Will the Capitals listen to trade offers on Kuznetsov?
TSN: Washington Capitals Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ilya Samsonov were scratched from Monday’s game as coach Peter Laviolette said they were late for a team function. Pierre LeBrun notes that Kuznetsov (and Samsonov) didn’t follow COVID protocols earlier this season and a group missed some time. Back in September of 2019 he was suspended by the NHL for three games for “inappropriate conduct.” Could his time be running out in Washington?
“There has certainly also been some inconsistent play on the ice the last couple of years. What I’m hearing is that it’s starting to, at some level, irritate some members of the Caps’ organization. So keep an eye on this one.
As far as I believe, Washington is perhaps willing to listen to trade offers for Kuznetsov this offseason. He’s got four more years on his contract at a $7.8 million AAV and a modified no-trade clause, but he’s still a pretty good player.”
Flyers won’t be making radical changes this offseason
Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer: Philadelphia Flyers chairman Dave Scott believes in Chuck Fletcher’s decision making and doesn’t think the team needs to make radical changes. Among their offseason wish list will be another scoring forward, a top-pairing defenseman and possibly a backup goaltender.
Scott thinks they will have the salary cap space to add some pieces this offseason and that they may not need to trade forwards like Jakub Voracek or James van Riemsdyk or shed one of their salaries in the expansion draft.
“All I can tell you is that we’re going to have a busy summer. I’m determined to get his thing back on track, and that ‘s everything from spending to the cap and giving the resources to Chuck and A.V.”
Goaltending needs to be better next season as of Monday they had a team goals-against average of 3.57.
“I don’t think we need a total rebuild,” he said. “Last season wasn’t that long ago” and the Flyers did well with a similar roster. “I think we’re a lot better than what our record reflects right now. Clearly, it starts with goaltending.”