Kuzya skates with the national team. (Photo credit: Champtionat.com)

Evgeny Kuznetsov has been engulfed in rumors of trades to the KHL’s Dynamo Moscow and getting lured out of his current deal by Capitals officials. But speaking with Mikhail Zislis of Sport-Express, Kuznetsov cleared the air on both sides of the Atlantic. Kuznetsov squashed the rumors and restated that he’ll make the jump to the NHL next year.

From Sport-Express:

Is there anything behind the information that Washington has a representative flying over to Helsinki looking to get you over there sooner?

No, it’s a conspiracy. Don’t believe it [smiles]. I keep up with the people from the Capitals, talk to them friendly over the phone. Nothing new has happened in regards to that. They invited me to visit and talk. They know my plans well. I have decided for myself to spend the next year in Russia and then go to the NHL. Why should I rush?

Are the talks about getting traded to Dynamo worrying you?

Not at all. I’m planning to spend the next 365 days with Traktor. Don’t belive anything else. There are people who like to talk about everything, but they can write whatever.

You’re so confident as if there were no Nichushkin trade to Dynamo.

That was a whole different story.

Kuznetsov’s re-commitment to Washington is noteworthy, but his ability to speak authoritatively about his team’s asset-management decisions is a bit less certain.

Evgeny Kuznetsov denied on a breakaway by Dynamo’s Alexander Yeremenko during the Gagarin Cup Finals (Photo credit: R-Sport)

Sport-Express is reporting a potential trade between Dynamo Moscow and Traktor Chelyabinsk involving Evgeny Kuznetsov, one of the KHL’s brightest stars and a prominent Caps prospect. According to one of  Russia’s most popular sports publications, Kuznetsov may follow two other young forwards, Valery Nichushkin and Maxim Karpov, who have already been traded from Chelyabinsk to Moscow.

From Sports-Express:

After Valery Nichushkin and Maxim Karpov, another Traktor player may move to Dynamo: Evgeny Kuznetsov. According to [Sport-Express'] information, blue-and-whites [Dynamo] have started talks with Traktor about buying the rights and contract of the 2012 World Champion and 2011 World Junior Champion. Kuznetsov is currently with the Russian national team at the World Championships, but hasn’t been placed on the finalized roster yet.

If this rumor is true, Traktor is in a state of upheaval, and it’s possible Evgeny Kuznetsov may be headed to Washington sooner than planned– or not at all.

This would be a curious twist in Kuznetsov’s career. As a hometown favorite in Chelyabinsk, it seemed unlikely that Traktor would trade him away. But after selling Nichushkin and Karpov and not retaining the services of Deron Quint, it’s apparent that Traktor is shaking things up. It’s not quite a fire sale yet, but it may be one soon. As Sports.ru blogger Igor Eronko put it, Dynamo Moscow is in talks to acquire basically all of Traktor Chelyabinsk.

If Kuznetsov does get traded, his contract with Traktor (with one year remaining) will become inactive, and Kuznetsov will be obligated to sign with Dynamo on the same terms. If he does not sign, his rights in the KHL/VHL/MHL system will be held by Dynamo organization, and he’ll be considered a “conflict” player (KHL Legal Regulations, chapter 5, article 35, paragraph 5 and chapter 3, article 11, paragraph 1).

That means Kuznetsov might be able to sign with the Capitals this year. Situations like this have happened before. Last year, Metallurg Magnitogorsk traded Juhamatti Aaltonen to Traktor. Aaltonen then refused to sign with his new club and was assigned “conflict” status. He played the season in the Swedish Elitserien with Rogle BK. On the other hand, the KHL-NHL’s “Memorandum of Understanding” is not entirely clear on how this situation might resolve.

As you might remember, Dynamo advisor Alex Ovechkin (who moonlights as a hockey player) has publicly said that Kuznetsov made the wrong decision in staying in Russia for two more years.

Evgeny Kuznetsov in Team Russia practice facility. (Photo credit: Sovetsky Sport)

4PM UPDATE: A few days ago Team Russia head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov announced three goalies and 25 skaters, including Kuznetsov, who “would be travelling to Helsinki and Stockholm for the Worlds Championship tournament.” Not all of the players named by the coach will be on the Team Russia’s final roster. IIHF rules allow for the minimum of 15 skaters and 2 goalies to be named no later than today; players can be added to the roster at any time during the tournament, up to the maximum of 22 skaters and 3 goalies. While some teams have filed their full rosters, Team Russia is taking an incremental approach. They announced today the first group of players – 3 goalies, 5 defensemen, and 11 forwards. Evgeny Kuznetsov does not appear on the list. Kuzya may make the team later, especially if some of the Russian players currently involved in the Stanley Cup playoffs do not make a quick 1st round exit.

ORIGINAL STORY: Caps prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov has been named to Team Russia for the 2013 IIHF World Championships, which begin Friday in Sweden and Finland.

Kuznetsov won gold in last year’s World Champs while playing in a limited role. Kuzya has been less than impressive in the last few months, earning Joey Crabb treatment by national team coach Zinetula “Bill” Bilyaletdinov, playing on the fourth line at the EuroHockeyTour tournament in Czech Republic. To his credit, Kuznetsov looked impressive in his limited ice time, which probably secured him a spot on the national team. After the tournament, Kuznetsov, who has been encouraged to tweak his game to a less flashy, more steady team style by Traktor coach Valery Belousov, complained about the “black cat on his shoulder” that’s been bringing him bad luck for the last half of the season. He told reporters that he has set a conditioning program for the off-season to come back in a better shape for the beginning of next season.

Traktor will sure need it. Despite retaining star goalie Michael Garnett, top line forwards Jan Bulis and Stanislav Chistov and second-line center Petri Kontiola, there are still a lot of question marks surrounding future of the Traktor squad. Despite being far from the richest team in the league, the club from hockey-obsessed Chelyabinsk has had two long playoff runs in the last couple years. Now they’ve lost their top all-situation defenseman Deron Quint, veteran forward Maxim Yakutsenya as well as few of the youngest members of the squad: defenseman Nikita Nesterov and forwards Maxim Karpov and Valery Nichushkin.

In slightly less important Kuzya news, Hockey’s Future has named him their Prospect of the Year. If you’re the world’s prospect even in your ‘down’ year, that’s quite impressive.

Photo credit: OHL

After netting a hat trick against the London Knights in game 2 of the OHL Western Conference Finals, Tom Wilson has continued to bolster his status as an elite playoff performer.

Wilson, whose tremendous play in last year’s postseason secured him a spot in the draft’s first round, scored three more goals in the next two games. Both times Wilson’s goals helped to build Plymouth’s comeback efforts, but the Knights took the lead back and won. In both games, the final score was 6-4 London.

Wilson’s consecutive goals begin at 1:00 mark. Carrick’s tremendous backhand cross-ice assist is at 1:45.

In game 3, Wilson’s goals helped the Whalers to pull off a miraculous come back. The Whalers started third period down 3-0 (two of the Knights goals by potential first-rounder Bo Horvat). Wilson scored two consecutive goals in less than four minutes, allowing his team to get back in the game. Five minutes later, a big goal by Ducks’ prospect Rickard Rakell tied the game. Fast-forward one minute and Mitchell Heard gave the Whalers the lead off of amazing cross-ice feed by Carrick.

Then the Whalers’ emotion started working against them. Connor Carrick picked up a minor for cross-checking, and London’s Max Domi tied the game on the ensuing powerplay. 50 seconds later, Seth Griffith gave the Knights the lead. A frustrated Heard shoved one of the Knights in the back of the head, picking up a major for check to the head, burying his team’s hopes of tying the game. Wilson and Vince Trocheck later picked up misconducts for “Persisting” – trying to start a fight despite the linesmen keep the players apart. The Knights kept their cool and coasted to victory as Domi scored an empty-netter.

Wilson’s assist is at the beginning of the video. His goal – a deflection off Carrick’s shot – is at the 1:40 mark. Two more of Carrick’s assists are at 0:35 (notice Wilson screening the goalie) and 1:25 marks.

In game 4, the Whalers started off well, twice getting the lead in the first period and outshooting the opposition. The Knights managed to tie the game going into intermission and then took a two-goal lead by the halfway point. Late in the period, the Whalers tied the game (Wilson provided the equalizer), but the Knights scored early in the third.

Tom Wilson, who missed three games with a reported concussion, has 16 points in 11 games, placing him 7th in playoff points per game and tenth overall in points.

Game 5 may end the Whalers’ season. It will be played in London  at 7PM EST. The OHL has streaming available to watch.

The Washington Capitals are in the driver’s seat for the Southeast division crown. And even though tonight’s game against the Jets looms large, a loss won’t kill the Caps’ chances of making the playoffs — though it will make it much more difficult to win the division. If they lose tonight and manage to still win their final two games, they will be guaranteed a playoff spot.

As it stands right now, the Caps have a 91.1% chance of making the postseason and an 86.7% of winning the Southeast. The Winnipeg Jets have a steeper climb. Despite a big win over Buffalo on Monday, the Jets have just a 31.6% probability of making it to the Stanley Cup playoffs and a 13.3% of becoming division champs.

There are a lot of ways this could shake out, and a lot of possible tiebreakers to consider.

Tiebreaker Rules

From the NHL:

If two or more clubs are tied in points during the regular season, the position of the clubs is determined in the following order:

1. The fewer number of games played (i.e., superior points percentage).
2. The greater number of games won, excluding games won in the Shootout. This figure is reflected in the ROW column.
3. The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs. If two clubs are tied, and have not played an equal number of home games against each other, points earned in the first game played in the city that had the extra game shall not be included. If more than two clubs are tied, the higher percentage of available points earned in games among those clubs, and not including any “odd” games, shall be used to determine the standing.
4. The greater differential between goals for and against for the entire regular season. NOTE: In standings a victory in a shootout counts as one goal for, while a shootout loss counts as one goal against.

• We can easily eliminate #1. By the end of the season, all of the NHL teams will have the same number of games played, 48.
• ROW is a little tricky. A lot will depend on who (if anyone) will take the lead in this stat tonight. Caps having a game in hand seems to be a big factor here. This one may also be tied.
• “Adjusted head-to-head” comes in full effect here. The Caps win in Winnipeg on March 2nd is considered an “odd” game and excluded from this tiebreaker. The Caps, however, have a 4-2 lead in points earned in other games. So the Jets can only tie it with a regulation win. Even their OT win will mean Caps have it.
• It’s highly unlikely that it will come to this, but if it will, Caps have a huge advantage in goal differential.

Scenarios

These charts show how the rest of the season may play out based on tonight’s game.

Legend: GP – Games Played, Pts – Points, ROW – Regulation/OT Wins, H2HPA – Head-to-Head Points Adjusted (will not change after tonight), POP% – Possibility of making playoffs. Worst-case scenario represents what would happen if the Caps lose all of their remaining games in regulation and Jets win their remaining game in regulation.

Winning tonight, Caps clinch and won’t even need tiebreakers – they have a three-point lead that will be impossible to overcome. That’s too easy, so…

The Caps still clinch with an overtime win, but they’ll need some tiebreaker magic to do so. In “Worst-case scenario” part (the Caps lose all remaining games, the Jets win), none of the most important parameters allow the Caps to clinch, so we go to head-to-head points, where the Caps have a sizable advantage.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to this. A Caps’ shootout win will get them one step closer to the promised land, but the Jets’ would still be alive as they could still win the ROW tiebreaker. Please notice that this loss will actually help the Jets’ playoff chances as they will tie the 7th place Rangers and 8th place Senators in points. Those two teams, however, have a game in hand right now and if the Rangers beat the Panthers tonight, the Jets chances will fall out, and the Caps would still clinch with a single point in their last two games.

The Caps’ chances to make the postseason are still solid if they lose in the shootout, but the Jets would get past the magical 50% threshold. All of a sudden, two Southeast teams in the playoffs looks like a possibility. The Caps would need a regulation win in of the last two games to clinch the division due to the higher H2HPA.

An overtime loss for the Caps. And now it becomes a complete mess. The Caps’ chances are still favorable, but the Jets have inched closer. To clinch, the Caps would have to get at least three points in their last two games.

The disaster scenario. The Jets will nearly tie the Caps in playoff chances if they win tonight in 60 minutes. The Caps would need two wins in their last two games to win the race regardless of the outcome of the Jets-Canadiens game.

Probability percentages from SportsClubStats. Also, please note that odds will be also influenced by the outcomes of other games tonight, particularly Florida-NY Rangers and Carolina-NY Islanders. In either game, a win by the Southeast division team would improve the Caps’ chances.

Photo credit: Plymouth Whalers

Washington Capitals first-round pick Tom Wilson put up another impressive playoff performance. In game two against regular-season champions the London Knights, Wilson scored three goals and added an assist (unofficially as of right now) as his team won 4-3 in double overtime.

Potential 2013 first-rounder Bo Horvat opened the scoring after winning a puck battle in the corner, giving the Knights a 1-0 lead that they preserved until the end of the first period. Wilson tied the game in the second, holding his stick behind his back to score a wild deflection goal.

Crazy.

The Knights took the lead back thanks to a powerplay snipe by Chris Tierney. Wilson went into beast mode after that, getting more physical as the game wore on. In the second period, he laid this big hit on Horvat.

In the third period, Wilson tied the game, scoring a powerplay goal off a rebound.

Three minutes later, 2013 first-round prospect Max Domi’s powerplay goal put the Knights back on top, but they couldn’t protect that lead. With 44 seconds to go, Wilson again tied the game, goal assisted by another Caps prospect, Connor Carrick.

Early in OT, the Knights had a sizable advantage. The Whalers improved as the first overtime period wore on, getting a few chances late. Whalers goalie Alex Nedeljkovic was tremendous (61 saves in the game). More of the same continued in the second OT. The Whalers killed off four penalties in OT before getting their first man advantage. They took full advantage of it. Gianluca Curcuruto’s shot was stopped, but Wilson stole the rebound again, feeding it to a wide-open Rickard Rakell, who didn’t miss the open net.

The series is now tied at one with the Whalers getting home-ice advantage. Game 3 will be played in Plymouth on Tuesday.

Ovechkin, Komarov, and some body parts of Backstrom during their stint with Dynamo. (Photo credit: HC Dynamo)

On Wednesday, Dynamo Moscow beat Evgeny Kuznetsov‘s Traktor Chelyabisnk to win the Gagarin Cup for the second straight year. After the win, some Russian media outlets reported that Alex Ovechkin‘s name will be engraved on the Cup as he played in more than half of the regular season games with Dynamo. Ovi also said he’s going to get a championship ring.

Today those same outlets, Sovetsky Sport particularly, pulled a CNN and denied their own report (and unpublished the original stories), claiming that Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Leo Komarov doesn’t fit the definition of “loaned” players. A loaned player in the KHL is a player who was sent down to a minor professional league like the VHL. Since their contracts were voided when the three went back to the NHL, the number of games played is irrelevant. Technically, Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Komarov are no longer part of Dynamo.

Later, Sovetsky Sport contacted Dmitry Kurbatov, KHL’s director of sports events organization, to clear up the situation. Read this and let us know if this actually clears up anything.

There’s a requirement for the number of games played in sports regulations for a player to have his name engraved on the Gagarin Cup. But there’s another paragraph. A few people, at the club’s discretion, may get included in the champions list as well. Simply said, Dynamo has enough legal base to write Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Leo Komarov in that list.

So, you can write in whomever you want, including the players?

You can even write in both of us.

If Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Komarov will get written in, will they be officially considered Russian national champions? [Ed. Note - The KHL champion is also considered the Russian national champion as the KHL has rights to conduct national championships by the Russian Hockey Federation. For example, prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov has a silver medal for making the finals this year and bronze for playing in the conference finals last year].

They will be Gagarin Cup winners. I’m not ready to say anything about the Russian national championship as that is held under the unified plan of sports events approved by sports minister [Vitaly] Mutko. Same as whether they will be given sports titles for a win. [...] This is not our question at all.

So they may not receive a medal?

Usually, Russian Hockey Federation has a pack of medals – 40-45. Then they try not to interfere with the club’s internal policy.

Sports.ru’s blogger Dmitry Feschenko, however, questions the legal side of the KHL’s actions. He points out that the paragraph Kurbatov cited actually reads: “[Eligible for getting their names engraved on the cup are] five executives and six other representatives of the club”.

Feschenko writes:

Ovechkin is OK here – he has a position as the club president’s advisor, and as that his name can make the Cup and could last year, too, but not as the player Alex Ovechkin. The more interesting is in what way do Toronto Maple Leaf Leo Komarov and Washington Capital Nicklas Backstrom represent Dynamo? What are their positions? Or can we really engrave some stranger’s name on the Cup? If so, it’s sad and that way the Gagarin Cup will never become an important trophy.

Just like with the Stanley Cup, KHL players also get to spend a day with the Gagarin Cup. Ovechkin, probably will, as he spends his time in Moscow during the summer. But what about Backstrom?

There are still a lot of questions and few answers.

Dynamo forward Denis Kokarev celebrating the victory. (Photo credit: RIA Novosti/Alexey Filippov)

Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom‘s former KHL team, Dynamo Moscow, has beat Evgeny Kuznetsov’s Traktor Chelyabinsk 3-2 in overtime to secure a championship win in game 6 of the Gagarin Cup finals, taking the hardware home for the second straight year.

Despite a few good chances, Caps prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov, was held without a point. Kuznetsov had eleven points in 25 games during his team’s long playoff journey.

Back in Washington, Ovechkin and Backstrom shared their happiness via Twitter.

Chempioooni chempioooooni ole ole ole…….!!!!!Dynamo Moskva…………

— Alex Ovechkin (@ovi8) April 17th 2013

Congrats to dynamo Moscow! Great team,organization and guys! Well deserved.Molodci rebiata!!Dynamo chempion!

— Nicklas Backstrom (@backstrom19) April 17th 2013

According to KHL Sports Regulations, Article 70, paragraph 6, to get his name engraved on the Cup, a player must play in at least 50% of KHL games before a “Loan.” That means Alex Ovechkin (31 game played) will get his name on the Cup but Nicklas Backstrom (19 games) will not.

There’s no mention of a championship ring in the regulations, but one assumes awarding rings is up to the winning team. During the conference finals, KHL president Alexander Medvedev was asked whether Kovalchuk or Ovechkin could be eligible to get the ring. “Yes, 100 percent,” he said, according to R-Sport. “Every event, every point relates to the team’s final success. For their regular season scoring they deserve to be rewarded”.

3:50 Update: In a tweet, Ovechkin reveals he will indeed get a championship ring.

Im gonna get the champion ring )))haha

— Alex Ovechkin (@ovi8) April 17, 2013

Valery Nichushkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Michael Garnett after Game 5. (Photo credit: Sports.ru/Egor Filippov)

Tom Wilson knocks down Chris Bigras. (Photo credit: Plymouth Whalers)

Washington Capitals first round pick Tom Wilson recently missed three games with what OHL announcers described as a “minor ailment.” Wilson returned Friday night and had a huge impact in Game Five of the Plymouth Whalers’ playoff series against the Owen Sound Attack. In a 5-0 win that gave Wilson’s Whalers a 3-2 series lead, the Ten Train scored a power play goal and picked up six minutes of penalties — two coincidental roughing minors with Gemel Smith and Kurtis Gabriel and an unsportsmanlike conduct minor.

Wilson’s goal is at 1:00 mark. (Video credit: Plymouth Whalers)

Wilson’s tally was second of the game for the Whalers. Wilson redirected a slap pass by another Caps prospect, defenseman Connor Carrick. The Whalers also got two goals each from Senators draft pick Stefan Noesen and Avalanche prospect Mitchell Heard.

In regards to the injury Wilson suffered, Dobber Prospects writer Brendan Ross reported that Tom was recovering from a concussion he suffered in Game One of the series.

Word around the league (unofficially) is that Plymouth Whalers Tom Wilson missed Game 2 with a concussion. #OHLPlayoffs #Caps

— Brendan Ross (@RossyYoungblood) April 9, 2013

After his goal Friday, Wilson has nine points (three goals, six assists), which puts him in a tie for 19th place in OHL playoffs scoring. He’s done that despite playing three less games than his competitors. Carrick, who has 11 points in nine games, leads OHL defensemen in playoff points.

Whalers will face the Attack in Game 6 at 4PM on Sunday.

Fifteen years ago, former Capital Esa Tikkanen had a breakaway in game two of the Stanley Cup Finals. It could have iced the game for Washington and led them to the franchise’s first Cup. Instead, his shot completely missed the wide-open net and the Capitals were swept in four games by the Detroit Red Wings.

Caps prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov had his own painful playoff moment Friday. With Traktor Chelyabinsk trailing Dynamo Moscow in the KHL Finals 2-1, Kuzya had a chance to put Traktor in total control of game three, when he was sprung on a breakaway mid-way during the second period. At approximately 95 MPH, Kuznetsov performed his patented breakaway move where he fakes a forehand shot and then puts the puck waaaaaay on his backhand, trying to slip the biscuit past the goalie. It almost worked.

What a move. Traktor would end up losing to Ovi’s former KHL team 1-0, which will give Dynamo the chance to repeat as champs Monday in Moscow.

Regardless of Kuznetsov missing, his speed and skill was on full display once again. George McPhee must be salivating… or doing whatever an undertaker does.