Evgeny Kuznetsov will be suspended by the NHL!

Washington Capitals' star forward Evgeny Kuznetsov will be suspended by the National Hockey League. 

In spite of the fact that early reports suggested that the National Hockey League would not move to suspended Kuznetsov following a positive result for cocaine on a drug test that was administered by the International Ice Hockey Federation, it now appears as though the NHL will in fact be moving to punish the Washington Capitals star. According to a breaking news report from Washington Capitals insider Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post, the NHL is expected to announce the suspension at some point during the day today. 

Kuznetsov was previously hit with a massive four year ban from competition under the IIHF as a result of his positive test, but it appears that his penalties in the National Hockey League will be significantly less severe. Khurshudyan instead reports that Kuznetsov will face a suspension that is not expected to exceed three games according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. Although this can not be viewed as an official announcement at this time, the reporting from Khurshudyan regarding the Capitals is always impeccable do you can rest assured that her sources on this matter are rock solid. 

For those of you who may be raising an eyebrow at the drastic disparity in the suspensions here there may be a very simple answer as to why the NHL suspension and the IIHF suspension are drastically different. Under the rules of the IIHF cocaine is considered a performance enhancing drug, while under the rules of the National Hockey League cocaine is treated as a recreational drug of abuse. I have to be honest my thoughts tend to line up more with the NHL on this matter than the IIHF, although I will admit that given the circumstances 3 games may actually be a bit light here. 

Kuznetsov effectively humiliated the NHL in this matter when a video surfaced months ago showing Kuznetsov in the presence of drugs of abuse. In the video Kuznetsov was not shown using those drugs and denied have ever used them, prompting the NHL to close the matter and move on. Months later however the positive drug test from the IIHF would come to light, leading many to believe that the NHL was much more interested in sweeping the matter under the rug rather than seriously investigating what had transpired on that video.

Expect an official announcement to come very soon.