Major failed trade reported in Washington, could lead to pending monster move!

The Washington Capitals were quite aggressive during the summer at attempting to move veteran forward Evgeny Kuznetsov, and it sounds like they were almost successful.

According to Pierre LeBrun, there was a deal in place to move to Kuznetsov, but hings fell through - though it feels like trade talks could pick back up.

LeBrun wrote for The Athletic that there was a deal in place to move the Russian forward to the Nashville Predators, reuniting him with former head coach Barry Trotz. The insider doesn’t know why the trade failed to materialize, but he feels like return was Matt Duchene, who was subsequently bought out and signed with the Dallas Stars.

LeBrun pointed out that Kuznetsov is not likely to be moved at this year’s deadline or before the summer because of his $7.8 million cap hit and having this year and one more left on his contract. However, he believes that Kuznetsov could be on the move at the draft or in the offseason seeing that there will be more flexibility with the salary cap for most teams across the league.

“Whether it’s taking another contract back or eating some of his remaining $7.8 million next season, though, I do believe Kuznetsov has a chance to be on the move this upcoming summer.”

The belief is that the Predators won’t go back to Kuznetsov since they have established their center depth, but other teams could enter the sweepstakes.

But it’s no secret that the 2023-23 season hasn’t been kind to Kuznetsov: he experienced his first performance-based healthy scratch since his rookie year and has only put up five goals and 11 points in 27 games.

Imagine if the Preds had pulled the trigger and the Russian player was in Music City… maybe the change of scenery would have been exactly what Kuznetsov needed.

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