Breaking - Washington Capitals star forward requests a trade

According to new reports from the Washington Capitals blog RMNB, star forward Evgeny Kuznetsov has requested a trade.

According to RMNB, the trade request isn't new. At multiple points throughout the last two seasons, there was reportedly friction between the Capitals and Kuznetsov. The organization had become irritated with the player during last season and began exploring a trade, which led Kuznetsov to feel the relationship was broken between them.

Kuznetsov's role on the Capitals has diminished in recent years, especially this year with the the addition of Dylan Strome and his reduced offensive production. In 72 games this season, Kuznetsov only has 12 goals and a respectable 52 points, but his defensive game has resulted in a putrid -18. Kuznetsov has 3 years remaining on a contract that pays him $7.8M a year, including a 15 team no trade list.


With the Capitals clearly rebuilding on the fly, making significant moves selling at the deadline, the team will likely be willing to accommodate this request and expedite their rebuild. It's likely Kuznetsov will want to go to a contender and would be most coveted by one, but with his sizeable contract a deal may be difficult. It's even possible that Kuznetsov ends up on a rebuilding or fringe playoff team.