Slava Malamud @SlavaMalamud Close
Kuznetsov's agent tells Sport-Express the diagnosis is a severe bruise of soft tissues. May miss three weeks. #Caps
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just saw this was on the last page. nvm and hope its true
This is completely hilarious from a media gong show perspective.
I choose to view it as a wake up call and a scare which isn't actually coming with any negative consequences. Might be excellenet for Washington. Still hard to read the tea leaves; better to just wait it out.
Great news that this is not thought to be serious.
One thing -- I re-read a recent interview with Kuz. The way he speaks about contract talks "there were talks with Washington but now there's a pause" really sounds like he might be considering some of these Russian offers in part because he's not sure about the level of engagement from the Caps' side.
I mean, who knows. But if the Caps have taken the stance of "we made our interest known, if he really wants to play in the best league, he'll come over".. that ain't good enough. Doesn't mean they have to force the issue, but there better someone on this side continuously in touch with Kuz, making sure that he knows there's consistent interest from the Caps.
Great news that this is not thought to be serious.
One thing -- I re-read a recent interview with Kuz. The way he speaks about contract talks "there were talks with Washington but now there's a pause" really sounds like he might be considering some of these Russian offers in part because he's not sure about the level of engagement from the Caps' side.
I mean, who knows. But if the Caps have taken the stance of "we made our interest known, if he really wants to play in the best league, he'll come over".. that ain't good enough. Doesn't mean they have to force the issue, but there better someone on this side continuously in touch with Kuz, making sure that he knows there's consistent interest from the Caps.
Meh, the Caps are very limited in what they can offer him. If they offered him the rookie max, what else is there to negotiate about? It's not like they can woo him with extra incentives or throw more money at him.
Meh, the Caps are very limited in what they can offer him. If they offered him the rookie max, what else is there to negotiate about? It's not like they can woo him with extra incentives or throw more money at him.
They can ensure him he'll be protected and no one will run him.... Oh wait.
Alzner should call him right now and tell him that this kinda stuff wouldn't fly over here. That if that guy did that in the NHL he would get a really stern look and a text later, plus the opportunity to beat up Hendricks and give his team momentum. How would Kuz not want to come play here?
I mean, who knows. But if the Caps have taken the stance of "we made our interest known, if he really wants to play in the best league, he'll come over".. that ain't good enough. Doesn't mean they have to force the issue, but there better someone on this side continuously in touch with Kuz, making sure that he knows there's consistent interest from the Caps.
Maybe one of their Euro scouts or someone else from the front office is but their stance has been to pretty much let him be during the season and once it wraps up they'd hash it out.
We tend to think the CBA is a known quantity, but I wonder how often foreign players are whacked upside the head by the rookie max clauses when it comes time to actually talk contracts? It's entirely possible for a player to think that anything is possible, given enough will on the part of the team, as it is in the KHL or the way it was before 2005 in the NHL.
We know that he's only ever been able to make a maximum of $3.9M per year for three years (and he'd need to achieve major individual and team success to do so), but we assume he has always known it too.
This isn't so much for EK, but for prospects in general. They are only as well informed as their agents ensure that they are informed.
On the plus side, Jay Grossman is his North American agent, and he's a good one. How much they talk or have talked is an open question.
One of my pet peeves is that many international players have a NHL and a KHL agent, and while it makes sense from a knowledge of the system standpoint, it's impossible for any one agent to have the player's pure interests at heart. Grossman will never advise him to sign in the KHL, and vice versa. There is a commission at stake there. Always has bugged me.
Meh, the Caps are very limited in what they can offer him. If they offered him the rookie max, what else is there to negotiate about? It's not like they can woo him with extra incentives or throw more money at him.
I mean not negotiating, just talking. Doesn't really matter what the subject is. Talk about how NHL has been shifting towards giving young RFA's lifetime contracts. Tell him there's great excitement among the fans. If the Caps had a vision of what team they want to build, talk to him about that vision.
Psychologically, that stuff can be important. It makes a person feel like they are already part of a team, in touch with what's going on. It might make an impression on his wife, who knows. The point is, it doesn't cost anything, if done right it can only be a positive influence. So if you're not doing it, you're just being lazy.
We tend to think the CBA is a known quantity, but I wonder how often foreign players are whacked upside the head by the rookie max clauses when it comes time to actually talk contracts? It's entirely possible for a player to think that anything is possible, given enough will on the part of the team, as it is in the KHL or the way it was before 2005 in the NHL.
That's exactly the impression that one gets from that interview tidbit. Assumption is the mother of all f ups. Even if his North American agent told him "3.9m is the max that the Caps can offer you".. how was that translated into Russian, in what sense, etc. Obviously the Russian agent has no interest in an accurate depiction of that..
Continuous engagement helps make sure that there's less confusion about things like that.
