Evgeny Kuznetsov is already back in turmoil in the KHL.
The 33-year-old centerman is without a point in his last four games and now appears to be in conflict with Metallurg Magnitogorsk’s head coach, Andrei Razin. After playing just five minutes of Metallurg’s 4-0 loss to Ak Bars Kazan on Wednesday, Kuznetsov mysteriously disappeared from the team’s bench after his final shift 5:19 into the second period, only to reemerge in a team-branded hoodie to watch the rest of the game from behind the glass.
In the five minutes he did play, Kuznetsov recorded nothing on the scoresheet and lost all five faceoffs that he took. He was centering Sergey Tolchinsky and Danil Vovchenko on the team’s second line.
After the game, Razin was asked to comment on Kuznetsov’s sudden, mid-game absence.
“Next question. No comment,” Razin replied per sports.ru’s Daria Romanova, as translated via Google Translate.
The incident also comes after Kuznetsov played just 10:23 of ice time against Avangard Omsk on Monday — two minutes fewer than in any previous game this season. Razin has been brutally honest about Kuznetsov’s performance since he joined the club this fall, after failing to return to the NHL.
“We give power play [time] to those who are ready to play on the power play today,” Razin said after a recent game. “We don’t give them the chance to play on the power play. So far, Evgeny hasn’t satisfied us with his power play.”
He added, “His skating and workload don’t allow him to perform well as a center. I’d like to see him on the wing. But now we have two centers out due to injury, so Evgeny has had to play that position.”
Kuznetsov started the season well, recording five assists in his first four games, but has been silent since. Under his one-year contract with Magnitogorsk, Kuznetsov is set to earn 10 million rubles ($125k). The agreement also includes a bonus of 100 million rubles ($1.25 million) if Kuznetsov finishes among the KHL’s top three scorers.
The 2018 Stanley Cup champion spent the 2024-25 season with SKA St. Petersburg, recording 37 points (12g, 25a) in 39 regular-season games. In the playoffs, he added 3 points (1g, 2a) in 6 games. SKA and Kuznetsov mutually agreed to terminate the remaining three years of his four-year contract in April.
Metallurg’s next game comes on November 3 against the Shanghai Dragons.
