What’s next for Evgeny Kuznetsov after demotion to AHL?

In what was a rather stunning move, the Washington Capitals placed forward Evgeny Kuznetsov on waivers, shortly after being cleared to return to practice with the team by the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

The Russian born star effectively cleared waivers on Sunday, and will report to the Capitals’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, where his $8 million cap hit will make him the highest paid player in league history.

So the question now is, what is next for Kuznetsov? It is rare to see a player of his stature go to the minors, but it might give him an opportunity to recharge his batteries after what has been a tumultuous season.

On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli talked about what led to this, and what might happen in Kuznetsov’s first stint in the AHL.

Frank Seravalli: I believe that, either at the beginning of the season or sometime over the offseason for someone that had been clamoring for a change of scenery, the Capitals were frustrated with [Kuznetsov], he was frustrated with the Caps. They basically said to him, “We know you’ve had some issues, and it’s pretty clear that it’s with drugs, that you need to get yourself in order, and if there’s another issue that pops up here, then we’re gonna have to cut ties.”

So, Kuznetsov goes into the Players’ Assistance program, and I think that was kind of the last straw for him with the Caps. So what’s next? He’s sent to Hershey…provided that he reports, which we expect to happen given there’s about $10 million on his deal between this season and next.

I don’t think it’d be wise, on his part, given where his reputation is right now, to bypass on the $8 million that’s left on his deal. Will the Caps buy him out this summer? Is there someway a trade could materialize if the Caps are willing to retain money?

There’s lots of different options and ways to do this, and I think at the very least…Kuznetsov plays out the last year of his deal in the AHL, but I don’t think it’ll get to that point.

You can watch the full segment, and the entire episode here…