After being sent to the AHL following his return from the Player Assistance Program, it seemed very likely that Evgeny Kuznetsov's tenure in Washington had come to an end. He did report to the AHL, but the Carolina Hurricanes have kept adding to their roster by acquiring Kuznetsov from Washington. That follows their trade for Jake Guentzel (that breakdown can be viewed here).

The Kuznetsov trade is as follows:

Let's dig in.

What Carolina Gets

There is a reason Washington – a team that has struggled to score for most of this season – decided that Kuznetsov was not part of the team's future. Aside from Kuznetsov's drug-related suspension years ago and his entry to the Player Assistance Program this season, he is a player whose play had fallen off a cliff. Once upon a time, he was good enough offensively to offset his defensive issues, but that has not been the case for a few years now. Over the last three seasons, Evolving Hockey has his expected goals-for impact as below average, and his actual goals-for impact also below average. Combine that with awful defense, and there are very good on-ice reasons why he's no longer with Washington.

When Kuznetsov is at his best, he's an elite playmaker who is very good in transition. HockeyViz shows that 4-5 years ago, Kuznetsov was quite literally one of the top playmakers in the league who could also finish well:

Both the playmaking and the finishing have tailed off, though, and the poor defensive play was driving down any value he could bring to the team. What's worse is the transition play fell off this season, too. As recently as 2021-22, AllThreeZones had Kuznetsov as a very dangerous player on zone entries:

And that has also tailed off to very average results this season:

Of course, no one in Washington has been particularly dangerous this season, so maybe Carolina can help Kuznetsov regain that dangerous offensive profile.

The problem is the stylistic fit. He is a player that thrives off those entries – the rush plays – where Carolina is a staunch forechecking team. How that all works will be interesting to see, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him struggle to fit in with the way Carolina plays.

Of course, he won't be tasked with a lot. The team has Sebastian Aho, Jack Drury, and Jordan Staal down the middle, so Kuznetsov will be the fourth-line centre at best. Maybe they move him to the wing, but even then, the addition of Jake Guentzel locks up the top-2 left wing spots (along with Andrei Svechnikov) and it's very hard to see Kuznetsov being used next to Jordan Staal in a checking role. Regardless if it's the wing or at centre, Kuznetsov is destined for the fourth line, if not the press box.

If Kuznetsov can fit in with the team and regain that playmaking form, he can bring an offensive element to the fourth line that would give them some additional depth scoring. He has a lot of hurdles to clear, though, and even if he does all that, a fourth line role doesn't leave much room for fantasy value.

This isn't good news for Jesperi Kotkaniemi. He has already lost his middle-6 centre role to Drury, and now has competition for a fourth-line position. They may use both on the fourth line (especially with Brendan Lemieux's lack of a role), but it's a threat to Kotkaniemi just remaining in the lineup.

In Washington, this confirms Dylan Strome and Connor McMichael as the team's top two centres for now, and likely for next season unless they make a significant trade. They have tried Aliaksei Protas at centre but Strome/McMichael seem to be the duo for the time being. It also gives a bit more runway for Hendrix Lapierre to make his mark on the NHL roster.

Who This Helps

Evgeny Kuznetsov

Stefan Noesen

Connor McMichael

Hendrix Lapierre

Who This Hurts

Jesperi Kotkaniemi

Brendan Lemieux