Capitals in on Kyrou, Chinakhov? Kuznetsov Eyes NHL Return!

Capitals in on Kyrou, Chinakhov? Kuznetsov Eyes NHL Return!

On today’s show, is Jaor Chinikov the right fit for the Capitals? You’re Locked On Capitals, your daily podcast on the Washington Capitals, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Well, hello and welcome into this edition of Locked On Capitals, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. My name is Dan Holy. I’ve covered the Capitals for the past three seasons for Locked On and various other outlets before that. I’m also the host of the weekly show called The Capitals Minute Cast, available wherever you find your podcasts. And as always, I want to thank you for making this your first listen of the day. Today’s episode is brought to you by our friends at FanDuel. Right now, new FanDuel customers can get $150 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. So, in this edition of Locked on Capitals, the news continues to swirl about former capital Afghani Kousnets off. Where will he land? Uh, we’ve heard about the Canadians. I’ve heard different things about the Canucks. Where would a good landing spot for Koozie be? I’ll talk about that a bit later. Talking about some big moves uh that the Capitals should make this summer as they have not made a lot of big moves, depth moves if you will. Would Jordan Cairo be the dream splash move for the Capitals? But just to get it going here, the big talk about there, the Chinikov opportunity um as it doesn’t seem like he was a good fit uh with Columbus, a little bit of a rift uh with Dean Ever, got injured uh came back, saw limited ice time, was a healthy scratch uh in the latter part of the season. That uh that’s the big talk out there, right? um is that uh Chinoikov says that he wants out of Columbus and right away teams that didn’t make a big splash this summer so far are just swinging like yes let’s do it or at least that is the talk out there. Uh we don’t know if there has been real talks yet uh between Chris Patrick and his representation but it would be a splash. Yes. Um, and I’ll drill down to more of a granular level here if it’s the right move because um, he does appear to be a bit of a, for lack of a better term, a bit of a headcase as well. Uh, there’s some upside. Uh, he sounds disgruntled with his team. Um, and the injury and Dean Evon and the riff there. Is he going to be the right fit uh, in the locker room? And you know, one of the things that we talked about last season, uh, was the chemistry, the vibes around the team that, um, and I’m just going based on what I’ve heard about Chinikov here, what kind of guy he was, um, would he be the right fit uh, in DC? Let’s dive into that. Uh, in segment number one, because the the the Capitals fans, and maybe to a certain extent, uh, the leadership of this team, I think, is a bit desperate to make a big move. Um, you know, in the last couple episodes I talked about the death mo depth moves. I’m talking uh Declan Chisum, Justin Sordiff, these kind of players, but I think the Capitals fans are longing for more a bigger swing. Uh, would Chinikov be that bigger swing? So, let’s talk about that. Um, Chris Patrick said himself at the end of the season presser, the Caps want more skill in this lineup. Uh, not grit, not just two-way guys, a skilled player. And uh that was one of the things that the Capitals are looking for is ostensibly this is going to be Alex Ovetchkin’s final year in the NHL and they want more skilled players. Uh there is an abundancy of young talent that will be joining this team in years to come, not to mention some of the skilled players that are on this team right now. But I think the Capitals got exposed um at least to a certain extent about having not enough skill uh when it mattered. And I think this team, like I said, is kind of desperate uh to make a big move after swinging and missing on like Nikolai Eelers and Free Agency. And the trade market now is a front and center that um you know, free agency um is is all open now, right? It was July 1st that free agents um could reach out to teams, the representation could reach out to teams and vice versa. and a lot of the big names have been taken off the board. Um, but to be clear here, I don’t think that Chinikov was one that was thought uh to be on the move. I just think that, you know, he said that he wants out of Columbus. Um, and then all of a sudden, you know, I think that that piqued everyone’s interest like we didn’t get our guy. Maybe this is a good opportunity to try go out and acquire bigname player. And uh Yiggor uh Shinikov rather just asked out of Columbus and his agent Shumi Babev who by the way also reps Koozie. Isn’t that interesting? Went public with the request. Don Wedell Columbus’s GM confirmed it too said they’ve talked about it. And I think that Columbus uh is a team that is in transition and all things considered taking a look at how they played last season exceeded a lot of people’s expectations um that despite you know the potential rift between Chinikov and Dean Evson former uh Capitals assistant coach that he you know got some results out of his players. Um that’s quite an accomplishment and I think that you know you know kind of looking back on Kousnets off and different players uh that have been on the Capitals before if there’s a player that doesn’t want to be here or just doesn’t seem like a good fit then they want to move them. I think that’s the case for Columbus but you know what kind of you know makes me a bit cautious uh about adding him to the Capitals uh that if it didn’t fit there would he be a good fit uh for the capital. So now why why does this matter matter to our team? Well, first off, Chinikov’s uh 24, you know, so fits the the narrative or the script of being younger, a former first round pick and actually was pacing for uh a 55point season before his back injury and uh so some pretty good upside, 55 points. Uh I think that could be what the Capitals are looking for. You know, the big question for me is where would he fit and would that roadblock, you know, a younger player uh that is deserving a look. Now, again, this is just speculative. This is a big name that we just somewhat recently found out uh that could be available. But, you know, after returning from that injury, uh Dean Everson gave him barely 12 minutes a night. Healthy scratched, like I said, off the top 12 of the last 17 games. Yikes. So, that is the part, the red flag that’s going off for me, like, hm, what did Dean Ever see? Was it a personal thing? Um, was it that he wasn’t the same player that he was before the injury? Uh, that I think is what um would require a little bit more uh deeper investigation. I might have to re reach out to Locked on Blue Jackets on that. But interesting, a guy that appears to have a pretty good upside. Um, but would he be a good fit for the Capitals? Uh, he most most of the time plays on the right wing, but with a lot of those guys, they’re a bit interchangeable. So, you know, you you could see him slot in there potentially, you know, maybe a bottom six role. I guess it depends where he’s going to fit in. you know, there’s Ryan Leonard in the mix and uh sort of these kind of guys and not to mention Wilson, Prous uh these kind of guys that, you know, I don’t think the Capitals want to go out and uh make an acquisition like this as just a depth move. I think that there needs to be a real clear fit uh for him on the roster. So, that would be interesting. Now, the Caps have about 4.1 million in cap space. Um, and to be clear here, that’s plenty to fit Chinikop’s 2.1 million cap hit. Um, he’s in the second year of his deal, RFA, next summer. Uh, super lowrisk somewhat, right? Um, and if I want to paint a picture, I hope that you guys can see this in your mind about that the potential good that could come from it, but you know, the cautionary part that um, you know, put up good points, limited ice time after his injury. Why the limited ice time? You know, like I said, was it a riff between him and Everson? Uh, was it due to a lack of production on the ice? You know, like I said, I think that Columbus is looking for a change and I think that they will be taking pretty big steps forward next season. And uh here’s the kicker kind of is the familiarity thing. And being familiar with an organization to me, you know, I guess I understand it to an extent, but you oftentimes hear a lot about that. you heard about pure Luke Dubois uh being familiar with some Capitals players, Matt Roy, these kind of guys that uh when there’s that familiar factor that oftentimes I think that makes it a little bit more comfortable. And Chinnikov knows assistant coach uh Kenny McCuten from his Columbus days. He’s also uh from the same avenguards pipeline as uh Ivon Mirish Nashenko. So there is a familiar factor there. I mean, I guess I don’t know uh the relationship there too well, but uh if that, you know, is going to make it a little bit easier for him to come here, if in fact this is where he wants to come, uh then I think that would be a good thing. You know, just, you know, this is somewhat recently breaking here. I record these shows a little bit in advance in the summer. Um is that I’m not, you know, super in love with it. I know that there is quite a bit of buzz on social media from different people about, wow, this could be a perfect fit for the Capitals, but you know, widen the lens a little bit. There’s a lot of teams uh I saw the Bruins, other teams that are chopping at the bit as well. So, I do see the offensive upside. It’s just not the move that I think uh that I was hoping for. So, I mean, this might actually make too much sense for the Capitals. Would you do it? would you give him maybe a bottom six forward and mid6 round pick? Uh what would the Capitals have to give up? Uh the fact that he is in the second year of his deal RFA next summer, you know, it’s, you know, again, those are the things that make me not love it. I think that if they could get it at a lowrisk uh move, you know, they don’t have to give up a whole lot to get him here. Okay, I’m not chomping at the bit. I don’t have that same intensity that uh some of the other uh Capitals beat writers that I’ve seen that some of them are just like all giddy over this thought. I understand the upside. I understand his scoring potential. Uh just maybe not the fit that I think for the Capitals that a lot of other people might see. All right, so coming up here after the break, we’ll talk about another potential player, Jordan Cyu. Uh this player gets me a little bit more excited. I’ll break down the latest straight ahead. Summer sports are in full swing and whether you’re all about baseball under the lights, golf on the green, or high stakes soccer action, FanDuel is the best way to make every game more exciting. You’re already following the action. Why not make it a little bit more thrilling with FanDuel? You can get on the game with your friends while they’re getting sunburnt at the beach. Listen, the Nationals aren’t having the season that they’re looking for. Or maybe you’re an Orioles fan, but maybe you want vested interest in all of these games. Open up the FanDuel app, put a little bit of money on these games. All of a sudden, they got that much more exciting. I’ve been using FanDuel to track my favorite matchups, and the app keeps it fresh with new daily promotions and a fun way to bet. It’s easy to use, fast way to pay out, and makes every regular season game feel like a mustwatch event. So, are you new to FanDuel? New customers can bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Open the FanDuel app today or visit fanuel.com to get started. All right, welcome back into this edition of Locked On Capitals, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. You can find me over on Twitter, it’s dancaps28. You can find the show on Twitter, it’s Lockton Caps. So, in segment two here, we’re talking about Jordan Cyu. Uh now this is a player that has me a little bit more excited about the potential of an upgrade for the Capitals as I think they are still looking to make a big splash. I know that they’ve said they want to lean into the youth and ultimately I think that’s because they’re kind of pivoting and saying listen if we can’t find anyone else um or if it’s not an upgrade enough uh over the current talent that we have internally then we’re a-ok okay with going with what we have right now. But let’s make it clear here. I think that if the right opportunity presented itself, the Capitals would be game uh for doing that. So, let’s talk about that in segment number two here. Is Jordan Cyro the dream splash? Uh the St. Louis Blues are open to moving him. And yeah, it’s not just a rumor. This isn’t Dan just making up stuff in the summer. That came straight from Frank Saraveali, formerly of the Daily Face Off and now uh the Bleacher Report. So, why would they want to move a 70point winger who’s still just 27? Well, just like everything else in life, money and opportunity. Um that if you take a look at the Blues, they seemed dead last season. coaching change gave them some new life and I think that they are looking to move some pieces. It’s a financial thing, right? Just like every other team out there, it’s kind of a chess match. You got to move this player to, you know, just to get under budget, those kind of things. And they’ve got Jimmy Snugroot coming up through the ranks. Um, so I think that for them, they feel like he could potentially be a better fit. And it’s about prioritization of certain players. Think of it like Washington moving on from a veteran to make room for Ryan Leonard. Same kind of deal. So, I think that, you know, a potential, you know, I guess I’m going to say loss, but it kind of seems like the Blues are fine for it could be the gain uh of a team like the Capitals. Um, but, you know, you take a look at it, it’s a bit of a richer deal. And just like I talked about Chanikov in the first segment, it has me a bit concerned, I guess you could say. um is the amount of money uh required. Now, Cairo’s deal, I mean, there’s no andsifs about it. 8.125 million AAV and uh it runs through 2031. Uh so, yeah, that’s a long one. And a no trade clause just kicked into so he’d have to agree to come to DC. So, the 70 points that is rather intriguing, but and uh I know that it kind of goes back and forth with me on this show. You got to do what you got to do to in you know, modern hockey. You got to give them the term. You got to give them the money. But that is a big hit and it runs through 2031. I understand the upside, but you know, when you take a look at it, do they want to have a player sign? You know, 27’s not old, but it’s not really young young young either, if you know what I’m talking about, in consideration of like Crystal Leonard, this kind of thing. So, you know, 27 I I guess I’m fine with the 2031 and the AAV is what has me concerned. Um, so that is a long one. And that no trade clause uh is interesting, but here’s why it could work. Um, familiarity. You remember me talking about that in segment one? Kyro played with Jacob Chikin uh in the juniors. He’s familiar with Pier Luke Dubois uh from team Canada and the Caps are still searching for that top six winger. So, I understand that. I mean, I I’m not trying to overlook the stats. I get it. They’re glowing. I mean, I need to put on sunglasses to look at them. They’re good. 70 points. Uh the 2031 part of it I don’t like. Uh that’s more than a capital uh not named Ovuchkin, if you know what I mean. that is, you know, getting into some serious money and, you know, maybe I think to a certain extent why people are drawing lines is because they know, you know, that potentially this could be OV’s last season. But taking a look at his numbers a little bit more specifically, even strength production, he’s a top 30 in the league. Uh, better than Forsber, Ratton, and even OV in recent seasons. Again, I get it. You know, I know people are going to say, Dan, have you seen his stats? I get all that. 2031 it’s a lot. You know, I think that if the Capitals could finagle it somehow someway, um, of course, you know, it would be a nice upgrade. I think that that would be what the Capitals are looking for. But, uh, it’s it’s a big bite out of that apple. So, the question is is if you’re Chris Patrick, you missed on Eers. Uh, do you make the move? And I still think that Chris Patrick is um wants to put his stamp on this team uh to prove to uh you know uh leadership ownership uh that I can pull off a big move. Um so it’s going to be interesting to see if he goes out and puts his stamp on this team and tries to go make a big acquisition. Again, the big extensions I’m talking and Logan Thompson, he has still yet u has not gone out and got his great white whale if you know what I mean. But you’d have to steer, you’d have to clear salary. Um, you know, and you think about it, uh, what kind of players would come out of the mix uh, to accommodate that. But, you know, you take a look at it, you know, just kind of pencled in. Obie, Stro, Kyu, that’s interesting. That’s fun. That’s fast. That’s dangerous. Uh, that could be formidable. Um, but Capitals fans, hit me up on Twitter. Would you say yes to Cairo? Who knows? But if he does, the Caps better be ready to pounce. Um, so we don’t know if he would entertain the idea of coming to the Capitals. Again, a big upgrade and I understand it’s just part and parcel of modern professional sports that you got to kind of give these upper echelon guys what they’re looking for or you’re just simply going to go to a team where you will get that. um if they could find a way to finagle it, move out some pieces to, you know, move do some Brian Mlelen, the former GM magic and make it happen and amaze us like, “Wow, I didn’t consider moving this player and that player and spreading it out and all of a sudden it works.” If they can do that, I’m all about it. But I just I’m weary of the 2031 and the AAV. Uh it’ll be interesting to see what kind of moves uh Chris Patrick pulls off or if he pulls the trigger on a guy like uh Jordan Kyu. All right. So, coming up here after the break, Afghani Khnets off. Yeah, I know he hasn’t been here for a while, but his name permeates through the cap sphere. You know, he’s going to go to Montreal. No, he might go to the Canucks. What’s the latest with Afghani Khnets off? I’ll discuss next. All right, welcome back into this edition of Locked On Capitals, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. The best way that you can help grow the show is to subscribe to Locked on Capitals on YouTube and comment anything down below. In the final segment, we’re talking about the Birdman. We’re talking about Fenny Kousnets off and his potential landing spot in the 2025 2026 season. What What do we know? He kind of keeps bringing it home. He played in that beer league game uh at MedStar that still kind of coming home and uh you know he knows where home is for him I think at the end of the day and felt comfortable coming back here was wearing uh a Russian uh I forget the team’s jersey but uh he did he flashed and it had to be kind of a cool moment uh for those beer leaguers that were playing you know all of a sudden you’re playing your game and all of a sudden Netsoft comes on the ice it’s got to be an eye openener but what is the latest with Afghani Khnets off. Uh, you know, a guy that started his career on a high note with the Capitals, said I could be the best player in the league if I wanted to. Uh, inconsistent players assistance program, went down to Hershey, you know, then went out to the Canes, went over to the KHL, now wants back to the NHL, hold on to your seat. There’s a lot to get to here in the final segment. So, let’s talk about Afghani Katzaf and the latest rumblings with him. and uh he wants back into the NHL and yes, his agent is talking to teams. Well, that’s what Kusnet off pays him for. He just spent one season back in Russia, which I thought was going to be a good fit. Go home. Some familiarity. Uh but it turns out didn’t play that well there either. Um but you take a look at his numbers that he put up. 37 points in 39 games for the SKA. Uh, but there were two concussions and yeah, some locker room drama. They literally took his locker out before the playoffs. Yikes. If you want to sign uh that you’re not welcome here anymore, I think uh that that is it. Now, you take a look at his stats, they were pretty good, but you know, the talk uh from Russia was that they had hoped for more uh that this Afghani Khnaf was going to come come here and just change our team. As it turns out, uh, he was a little bit the same way that he was with the Capitals. A bit of, you know, a little bit of extra, shall we say. Now, here’s the thing. Kusenets’s not asking for a contender, not even asking for big money, just wants a team that quote unquote needs him. Uh, he doesn’t want to come to a team on a PTO, a professional tryyout. Uh, he’s not entertaining the idea of playing in the American Hockey League. Um, you know, are there teams out there that would take a flyer on him? You got to think so. Um, if he if it’s not about money and he doesn’t really care where he plays, uh, even though he’s kind of said he doesn’t want to come back to the Capitals, um, and we don’t want him anyway. Um, that, you know, I think, you know, a team, you know, like the Sabres, the Ducks, you know, the teams that are looking to kind of re jump, you know, uh, the Ottawa Senators, teams like that, that I think that there is a team out there that could take a flyer on them. Uh, why not? I think that’s kind of telling. So, uh, we’ve even seen him, like I said, around DC this summer hanging with Alexv, uh, playing that beer league at MedStar. And now this guy, he does, you know, Koozie does want back because why, I think he realizes that he made a mistake. Uh, but, you know, should the NHL teams even consider it? Uh, his last NHL season was rough. 24 points in 63 games split between the Caps and Canes. Uh, but the skill, you know, it’s still there. That doesn’t go away. And you know, the thing of it is is I kind of believe what he says when he says, “I could be the best player if I wanted to be.” Maybe not the best player, but I think that he could be a very good player if he applied himself. For some reason, it just seems like Koozie gets disinterested, and that’s when the wheel starts to wobble for him there. Um, but you know, uh, on a one-year deal, cheap, no drama, maybe it works somewhere, maybe it doesn’t, but if he’s motivated, it could be a huge value play for a team around the NHL. Um, somewhat here recently, some people have said that, you know, he’s not absolutely against coming to the Capitals. That was the common thought there when he first announced it, but then there’s been kind of rumors, I guess you could say. I have to address those as well that maybe I don’t think that there’s a possibility that Koozie comes back to the Capitals. But, you know, um is there a team out there that would be willing to take a bite on a former first round player? I think absolutely. Um it’s just, you know, the right fit and where is he going to fit because, you know, at his best, like I said, he could be a game changer and I don’t ever, you know, want to forget what he did in 2018. uh key piece integral um in the Stanley Cup win. But you know, in the latter part of his time with the Capitals, he waned and uh then there was like I said, excuse me, the players assistance program that it kind of draws into question, where’s his head at? And he’s really into it right now in July. But where is he going to be if he’s playing on a team and he’s not playing in the top six? Maybe has to play on the fourth line. Is he is his ego going to get in the way and is he going to have an attitude? Uh there’s a lot of minds to navigate for a team that signs up for a guy uh like Afghani Khnets off. I know that locked on Kucks did an episode on him here the other day. But uh a lot to take on, a lot of extra if you will, but I think that if a team is willing to take a flyer on him and if you know Koozie, you know, I’d have to have a conversation. Say I’m the GM and he’s sitting across to me. Look at me. Are you hearing what I’m saying? You’re going to take the role that we give you, right? That it could be on the first line, it could be the fourth line. Um, and I don’t want to hear about it. If we’re going to sign you to a contract, I don’t want the baggage that followed you to the Capitals and then subsequently over to the KHL. Go out there and execute or I have zero problems burying you in the American Hockey League. I would make it abundantly clear uh because I think that you know most of the teams out there they have the leverage uh he’s you know I’m going to say a bit desperate at this point to land a spot in the NHL kind of you know all over the the place right that um you know and other team sense that otherwise I think that as soon as his agent kind of put the word out there that another team would have just jumped on him and I’m not going to say that a team’s not going to jump on him it’s just that I would clearly lay out my expectations if I was the GM uh of the team of wherever he plans to go. All right, once again, I want to thank you for joining me on this edition of Locked on Capitals, your only daily year- round podcast covering the Capitals. And I want to thank all of you that listen on the audio side and watch this on YouTube. You are what makes this show successful. When you’re done here, head on over to Locked on NHL as they have you covered five days a week, available wherever you find your podcasts and on YouTube. All right, once again, I want to thank you for joining me on this edition of Lockton Capitals, part of the Lockton podcast network. It is your team every day. My name is Dan Homie and I’ll talk to you again next time.

The Washington Capitals remain focused on adding offensive firepower after missing out on Nikolaj Ehlers in free agency. Two potential trade options have emerged: Columbus winger Yegor Chinakhov, who has officially requested a trade after clashing with his coach, and St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou, a proven 70-point scorer reportedly available due to the Blues’ depth and financial considerations. Chinakhov’s affordable cap hit and prior connections to the Capitals’ coaching staff make him a realistic target, while Kyrou would require significant salary maneuvering but could deliver top-line production.

Meanwhile, former Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov is eyeing an NHL return after a year in the KHL. Despite reported interest from Montreal and others, Kuznetsov remains unsigned but motivated. His agent continues conversations with teams, emphasizing that Kuznetsov is looking for the right fit over money or immediate contention. A reunion with Washington seems unlikely but can’t be fully ruled out, especially given his summer presence in the DC area.

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