MOSCOW, March 4 To Washington Capitals forward Evgeniy Kuznetsov it is necessary to deal with personal problems, said the general manager of the National Hockey League (NHL) club Brian McLellan.
Previously, Washington put Kuznetsov up for the waiver draft, but not a single NHL club took the forward. On Sunday, the 31-year-old player was sent to the Hershey Bears farm club of the American Hockey League (AHL). In early February, Kuznetsov turned to the league's player assistance program and was out indefinitely. The program was created to provide support to players experiencing, in particular, problems with alcohol, drugs, gambling, and psychological difficulties. The league later announced that Kuznetsov had received permission to resume training with the team.
“I think he needs to deal with some problems in his personal life, and also in the game plan, too. He needs to find the level at which he is used to playing. Go down to Hershey and work on it or play on another team. I don’t know. whether he finds what he needs, but I think it’s important for him,” the NHL website quotes McLellan as saying.
National Hockey League (NHL)03 March 2024 • start at 21:00Finished
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Kuznetsov was selected by Washington in the 2010 draft with the 26th overall m number. Together with the club, he won the Stanley Cup in 2018. In Russia, the striker represented Chelyabinsk Traktor. As a member of the national team, he became a world champion twice and once a silver and bronze medalist at world championships.