Alex Ovechkin shares true feelings of potential departure of Evgeny Kuznetsov

It's tough to think about, but it won't be terribly long before the Washington Capitals lose superstar captain Alexander Ovechkin. Of course, this likely will be coming not far after he breaks Wayne Gretzky's goal scoring record of 892 tallies.

His longtime teammate and fellow Russian countryman Evgeny Kuznetsov has seen his name pop up in trade rumors, and it seems as though he could soon be finding his way out of the nation's capitol city. A mainstay in the lineup since the 2014-15 NHL season, Kuznetsov is good friends with Ovechkin and helped the team win the Stanley Cup for the first time in 2018.

But how would Ovechkin feel about Kuznetsov actually departing? While he admits that it would certainly be a disappointment, he knows that at the end of the day that they are taking part in a business where sometimes tough decisions are made.

“I have no information about the exchange of Kuznetsov,” Ovechkin said as translated by Google Translate. “I know as much as you do. How will I react to the exchange? This is a hockey business. Today you are here, tomorrow there, the day after tomorrow on another team. “I hope that this will not happen, because he is my close friend, a wonderful person, a great teammate. Therefore, I would not want this, but it does not depend on me.”

In 680 career NHL games, Kuznetsov has scored 165 goals with 386 assists, while also chipping in another 29 goals and 38 assists in 87 postseason games.

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