Evgeny Kuznetsov had one of the worst defensive seasons in recent NHL history, and it still wasn’t a bad season overall, because he’s a very special boy and we love him very much.

By The Numbers

Visualization by HockeyViz

About this visualization: This series of charts made by Micah Blake McCurdy of hockeyviz.com shows various metrics for the player over the course of the season. A short description of each chart:

Peter’s Take

I have assembled for you a diagram of Kuznetsov’s play based on his location on the ice. At right is the attacking zone, where Kuznetsov has the puck.

And at left is a portion of Hieronymus Bosch’s depiction of hell.

Evgeny Kuznetsov’s 2018-19 season was one of the worst defensive seasons by a forward in the last decade.

That’s bombastic. I’ll make the case.

Every dot below is a forward’s season, dating back to 2010. The higher the dot is, the more high-danger chances that opponents get. No one is worse than Kuznetsov.

And here’s a similar mapping for expected goals, using Natural Stat Trick’s reckoning. I’ve annotated some more interesting names at the extremes.

(I asked HockeyViz’s Micah Blake McCurdy if he’s seen anyone with worse on-ice numbers by his reckoning, and he came up with Brett Howden this season and Dennis Seidenberg’s 2018.)

I include offense in these diagrams because I don’t want to blow this out of proportion. Evgeny Kuznetsov is a gifted offensive player, and his creativity in the attacking zone goes a long way to forgiving his sins elsewhere. We need to consider both, and we need to consider them in proportion to one another.

Last year, TJ Oshie said this about Kuznetsov:

I think he’s up there with the all-around top-five players in the league. He just doesn’t get the recognition for some reason.

Like a tasty tiramisu, this quote has layers upon delicious layers. Oshie is right. Kuznetsov’s playmaking is bonkers, and it feels like he’s going to notch 50 assists every season for the next million years. I can totally imagine him as being a top-five offensive player in the NHL –– but “all-around”? Not even close. Kuznetsov is a liability without the puck, which has been true for his entire career and has only been masked by having excellent linemates at times. The “lack of recognition” Oshie cites is just people noticing that opponents get tons of shot attempts when Kuznetsov’s on the ice, and those attempts come from dangerous spots — with lots of them on the rush.

What exactly Kuznetsov did so poorly on defense requires a conversation of X‘s and O‘s that I’m probably not best at articulating, though I did try it way back in November  when I advocated for un-pairing him from Alex Ovechkin. In general, I think Kuznetsov is so focused on making an opportunistic counterattack while his teammates are forechecking that he does not meaningfully apply defensive pressure in the neutral zone. He’s too still and too removed from the play while opponents are breaking out that he often finds it passing him by.

All of which makes Kuznetsov’s famous reply to Oshie’s comment kind of unfortunate:

I don’t give a shit about that.

Kuznetsov’s defensive give-a-shit levels were already suspect before he went on the record about it, but, welp, here we are.

That’s already a lot to chew on, but I feel like I could write a novel about Kuznetsov’s play. Pretty much everything else would be glowing praise. He remained productive despite some unfavorable shooting percentages and a concussion, he and Nicklas Backstrom are machines at getting into formation during the power play, and at least once a week he makes a play that makes me question what is physically possible in this sport.

I feel like I’m writing myself into a corner here. There’s this party line about a player like Kuznetsov that I sort of detest, but I have to entertain it a bit: on any given night, he could be the best player in the world — if only he wanted to be.

That’s a cliché — one with more than a tincture of xenophobia — but I think it applies better to Kuznetsov than some folks who used to get painted with that brush. If Kuznetsov becomes a reliable two-way forward, he will take over games, and then he will take over the team, and then he will take over the league.

Kuzy on RMNB

• Kuznetsov began the season red hot, scoring in the second minute of the first game.
• He got three primary assists in a game against the Golden Knights. He scored a no-look, no-angle goal against the Leafs.
• He and Ovechkin had a lot of chemistry, which sometimes boiled over into conflict.

• With a lot of buzz about him possibly being a top-five player in the league, Kuznetsov replied, “I don’t give a shit about that.”
• Kuznetsov, um, sucks at faceoffs. When he won one at practice, the team erupted into celebration.
• In October the Hurricanes stole a Storm Surge celebration from Kuzy. This obviously sparked a renaissance in him, because a few days later, Kuznetsov brought back the bird celebration.
• Kuznetsov was concussed by a head shot from Brandon Tanev in November.

• Kuznetsov missed nearly two weeks, but he dismissed the risk of concussion to him: “I don’t have a lot of brain in my head, so it’s not that big of a deal for me.” 😑
• Upon his return he scored a filthy goal that still makes me feel ancient Catholic shame on rewatch.

• Mother. Of. God.

• Things got a bit dire for the Caps in January. Kuznetsov was demoted to the third line for a while. Kuznetsov spoke to the press about it, but I can’t really find any coherent pullquotes to be honest.
• At one point during the slump, Kuznetsov’s line had been outscored seven to one. It was baaaad. The demotion was warranted for a moment.
• And that slump ended the way it had to: off Kuzy’s own damn stick.

• Yet Kuznetsov wasn’t out of the doghouse yet. He was benched a couple days later after another stick penalty.
• Speaking about either the benching or the penalty, I dunno which, Kuznetsov said, “Uh, that shit happens, right?”
• The bird celebration returned in February when Kuznetsov scored a big one on Columbus. This began A Whole Thing, which merits its own subhead.

A Whole Thing on the Bird Celebration

• A man who has created zero hockey fans in the last 10 years, Don Cherry, loudly condemned the celebration in the Columbus game by Evgeny Kuznetsov, who has created thousands of of hockey fans in the past year.
• When the Blue Jackets shut out the Caps a few days later, one fan retaliated. I have respect for this level of disrespect.

• Though Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury committed the same treachery a few months earlier.

• Kuznetsov had “maybe [his] best game ever” in March as he scored his 100th goal, which required another bird celebration.

• Don Cherry blew his lid at that, calling Kuznetsov a jerk and lambasting him for not playing “the Canadian way”, which is maybe a factor in why the NHL fails to compete with the big-three North American sports.
• Kuznetsov later explained why he does the celebration. Short answer: for his daughter.
• We made a shirt. It rules.

• Everyone got in on the action:
  • Fans.
  • Mites on ice.
  • World Juniors.
  • Ovi.
  • Bradley Beal.
• And Kuznetsov summed up the whole ordeal with a quote so perfect it’s getting an excerpt here:

“You know, that’s what hockey should be for, for fun. Fans like it.”

Okay, that’s over. Back to reality.

• More cusses.
• Kuznetsov was reunited with Ovi in February and promptly had himself a little four-point night.
• Kuznetsov returned the bird one last time in Game Seven for a beautiful goal that wasn’t quite enough.
• When asked if he was hurt in the postseason, Kuznetsov responded simply, “Russian machine never breaks.” Check’s in the mail.
• Finally, he should be in jail for this.

Your Turn

Ugh there’s so much more I want to talk about. How much of Washington’s “overperformance” vs shot quality do you attribute to Kuznetsov’s reality distortion field (PDO)? What players should be paired with Kuznetsov to help make him more reliable? And is there a better quote in the entire NHL than this guy?

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