Confirmed with Link: Wait, kuzy was traded? To Hurricanes for 2025 3rd round pick. Caps retain 50 percent

[CapitalsCupReality]

No one else is sad this finally happened? I am.

Anyone care to speculate what exactly turned him off from Caps organization? Here is a list of my theories without having any facts to back it up:
- His relationship with Ovi may not have been as good as we all would expect. Maybe even worse.
- the 2018 Conn Smythe going to Ovi may have contributed to the above mentioned
- Maybe he feels the Organization did not stick up for him enough during his drug related suspension.

Nothing happens without a reason and i would love to know what that reason is for him. If him and Ovi were buddies i would think he would want to stick around to be there for the record. I also do not think that he wants a change of scenery simply because he has all coke dealers in DC area on speed dial. Lets face it, these days you can just order it online. If you have money you can get anything you want. Moving to a different state would not change anything. My gut tells me there is a rift there somewhere.

The rift is probably from him not living up to his wage on an 8 year deal…

 

[crazy8888]

The rift is probably from him not living up to his wage on an 8 year deal…

Perhaps but he is the one who wanted to leave for a while now. Are you suggesting he is mad at himself so much that he demanded a trade?

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Perhaps but he is the one who wanted to leave for a while now. Are you suggesting he is mad at himself so much that he demanded a trade?

I’m just saying the issues probably largely center around his personal problems. No need to look for excuses/others to blame to absolve the player IMO.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

I am feeling all the feels right now. Tremendously sad that Kuzy has flown the nest because I absolutely loved him for most of his time here and the finality of him being actually gone sucks, shocked and impressed that they got anything for him let alone a legitimate pick, super pissed that he went to Carolina of all f***ing teams, excited that the team continues to build towards the future.

Thanks for everything, Birdman.

 

[crazy8888]

I’m just saying the issues probably largely center around his personal problems. No need to look for excuses/others to blame to absolve the player IMO.

Oh without a doubt his personal problems played a big role in all of this. Im just saying considering everything its a little bit strange that he would insist on leaving, apparently for quiet some time now.
Im just suggesting that aside from the organizational point of view i think he personally was not happy about something. And i would love to know what it was. But as someone else has mentioned, only way we will probably find out is by reading between the lines on some of his Russian interviews or something. Maybe someone will write a tell all book one day. Either way i would love to know what the hell happened here.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Oh without a doubt his personal problems played a big role in all of this. Im just saying considering everything its a little bit strange that he would insist on leaving, apparently for quiet some time now.
Im just suggesting that aside from the organizational point of view i think he personally was not happy about something. And i would love to know what it was. But as someone else has mentioned, only way we will probably find out is by reading between the lines on some of his Russian interviews or something. Maybe someone will write a tell all book one day. Either way i would love to know what the hell happened here.

If he’s got a big problem as it appears, withdrawing himself from his circle of hangers on in this area might just help reset his life.

 

[SherVaughn30]

Shocked!

Well, thx for the cup, man.

Lots of good memories.

Kuzy will always be a legend like Dale Hunter was against the Flyers, in regard to scoring a series ending OT goal against the Pissburgh Pen(!)s.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Great memories and it's too bad it soured, but that's life. If Carolina and the NYR should meet up in the playoffs, I hope Kuzy and Orlov light them up. While I dislike Carolina a ton, I loathe the Rangers. Hopefully, he gets his personal life in order. He had some epic interviews with Al Koken over the years too. Good job GMBM for getting something also.

 

[kicksavedave]

So if I'm not mistaken, the cost of a mid/late 3rd round pick is ~$3.9M. Canes could have had him for free (in draft capital) in waivers but passed because of the salary. They traded the pick for him at 50% (~$3.9M) so thats how much they valued the pick. Or how much we valued the pick?

Always risky sending a star talent to a division rival. If Kuzy reignites there, it will be a massive failure for us. Carbs got Mantha to play well, its a shame he couldn't get Kuzy rehabbed as well.

Farewell Bird Man. Thanks for 2018 and a bunch of other fun moments, but you were frustrating as hell for the last 4 years. Good luck, but not too much luck.

 

[Acallabeth]

Someone ps that pic from Canes twitter with the Cosmonaut Kuznetsov article please.

 

[bacchist]

So if I'm not mistaken, the cost of a mid/late 3rd round pick is ~$3.9M. Canes could have had him for free (in draft capital) in waivers but passed because of the salary. They traded the pick for him at 50% (~$3.9M) so thats how much they valued the pick. Or how much we valued the pick?

Always risky sending a star talent to a division rival. If Kuzy reignites there, it will be a massive failure for us. Carbs got Mantha to play well, its a shame he couldn't get Kuzy rehabbed as well.

Farewell Bird Man. Thanks for 2018 and a bunch of other fun moments, but you were frustrating as hell for the last 4 years. Good luck, but not too much luck.

If only Carbs could have had the good sense to catch him in a contract year.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Carolina visits DC on Friday, 3/22, btw.

 

[kicksavedave]

If only Carbs could have had the good sense to catch him in a contract year.

Yeah I get it, but I don't sense Kuzy is motivated by contract money, so much as "where da fun at". Mantha is a shameless mercenary. He'll revert to Mothra soon.

 

[Raikkonen]

Ive heard things that probably could mean Kuzy does have some certain practices off the ice that could not make Ovi happy. Not drug related. So I'd imagine Ovi doesn't support him on some things. That could be enough for Ovi to not defend him against GMBM. Vague enough?

Speculation though. Don't know their actual state of relationships.

Overall I'd just say Kuzys problems are between his ears.

Also, Ovi deserved his Conn Smythe.

 

[artilector]

Good deal for everybody.

Thank you Kuz, fan obsessions aside, that was a fun career -- a decade in the NHL, playing with a legend, winning a Cup, bird cellys, smiling every step between the ice and the bank, all basically without ever shifting out of 2nd gear And now gets a last chance with a team that's far better equipped to still get something out of him.

 

[BiPolar Caps]

He's away from AA and Miroshnichenko! That alone makes this a win for the Capitals.

 

[ovikovy817]

Thanks for all Kuzya.

 

[Ridley Simon]

If he’s got a big problem as it appears, withdrawing himself from his circle of hangers on in this area might just help reset his life.

Yeah. This. People with addictions get “triggers”….many of which are based on where they live, what they do, and who they spend time with.

Kuznetsov could pretty easily change 2 of the 3. So he did. That’s very common for addicts. Very.

 

[YippieKaey]

When Brind'Amour coached Kuzy at the All Star game

Wow. Well maybe. We'll see. If he does find his groove he might put them over the edge.

 

[YippieKaey]

Honestly getting a 3rd for someone with documented drug issues who was on waivers os pretty nice work. GMBM did good. Kuzy might be great on Carolina but he wasn't and never would have been here do good job

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

No one else is sad this finally happened? I am.

Anyone care to speculate what exactly turned him off from Caps organization? Here is a list of my theories without having any facts to back it up:
- His relationship with Ovi may not have been as good as we all would expect. Maybe even worse.
- the 2018 Conn Smythe going to Ovi may have contributed to the above mentioned
- Maybe he feels the Organization did not stick up for him enough during his drug related suspension.

Nothing happens without a reason and i would love to know what that reason is for him. If him and Ovi were buddies i would think he would want to stick around to be there for the record. I also do not think that he wants a change of scenery simply because he has all coke dealers in DC area on speed dial. Lets face it, these days you can just order it online. If you have money you can get anything you want. Moving to a different state would not change anything. My gut tells me there is a rift there somewhere.

I think he was mostly mad at the Laviolette hire, and the coaching/management beating over his head for playing an irresponsible 2-way game.

He was extremely critical of GMBM’s decision to hire coaches that didn’t fit the team’s style. The only coach that ever got something out of Kuzy was Trotz, and I think the gap widened slowly but surely between him and the team over the years.

If there was a rift between Ovi and Kuzy, I don’t think it has anything to do with who won the CS (when Ovechkin was just as deserving of it and the team leader).

None of it matters anyway, the writing was on the wall since 2022 at least.

 

[PlushMinus]

I'm just happy he's not going to be playing in Hershey and using up all that cap space. Would be kind of absurd for him to play out this season and next in the minors.

Stating the obvious i guess - but it's no coincidence Kuzy spends the All Star break hanging out with Orlov and now finds himself playing on the same team. A few conversations must have taken place and some kind of plan was formulated. Not saying the entire thing was premeditated and the Canes organization was in on it (back around the time of the All Star break), but Orlov must have had some conversations with Brindamour, Svechnikov and others. Maybe even Kuzy himself spoke with them.

They wouldn't roll the dice like this unless they were reasonably confident that the better version of Kuzy is the one they're getting.

End of the day it's going to be very interesting seeing how he plays on a different team. Shame it's the Canes but I am kind of excited to see how this plays out.

 

[TheSmokingMan]

Ive heard things that probably could mean Kuzy does have some certain practices off the ice that could not make Ovi happy. Not drug related. So I'd imagine Ovi doesn't support him on some things. That could be enough for Ovi to not defend him against GMBM. Vague enough?

Speculation though. Don't know their actual state of relationships.

Overall I'd just say Kuzys problems are between his ears.

Also, Ovi deserved his Conn Smythe.

I also do not think Ovie and Kuzy had the best relationship. We shouldn't assume that just because they are Russian, that they were friends. We do know that Kuzy was very close with Orlov so I think Carolina was actually a really good place for him to land for his fresh start.

Kuzy had some VERY key contributions to the Stanley Cup run, but it wasn't really that close of a decision for me when it came to the Conn Smythe. Kuzy made some really nice plays, but Ovie deserved it... He was the beating heart of the team and LED them to that cup.

On a personal level, I hope Kuzy can get his life back together with this move. He still has a lot of talent to tap into if his head is in the right place. This is a bit of a gamble for Carolina, but it could put them over the top if it pans out. It's a bold move for both teams.

Props to GMBM for working out a way to solve what most of us thought was an unsolvable problem. One thing I really respect about GMBM is how straight forward and honest he is with the players and how he tries to do the right thing by them, while still balancing the best interests of the team. It speaks well for the culture of the organization and I would guess that our reputation around the league is pretty good. Hopefully, that will help us attract some good FA's in the summer to help next season.

 

[Carlzner]

Kuzy & Orlov with a dominant shift 5 mins into the game. Vintage Kuzy

 

[tycoonheart]

Man excellent shift from Kuzy.