Washington Capitals star wants out, requests a trade

After winning their first Stanley Cup back in 2018, the Capitals have lost in the first round of the playoffs in 4 consecutive seasons and look to be out of the mix this year for the first time since 2013-14 and for just the second time since 2006-07.

Injuries and age have derailed the Capitals this season as only Conor Sheary has appeared in all 73 games so far, followed by Dylan Strome, Kuznetsov, and Trevor van Riemsdyk in all but 1. Marquee players like Nicklas Backstrom has only appeared in 30 games, Tom Wilson in 24 games, T.J Oshie in 55 games, and Alexander Ovechkin has missed 7 games himself.

The route to which the Capitals traverse heading into the summer remains unknown especially with big money being handed out to Ovechkin, Backstrom, Oshie, and Wilson among others. However they did sell at the deadline by moving Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway, and Marcus Johansson for draft picks.

Kuznetsov has 12 goals and 52 points in 72 games, which would be his lowest totals since sophomore season in 2014-15 when he scored 11 goals and 37 points in 80 games. Before this season he registered 139 goals and 450 points in 502 games from 2015-16 to 2021-22. He also paced his club en route to the Cup with 20 assists and 32 points in 24 games, while totalling 67 points in 87 career playoff games.

This isn't the first time that both parties have been looking for a way out. They tried exploring the trade market in the summer of 2021 and it's been reported in the past by Elliotte Friedman that the team was running out of patience and that he was beginning to irritate the organization.

Kuznetsov has 2 more seasons at a 7.8 million cap hit in a deal that includes a modified no-trade clause. The soon-to-be 31-year-old should generate a lot of interest as he is still a very skilled and prolific scorer however he has gotten into some off-ice issues. Nevertheless, the long-time Capital might finally be on his way out of Washington as the tides might be beginning to turn.