Evgeny Kuznetsov Blames Capitals' Hiring of Peter Laviolette for Downturn in Team

[Phil]

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He saved that for a tell-all interview with the Russian outlet Slippery Ice. There, Kuznetsov criticized general manager Brian MacLellan and former Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette. He even spoke to a private meeting he had with MacLellan where he told Mac his true feelings.

 

“There were many moments there (in the meeting),” Kuznetsov said during the interview and as translated by Google Translate. “I say, ‘You brought a coach who almost didn’t fit our style, we had to rebuild.’ Such moments as it were. ‘You paid me this money for something, right?’ I say, ‘For what I did well.’ And now [he] arrived, they tell me: ‘Listen, you don’t need to do this – throw the puck into the zone, run, and [screen] the goalie.’

 

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“This is where everything went wrong in general, because we should each have our own role, everyone should fulfill their role, and everyone will be in demand from this role,” he said. “And when you carry a piano, and then they say to you: ‘No, no, let’s play the piano today.’ And the person has never played the piano, and they say to him: ‘Come on, play!'”

 

Kuznetsov’s criticism points to Peter Laviolette’s system, which some behind-the-scenes groused about due to the physicality it demanded and how uncreative it was. One source close to the Capitals told RMNB that there was a meeting early in the season where players asked to alter some parts of the system so that they weren’t beat up along the boards as much. Apparently, there was a slight system change in December to open things up offensively and the team responded well, posting an 11-2-2 record.

 

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Laviolette’s tenure with the Capitals saw multiple players seem to bump heads with the Stanley Cup-winning coach including Jakub Vrana, Jonas Siegenthaler, Ilya Samsonov, Daniel Sprong, and Anthony Mantha.

 

https://russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2023/09/23/evgeny-kuznetsov-capitals-hiring-peter-laviolette-downturn/

[Albatrosss]

Lavi is going to make Panarin dump the puck in and stand in front of the net. 

[Pete]

Yea, it was Lavs. Not the cocaine...Just Lavs.

Edited September 25, 2023 by Pete

[Ozzy]

I heard the shit about Keenan...

[siddious]

3 hours ago, Pete said:

Yea, it was Lavs. Not the cocaine...Just Lavs.

Bingo

 

sounds like a guy who’s had a lot going on and lost a step looking for a place to put some blame.

 

even funnier when you consider who they won a cup with and his style

[Phil]

4 hours ago, Pete said:

Yea, it was Lavs. Not the cocaine...Just Lavs.

 

Should update the thread title to read: "Evgeny Kuznetsov, Who Sucks, Blames Caps' Hiring Laviolette for Team's Downturn"

[Pete]

1 hour ago, Phil said:

 

Should update the thread title to read: "Evgeny Kuznetsov, Who Sucks, Blames Caps' Hiring Laviolette for Team's Downturn"

Yes, he sucks wads of white powder off of hookers into his nose through a rolled up $100 bill.

[Phil]

1 minute ago, Pete said:

Yes, he sucks wads of white powder off of hookers into his nose through a rolled up $100 bill.

 

"Evgeny Kuznetsov, Who Blows, Blames Caps' Hiring Laviolette for Team's Downturn"

[BrooksBurner]

Cocaine hobby notwithstanding, the Caps aren’t Cup winners without Kuznetzov and his 12 goals and 32 points in 24 games during their Stanley Cup run. He’s accomplished more in the playoffs as a player than Lavi as a coach in the last 15 years, and there’s no record that I know of where he complained about Trotz and Trotz has a rigid system. So we can’t discount that he just didn’t buy into the system.

 

It seems like Lavi tried to take soft players and make them something they are not, which is concerning. It could very well be that Laviolette just isn’t a great coach to pair with soft talent. Zib and Panarin of the same mold as Kuz btw. Soft point scorers.

Edited September 25, 2023 by BrooksBurner

[Pete]

You're right, it's probably got nothing to do with Carlson missing the year and Backstrom turning to shit after his hip surgery, a long with just getting older overall. Didn't Wilson also miss a good chunk of the season? 

Edited September 25, 2023 by Pete

[BrooksBurner]

42 minutes ago, Pete said:

You're right, it's probably got nothing to do with Carlson missing the year and Backstrom turning to shit after his hip surgery, a long with just getting older overall. Didn't Wilson also miss a good chunk of the season? 

I think Kuz knows more about the Caps players than you do, so I’ll go with him. And the snow.

[Pete]

You'll go with Kuz because you can fabricate a narrative around it. That's really about it. 

Edited September 26, 2023 by Pete

[Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc]

18 hours ago, Phil said:

Laviolette’s tenure with the Capitals saw multiple players seem to bump heads with the Stanley Cup-winning coach including Jakub Vrana, Jonas Siegenthaler, Ilya Samsonov, Daniel Sprong, and Anthony Mantha.

It's not like it's just the cocain loving russian that had problems with him.

 

It's obviously a bit worrisome. Everyone could see how bad his tenure with the Caps was, but hearing that it was even worse behind the scene is not great.

 

18 hours ago, Phil said:

‘You paid me this money for something, right?’ I say, ‘For what I did well.’ And now [he] arrived, they tell me: ‘Listen, you don’t need to do this – throw the puck into the zone, run, and [screen] the goalie.’

I can already hear Panarin saying the same thing lol.

[Pete]

I read the whole interview, and 32 thoughts broke it down.

 

He said something like "You're paying me to play the piano, and now you're asking me to move the piano"... Well, moving the piano is a lot simpler than playing the piano, so a smart player would have been able to make that transition and smart players have made that transition in the past. 

 

He also blasts the PA for not defending him enough when there was a video of him doing drugs lol.

 

He also ripped his own teammate for signing an extension with the Capitals. 

 

The Caps aren't happy with him because they've been very supportive of him. This guy just has no character, it's always everybody else's fault.

 

I don't really have a lot of concerns based on his comments, or the comments of other players who just weren't very good and haven't been for a while. Some of those players aren't in the league anymore.

[Phil]

3 hours ago, Pete said:

I read the whole interview, and 32 thoughts broke it down.

 

He said something like "You're paying me to play the piano, and now you're asking me to move the piano"... Well, moving the piano is a lot simpler than playing the piano, so a smart player would have been able to make that transition and smart players have made that transition in the past. 

 

He also blasts the PA for not defending him enough when there was a video of him doing drugs lol.

 

He also ripped his own teammate for signing an extension with the Capitals. 

 

The Caps aren't happy with him because they've been very supportive of him. This guy just has no character, it's always everybody else's fault.

 

I don't really have a lot of concerns based on his comments, or the comments of other players who just weren't very good and haven't been for a while. Some of those players aren't in the league anymore.

 

And he's had a two-year standing trade request that they can't fulfill, which says that the rest of the league wants little to do with him either. Guy sucks.

[Sharpshooter]

I think Laviolette's Washington tenure had more to do with some toxic personalities (this guy), and the fact they were starting to trend downwards anyway.

[BrooksBurner]

3 hours ago, Phil said:

 

And he's had a two-year standing trade request that they can't fulfill, which says that the rest of the league wants little to do with him either. Guy sucks.

 

Nashville was trying to trade for him this summer. It obviously didn't come to fruition, but the fact that Trotz has a view of Kuz that does not fit the narrative that he's some kind of cancer or that he sucks says a lot to me. It probably has more to do with his contract. He's had some solid production, albeit a bit inconsistent, but he's not worth what he's getting paid anymore.

Edited September 26, 2023 by BrooksBurner

[Pete]

48 minutes ago, Sharpshooter said:

I think Laviolette's Washington tenure had more to do with some toxic personalities (this guy), and the fact they were starting to trend downwards anyway.

And injury. Carlson was out all year, Wilson missed significant time, Backstrom is a shell after his hip resurfacing.

[Pete]

33 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

 

Nashville was trying to trade for him this summer. It obviously didn't come to fruition, but the fact that Trotz has a view of Kuz that does not fit the narrative that he's some kind of cancer or that he sucks says a lot to me. It probably has more to do with his contract. He's had some solid production, albeit a bit inconsistent, but he's not worth what he's getting paid anymore.

 

There was a coach in between Trotz and Lav, Kuz started sucking under Reirden.

Edited September 26, 2023 by Pete

[Drew a Penalty]

8 hours ago, Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc said:

I can already hear Panarin saying the same thing lol.

 

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Panarin sounded excited about a system that he said "looks like Russian hockey," noting that Laviolette's preference for high cycles and drop passes to create space should play to his strengths.

 

"What he’s shown in the offensive zone, I really like it," Panarin said.

 

https://www.lohud.com/story/sports/nhl/rangers/2023/09/25/motivated-artemi-panarin-still-stinging-from-playoff-disappointment/70955162007/

[Ozzy]

I'd love to see the Breadman tack up a 50-spot this season!!!

[The Dude]

3 hours ago, Pete said:

And injury. Carlson was out all year, Wilson missed significant time, Backstrom is a shell after his hip resurfacing.

Add in old and stale roster with nothing worth while coming through the pipeline. That group needed to be broken up 4 years ago, yet they are STILL going with them. 

 

There's only so much TJ Oshie and Ovechkin can do at their age. 

[Bieser]

Without reading the whole article, my kneejerk reaction is "Good".  There was a point in between periods of the devils series where I wanted a coach would have thrown the piano on top of them.  It varies team to team.   One or two people might have an issue, but nothing pointing to that yet. I doubt we end up with a culture issue.  

[Bugg]

Kuznetzov is gonna be 31 this year. his line in 22/23; 12 goals, 43 assists 55 games and...-26. So he's mad a coach probably wasn't very happy with a guy who doesn't play defense. That kind of shit +/- is not spinnable.