Former Capitals player Evgeny Kuznetsov appears to be on the move once again this summer.
Kuznetsov’s agent, Shumi Babaev, said that Kuznetsov will not return to the KHL’s Salavat Yulaev next season, telling Sport-Express that the team had opted not to bring him back.
“We’re not negotiating with Salavat Yulaev,” Babaev said, translated by Google Translate. “Evgeny Kuznetsov won’t be in Ufa next season; that’s already been decided. The club has made that decision.”
Speaking to RB Sport, Babaev characterized the move as solely an on-ice decision, not a matter of cost.
“As I understand it, they’re planning to assemble two strong lines and are worried there won’t be room for Evgeny,” he said, as translated by Google Translate. “It’s a purely hockey situation.
“The club thanks him for helping the team reach the playoffs and get past the first round. They believe Kuznetsov made a significant contribution. I don’t think they were unhappy with the contract amount I mentioned. It was a reasonable amount—both the base salary and the bonus portion.”
Per Babaev, Kuznetsov could head west after receiving an an offer from a Swiss team, but would prefer to remain in the KHL, though he didn’t rule out a potential return to the NHL.
“We’ll talk soon and decide which way to go,” Babaev said. “I have a good offer from Switzerland. Evgeny will have to decide whether he wants to return to the NHL or is ready to play in Europe. He’s said he wants to stay in the KHL, so he hasn’t had any specific talks yet.”
Salavat claimed Kuznetsov off waivers in January after he began the season with Metallurg Magnitogorsk. He registered 18 points (6g, 12a) in 19 regular-season games for Salavat to total a combined 27 points (7g, 20a) between the two teams.
In the playoffs, Kuznetsov recorded two points (1g, 1a) in seven games, including setting up a double-overtime goal to send the team to the second round, but was also suspended one game for making an obscene gesture towards Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg players. His season came to a scary end when he was stretchered off the ice following a hit in Salavat’s penultimate game of the playoffs, though he was able to watch the end of the game in street clothes.
Kuznetsov has spent the last two seasons in the KHL after mutually terminating his NHL contract with the Carolina Hurricanes in July 2024. After playing for SKA St. Petersburg in 2024-25, Kuznetsov signed a one-year deal with Metallurg Magnitogorsk last summer but got off to a rocky start with the team. He regularly served as a healthy scratch after head coach Andrei Razin publicly criticized him on several occasions, and the team ultimately opted to put him on waivers.
Should Kuznetsov opt to stay in Russia, Babaev doesn’t believe he’ll have trouble finding a new home in the KHL.
“I expect interest from clubs here,” he said. “He’s not the kind of player you have to force on anyone. Hockey players like him are very rare, and he would strengthen any team.”
He noted, however, that Kuznetsov is unlikely to play for his hometown Traktor Chelyabinsk, where he spent half a decade in the KHL before jumping to the NHL.
“I spoke with Traktor’s general manager, Alexei Volkov, and as far as I understand, the team has all its Russian players already and is looking for foreigners,” Babaev said. “I don’t think they have room for Zhenya.”
Kuznetsov has now played for five teams in the last three seasons between the NHL and KHL, but said in February that he has no plans to retire.
“I can play as much as I want,” Kuznetsov said then, as translated via Google Translate. “The main thing is to have fewer idiots around.”
