Evgeny Kuznetsov has been at the latest stop in his pro career, the KHL’s Salavat Yulaev, for over a month now. The team is the 33-year-old center’s fifth in the last three seasons, after prior time spent in the NHL with the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes and stints in Russia with SKA Saint Petersburg and Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
Given how his time at those four prior destinations ended in varying tumultuous ways, the thought of Kuznetsov soon calling it a wrap on his playing days isn’t a tremendously strange idea. However, the 2018 Stanley Cup champion believes he has plenty of gas left in the tank, recently telling Sport-Express’ Alexey Shevchenko, as long as he can avoid one primary obstacle.
“I can play as much as I want,” Kuznetsov said, as translated via Google Translate. “The main thing is to have fewer idiots around.”
Kuznetsov explained that he’ll always prioritize personal happiness when deciding where he wants to play.
“It’s important to come in with a smile so there’s laughter in the locker room,” Kuznetsov said. “I have a clear line: when the game preparation begins, all the silliness goes away. During the match, there’s emotion, but before the game, I don’t bother anyone or distract them.”
At Kuznetsov’s prior stop in the KHL this season, with Metallurg, he was in near-constant conflict with head coach Andrei Razin. Razin consistently criticized Kuznetsov’s fitness level, making the veteran forward a regular healthy scratch.
“It’s clear that Zhenya is very weak functionally,” Razin told Match TV after Kuznetsov’s Metallurg debut, as translated via Google Translate. “There were moments when we were locked down in the second period. His physicality was evident there.”
“At the moment, Kuznetsov is in very poor physical shape, which is resulting in a bunch of losses, a bunch of lost duels,” Razin later said in November, per Nikita Nadezhin.
There were early signs that Kuznetsov’s relationship with Razin was deteriorating quickly, as during a late October game, Kuznetsov left Metallurg’s bench mid-game and watched the rest in street clothes. Soon after that game, Razin was asked why Metallurg signed Kuznetsov after he had missed the entire KHL preseason, and delivered a winding, strange, and very blunt response.
“There was an empress named Catherine the Great. What do people remember her for? Call a spade a spade,” Razin said via Hockey on Kinopoisk, as translated via Google Translate. “She introduced the concept of favoritism. She’s remembered as a libertine. But in reality, she annexed Crimea, Novorossiya, and part of the Caucasus to the Russian Empire.
“So I’d compare Evgeny to that. He’ll either be remembered as a world champion, a Stanley Cup winner, or, to put it bluntly, as an alcoholic. While I wouldn’t call him an alcoholic, that’s a public perception that’s very hard to shake. Now he’s got a chance to prove he’s truly a great hockey player. This is his defining opportunity. He understands it, I think he realizes it.”
Kuznetsov spoke with Shevechenko about the challenges of dealing with the demanding Razin and his experience in Magnitogorsk.
“There are two rules in hockey,” Kuznetsov said. “First, the coach is always right. Second, see point number one. If you don’t like something, pack your bags and leave. No team holds anyone back. So it’s all pretty simple here.
“I’m probably too simple a person: if it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out. I’m not used to criticizing publicly. In my time, I’ve spoken out a lot, criticized someone, and then it boomeranged. I’m grateful to everyone at Magnitka. Many people treated me well, especially the fans. You can’t buy the people’s love. People accept you for who you are.”
So far, Kuznetsov’s stint with Salavat has been a successful one, as he has posted seven points (1g, 6a) in eight games. The team has been great overall since acquiring Kuznetsov off waivers from SKA, winning 11 out of their last 13 games. Kuznetsov missed a handful of those games due to injury but returned at the end of last month.
Head coach Viktor Kozlov, also a former Capitals forward, has the team well-positioned to make the playoffs, sitting fifth in the KHL’s Eastern Conference. Outside of Kuznetsov, the club is led offensively by former Hershey Bears winger Sheldon Rempal, who has 32 points (11g, 21a) in 25 games since departing Hershey earlier this season.
The 2025-26 season is Kuznetsov’s second back in the KHL after playing parts of 11 seasons in the NHL with the Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes. He played 45 combined regular-season and playoff games for SKA Saint Petersburg last year before a mutual agreement to terminate his contract.
