The calendar has flipped into September, and Evgeny Kuznetsov is still without his next team.<\/p>\n
Kuznetsov\u2019s agent, Shumi Babaev, provided the latest on his client to Championat\u2019s Vladimir Laevsky on Monday<\/a>. With NHL training camps set to begin in a few weeks, Babaev asserted that Kuznetsov remains focused on making a return to the league where he played 11 seasons for the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything is still at the discussion stage,\u201d Babaev said to Championat<\/a>, as translated by Google Translate. \u201cThere are many teams with whom we have already held talks. More than 10 clubs. With some, it was positive; some refused.\u201d<\/p>\n Babaev declined to identify which specific teams held interest in his client, but it was reported earlier this summer that one of them was the Montreal Canadiens<\/a>. The Canadiens are home to one of Kuznetsov\u2019s KHL linemates with SKA Saint Petersburg last season, top prospect Ivan Demidov.<\/p>\n While Kuznetsov is still seeking a return to the NHL, he recently returned to his native Russia after spending much of the offseason in the Washington, DC, area<\/a>. This past week, the 33-year-old center posed for a photograph in Magnitogorsk with Viktor Kozlov<\/a>, the former Capitals winger and current Salavat Yulaev head coach.<\/p>\n \u201cZhenya and I were there together,\u201d Babaev said. \u201cHe flew to Moscow and is now training here at our sports complex together with other guys. We just went to Magnitogorsk on the way from Chelyabinsk, [Vladimir Tkachev] invited us. We went there and then went on to Moscow.\u201d<\/p>\n Kuznetsov, a two-time All-Star with the Capitals, posted just 24 points (8g, 16a) in 63 games split between the Caps and Carolina Hurricanes during his last season in the NHL. If he\u2019s unable to find a suitor in North America, the 2018 Stanley Cup champion may need to join a KHL team that has already begun its regular season schedule, as the league is set to kick off on September 5.<\/p>\n One of those potential KHL teams could be his hometown Traktor Chelyabinsk, where he played the first five professional seasons of his career. Babaev says that Kuznetsov still envisions himself returning to the team at some point before he hangs up his skates.<\/p>\n \u201cI think [he does]. Any player who grew up in a team considers it home and beloved,\u201d Babaev said. \u201cWe see that Evgeny considers Traktor to be his favorite team. He probably still subconsciously dreams of returning and playing for Chelyabinsk.\u201d<\/p>\n