he hasn't played center in years, and it's not like he some elite winger that the Caps desperately need. So unless they think he can play center and resign him it wouldn't make sense.

Lundestrom would be interesting, but like Foudy from CBJ, he's an unknown. Caps will need a more definite thing since they are still going for the Cup. But he's young and cheap with an interesting ceiling.

ANA

WSH

Additional Details:

FLA makes the most sense among all these teams. Think Kuz would love to go there and FLA could make a nasty 1-2-3 center depth of Barkov-Kuz-Bennett/Lundle.

No way FLA moves Barkov but Bennett is an interesting case. Was meh in CGY then went to FLA and scored 20 points in 15 games. Now, he isn't actually a 1.33 points per game player but maybe could be a 60+ point center still? Hard to tell. He's always drove offense well according to analytics. Plus, he would match the Caps rough and tumble play style. Imagine him and Wilson on the same line. It would be a gamble by the Caps for sure but could pay off. He just turned 25 and will probably cost $3M less than what Kuz is now.

Verhaeghe is probably untouchable. What that dude is doing on a $1M contract is unreal. He's played some center too but he can probably drive his own line at wing so Caps don't need a high end center for him. But again, highly doubtful FLA moves him,

Lundell is also highly unlikely. FLA loves the kid, so my bet is they'd move Bennett and bring Lundell in as 3C. He's NHL ready.

FLA

Kuznetsov, Evgeny

Draft	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7
2021
2022
2023

ROSTER

LONG-TERM OUTLOOK

EMBED

TEXT-EMBED

ROSTER SIZE	SALARY CAP	CAP HIT	OVERAGES	BONUSES	CAP SPACE
24	$81,500,000	$70,384,817	$472,927	$1,250,000	$11,115,183

Left Wing	Centre	Right Wing
Hagelin, Carl $2,750,000$2,750,000 LW UFA - 2	Bäckström, Nicklas $9,200,000$9,200,000 C NMC UFA - 4	Oshie, T.J. $5,750,000$5,750,000 RW M-NTC UFA - 4
Hathaway, Garnet $1,500,000$1,500,000 RW, LW UFA - 2		Mantha, Anthony $2,850,000$2,850,000 LW, RW UFA - 3
Sheary, Conor $1,500,000$1,500,000 LW, RW UFA - 2	Eller, Lars $2,415,000$2,415,000 C UFA - 2	Wilson, Tom $5,166,667$5,166,667 RW M-NTC UFA - 3
	Dowd, Nic $750,000$750,000 C UFA - 1	Sprong, Daniel $725,000$725,000 RW, LW UFA - 1
	Domi, Max $1,325,000$1,325,000 C, RW UFA - 1	Bjorkstrand, Oliver $5,400,000$5,400,000 RW, LW UFA - 5
	Foudy, Liam $894,167$894,167 ($400,000$400K) LW, C RFA - 1	Rakell, Rickard $2,463,139$2,463,139 RW, LW UFA - 1
	Henrique, Adam $1,456,250$1,456,250 LW, C M-NTC UFA - 3
	Verhaeghe, Carter $1,000,000$1,000,000 LW UFA - 1
	Lundell, Anton $925,000$925,000 ($850,000$850K) C, LW RFA - 3

Left Defense	Right Defense	Goaltender
Orlov, Dmitry $1,275,000$1,275,000 LD M-NTC UFA - 2	Carlson, John $8,000,000$8,000,000 RD M-NTC UFA - 5	Vanecek, Vitek $716,667$716,667 G UFA - 1
Dillon, Brenden $3,900,000$3,900,000 LD UFA - 3	Schultz, Justin $4,000,000$4,000,000 RD UFA - 1
	Jensen, Nick $2,500,000$2,500,000 RD UFA - 2
	van Riemsdyk, Trevor $950,000$950,000 RD UFA - 2

Scratches	Injured Reserve (IR)	Long Term IR (LTIR)
	Kempný, Michal $2,500,000$2,500,000 LD UFA - 1

Jul. 2, 2021 at 11:35 a.m.

Lenny7

Joined: Jan. 2017

Posts: 13,291

Likes: 11,051

IMO, the Ducks are being linked to these types of guys because they've got cap space, prospects and picks. That's it. Trading away young assets right now makes zero sense. Ducks *shouldn't* be a player until at least next offseason.

Interesting other fact that I feel like gets missed-The last active player that GMBM had on the Ducks that was from Russia/USSR was Anton Khubodin, in 2015/16. Aside from him, there was Bryz (14/15), Evgeni Artyukin (09/10), and a combo of Bryz/Maxim Kondratiev (07-08). Maybe it's just a weird oddity with the Ducks roster, but it seems pretty weird that there's been a total of 4 Russians on the team since 2007, and that Bryz was the only regular.

OldNYIfan liked this.

Jul. 2, 2021 at 11:40 a.m.

Meeqs

Joined: Sep. 2020

Posts: 1,155

Likes: 417

Its going to be VERY interesting to see what the deal ends up being and I think its going to shock some people. If WSH is determined to get rid of him, in a market where moving money is impossible, he might get a shockingly low return. Especially when off ice stuff is involved things get weird.

Jul. 2, 2021 at 12:17 p.m.

staytru20

Joined: Jun. 2018

Posts: 1,671

Likes: 875

Quoting: Meeqs

I certainly wouldn't trade Kuznetsov unless there's a 2C caliber player coming back. It doesn't make sense to take a low return on Kuznetsov with this team's window on the verge of closing, and the Caps don't have anyone in the system that is a long term, viable option at 2C. Slotting in Eller doesn't make sense for a full 82 game season, and slotting in McMichael is just setting him up to fail.

If a viable trade option isn't available, that's when you have to lean on your leadership group. MacLellan and Lavy need to lean on Ovechkin, Backstrom, Oshie, and Carlson to keep Kuznetsov in check off the ice.

ClockReads2113 liked this.

Jul. 2, 2021 at 12:18 p.m.

DaBus

Joined: Sep. 2018

Posts: 1,404

Likes: 489

He's worth a first or two second's imo

Jul. 2, 2021 at 12:41 p.m.

ClockReads2113

Thread Starter

Joined: Jul. 2016

Posts: 8,015

Likes: 3,225

Quoting: Lenny7

That is a wild about the Russians. Weird.

Lenny7 liked this.

Jul. 2, 2021 at 12:42 p.m.

ClockReads2113

Thread Starter

Joined: Jul. 2016

Posts: 8,015

Likes: 3,225

Quoting: Meeqs

Reading between the lines of the GM it sounds like they aren't "determined" to move him. Like I don't think they are saying to themselves "we have to move him no matter what". Think it's preferable but won't send him away just to send him away, they'll want something worthwhile back. But who knows what they actually think. We'll see.

staytru20 liked this.

Jul. 2, 2021 at 12:48 p.m.

staytru20

Joined: Jun. 2018

Posts: 1,671

Likes: 875

Quoting: ClockReads2113

I have my doubts about the origin of the rumors about trading Kuznetsov. The Caps' front office is pretty tight lipped, and it seems like a dumb idea to tank the trade value of a good player by saying you're going to explore trades for him.

ClockReads2113 liked this.

Jul. 2, 2021 at 12:57 p.m.

Meeqs

Joined: Sep. 2020

Posts: 1,155

Likes: 417

Quoting: staytru20

While I agree with needing a replacement there are always things like ED slots that are an issue and any cap space WSH can get right now gives them options.

I will say I wouldn't be shocked if something like a Kuzy for Monahan swap ends up happening

Jul. 2, 2021 at 12:58 p.m.

Meeqs

Joined: Sep. 2020

Posts: 1,155

Likes: 417

Quoting: ClockReads2113

Everything I have heard on the matter is that they are absolutely done with him and are moving him no matter what it takes.

Jul. 2, 2021 at 1:24 p.m.

#10

Lenny7

Joined: Jan. 2017

Posts: 13,291

Likes: 11,051

Quoting: ClockReads2113

That is a wild about the Russians. Weird.

For sure. As a Ducks fan, I hadn't really thought about it until Kravtsov came over for the Rangers. I wanted to find out if we had any young studs hidden away in the KHL, and was surprised to see that during Bob Murray's tenure in Anaheim, the only Russians that they've drafted are:
-Galimov (5th round/21 years old/2020 draft)
-Igor Bobkov (3rd round/2009 draft)

That's 2 Russians out of 82 draft picks! Do we think that's a coincidence?

OldNYIfan and ClockReads2113 liked this.

Jul. 2, 2021 at 1:41 p.m.

#11

Ducksfan93

Joined: Feb. 2017

Posts: 307

Likes: 64

Quoting: Lenny7

Bob did trade for Volkov. He has played well since he came over. Maybe he is re-thinking.....

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Jul. 2, 2021 at 1:46 p.m.

#12

Lenny7

Joined: Jan. 2017

Posts: 13,291

Likes: 11,051

Quoting: Ducksfan93

Bob did trade for Volkov. He has played well sincea he came over. Maybe he is re-thinking.....

Fair enough, and Galimov was a 2020 draft pick. I just think it's a weird way to run a team.

Ducksfan93 and OldNYIfan liked this.

Jul. 2, 2021 at 1:50 p.m.

#13

staytru20

Joined: Jun. 2018

Posts: 1,671

Likes: 875

Quoting: Meeqs

Holding off on Ovi's new contract allows the Caps to protect an extra forward. I'd expect the Caps to protect Backstrom, Kuznetsov, Oshie, Wilson, Eller, Sprong, and Mantha. Trading Kuznetsov would open a slot to protect...Conor Sheary. I don't really see the need in moving Kuznetsov for an additional spot on the protection list for forwards.

Kuznetsov for Monahan does make sense from the Caps' perspective. Smaller cap hit, top six quality. It just doesn't make sense to trade Kuznetsov for a low return and then watch him kill it with a new team.

Jul. 2, 2021 at 1:56 p.m.

#14

Meeqs

Joined: Sep. 2020

Posts: 1,155

Likes: 417

Quoting: staytru20

That's fair on the ED point.

I think the reality for WSH is that Kuzy has had serious personal problems ( a cocaine problem being one of them) along with not living up to standards on the ice means that WSH is simply not going to allow him to constantly cost this team a chance at the Cup any longer. They can't rely on him so ultimately they have to move on from him, even if the return isn't ideal they view returning with him as a non option with how few contending years this team has left.

If he does well on his new team then so be it, the only one WSH cares about is their own.

Jul. 2, 2021 at 2:16 p.m.

#15

staytru20

Joined: Jun. 2018

Posts: 1,671

Likes: 875

Quoting: Meeqs

The issue is, without Kuznetsov, the team isn't a cup contender. If they're getting a low return, the Caps have no center depth. Kuznetsov is the catalyst for the Caps' success in the playoffs. When he's on his game and invested, he is absolutely elite. If 2018 wasn't Ovi's first cup, there's no doubt that Kuznetsov wins the Conn Smythe.

So there's essentially three options:

1. Make the right trade involving Kuznetsov, with a center like Tomas Hertl or Sean Monahan coming back, giving the Caps center depth that can match up with other playoff teams.
2. Sell low on Kuznetsov, don't have a viable 2C option, and probably not even make the playoffs, or lose in the first round.
3. Roll the dice on Kuznetsov that he straightens up the off-ice issues. Backstrom, Kuznetsov, Eller, and Dowd down the middle is still a strong group. Adding a bit more youth and speed to the roster could help the team stay healthier entering the playoffs.

Jul. 2, 2021 at 2:19 p.m.

#16

Meeqs

Joined: Sep. 2020

Posts: 1,155

Likes: 417

Quoting: staytru20

I mean WITH him they aren't a Cup contender. At some point you need to expect that his personal issues make the player you wish him to be not the same thing as the player he has been for multiple season, hence the point of all of this. From everything I have heard, it sounds like the decision has been made, so that is the reality I am going on until reports come out otherwise

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Jul. 2, 2021 at 2:20 p.m.

#17

OldNYIfan

Once a Kings Fan Too

Joined: Jun. 2018

Posts: 40,254

Likes: 25,173

Accurate and well-thought out comments about the Ducks and their personnel. But unless it's a Henrique-and-prospect-type trade, I can't see Anaheim asking for Kuznetsov. Even if the trade occurs after the start of the off-season (i.e., after the Caps pay Kuznetsov's $5 million signing bonus), the Ducks are investing an additional year and an additional $6.5 million in actual cash for him.

Jul. 2, 2021 at 2:24 p.m.

#18

staytru20

Joined: Jun. 2018

Posts: 1,671

Likes: 875

Quoting: Meeqs

I've seen nothing saying the Caps are going to move him for a low return. It doesn't make sense for a team still expecting to make the playoffs. Are they a top tier contender like the Lightning, Avalanche, or Vegas? No, but anything can happen in the playoffs. Everyone wrote off the Caps in 2018 too.

Also, it's not like Kuznetsov has been bad on the ice. He's actually still producing, so I don't know where that comes from.

Jul. 2, 2021 at 2:26 p.m.

#19

Meeqs

Joined: Sep. 2020

Posts: 1,155

Likes: 417

Quoting: staytru20

I think him underwhelming on the ice has been a big part of it and its not that I think WSH is going to move him for a low return but more so that they are absolutely determined to move on from him and its going to be hard to get a proper return for him in this market

Jul. 2, 2021 at 4:12 p.m.

#20

brady_t12

Fantasy Hockey Pro

Joined: Jun. 2016

Posts: 5,109

Likes: 2,268

Quoting: Meeqs

Literally the only time he’s been underwhelming on the ice is when he was recovering from COVID, which he had twice. And no, the caps are not determined to move him. They’ll move him if it makes the team better now, which is not going to be an easy trade to find.

Jul. 2, 2021 at 4:24 p.m.

#21

Meeqs

Joined: Sep. 2020

Posts: 1,155

Likes: 417

Quoting: brady_t12

We'll see, all these reports aren't being written and sent out because WSH thinks a lot of teams are busting down the doors for him.

I don't have a dog in this fight so I hope you are right

Jul. 3, 2021 at 11:35 a.m.

#22

staytru20

Joined: Jun. 2018

Posts: 1,671

Likes: 875

Quoting: Meeqs

We'll see, all these reports aren't being written and sent out because WSH thinks a lot of teams are busting down the doors for him.

I don't have a dog in this fight so I hope you are right

Why would they tank his trade value by saying they're unhappy with him if they're looking to move him? That's just terrible asset management.

Jul. 3, 2021 at 6:50 p.m.

#23

Meeqs

Joined: Sep. 2020

Posts: 1,155

Likes: 417

Quoting: staytru20

Why would they tank his trade value by saying they're unhappy with him if they're looking to move him? That's just terrible asset management.

I don't want to shock you but often times people find out players are being traded before they are. There's a whole media industry around it actually

Jul. 6, 2021 at 11:13 a.m.

#24

staytru20

Joined: Jun. 2018

Posts: 1,671

Likes: 875

Quoting: Meeqs

I don't want to shock you but often times people find out players are being traded before they are. There's a whole media industry around it actually

Sure, it could be true, but the Caps' FO is typically tight lipped. They're even being secretive about the new Ovi contract that everyone expects is already done.

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