Insider Lebrun Confirms Kuznetsov's Future And It's Not With The Capitals

"If there's a player who looks like he needs a fresh start, it's Evgeny Kuznetsov, who's struggling this season.

It's hard to see there being a market for him ahead of March 8 because he's got another year left on his deal at a $7.8 million cap hit, and most contending teams adding at the deadline are looking at rentals.

He could be a candidate to be moved at the draft, though, with the salary cap going up and teams having more cap flexibility in the offseason.

The Capitals almost moved him last offseason, from my understanding. They were engaged with the Predators on a deal that would have entailed taking a player back, but for whatever reason, that fell through. I don't know what player that was for sure, but we know that the Predators ended up buying out Matt Duchene and trading Ryan Johansen to Colorado while eating half of his remaining contract. Of course, Predators GM Barry Trotz was Kuznetsov's coach in Washington, when he arguably played the best hockey of his career. But the Preds are full up at center now, so that ship has probably sailed.

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."