Evgeny Kuznetsov will soon join Alexander Zharovsky, according to a Russian source

Michaël Petit
Evgeny Kuznetsov will soon join Alexander Zharovsky, according to a Russian source
Credit: Getty Images

Ivan Demidov was fortunate in his only full year in the KHL last year.

Although he wasn't used much by Roman Rotenberg with SKA St. Petersburg, he did get to rub shoulders with some very good Russian players, including former NHLer Evgeny Kuznetsov.

On a couple of occasions, they shared a line together and made sparks fly.

This season, another prospect from the Montreal Canadiens is performing very well in his rookie season in the KHL: Alexander Zharovsky.

As we all know, the player from Ufa's Salavat Yulaev was named the Russian professional league's Rookie Player of the Month for December.

According to the KHL website, Magnitogorsk Metallurg has terminated Kuznetsov's contract, so he has to go through waivers.

According to a Russian informant named Artur Khairullin, Kuznetsov could join Zharovsky's club.

If the deal goes through, this would be the Habs' second Russian prospect to be mentored by Kuznetsov.

TVA Sports reported on this earlier today.

It would be pretty cool for Zharovsky to have a player with over 700 games of NHL experience by his side.

Kuznetsov isn't having the best season with Mettallurg, with just nine points (including a single goal) in 15 games, but what you need to know is that Mettallurg is the best team in the entire KHL with 30 wins in 40 games.

At 33, Kuznetsov was expected to perform better than that. He has been left out of the lineup on several occasions this season, and has only once been used for more than 15 minutes in a game.

As TVA Sports reports in its article, Kuznetsov once left a game because he wasn't satisfied with his playing time.

We know how much of a problem Kuznetsov can be in the locker room, but being with Ufa, he'll certainly get a lot more playing time and could get back to enjoying the game.

He could be playing alongside the talented Zharovsky on the same line, which would probably encourage Kuznetsov to play better for the chance to play alongside him.

In the worst-case scenario, if he's not playing alongside him on the same line, Zharovsky can confide in Kuznetsov if he needs NHL advice. Plus 700 games of experience in the best league in the world, that certainly has its advantage.


Overtime

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– Read on.

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