{"id":681684,"date":"2026-06-03T10:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T10:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/681684\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T10:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T10:54:09","slug":"evgeny-kuznetsov-takes-photo-with-nhl-commissioner-gary-bettman-grandpa-asked-for-a-photo-i-couldnt-say-no","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/681684\/","title":{"rendered":"Evgeny Kuznetsov takes photo with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman: \u2018Grandpa asked for a photo, I couldn\u2019t say no!\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Evgeny Kuznetsov is at Lenovo Center for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes<\/a> and Vegas Golden Knights<\/a>, and while there, he ran into an old friend.<\/p>\n

Kuznetsov posted a photo with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to his Instagram account \u2014 though he made clear who asked for a photo with whom.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandpa asked for a photo, I couldn\u2019t say no!\u201d Kuznetsov wrote in Russian, as translated by Google Translate.<\/p>\n

Kuznetsov published the image shortly after NHL media asked the 74-year-old \u201cGrandpa\u201d Bettman about potentially retiring and whether there was a succession plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cReports on my demise have been greatly exaggerated,\u201d Bettman quipped.<\/p>\n

Kuznetsov\u2019s stop in Raleigh comes after he traveled up to Bell Centre last week for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens<\/a>. Kuznetsov appeared to be there in support of former SKA St. Petersburg teammate Ivan Demidov<\/a>. Demidov\u2019s girlfriend sat with Kuznetsov\u2019s family, waving in a selfie video that the 2018 Stanley Cup champion posted.<\/p>\n

Kuznetsov ended his NHL career (at least for now) during the 2023-24 season with the Hurricanes after the Capitals dealt him to Carolina at the trade deadline that year.<\/p>\n

The photo of Kuznetsov and Bettman comes nearly seven years after the commissioner suspended the then-Capitals centerman for three games due to \u201cinappropriate conduct.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Kuznetsov spoke about the in-person hearing with Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly that led to that suspension during a 2023 podcast appearance with the Russian outlet Slippery Ice. The \u201cGrandpa\u201d reference appears to be a play on his comments from that show.<\/p>\n

From RMNB\u2019s article entitled \u201cEvgeny Kuznetsov says Bill Daly wanted to give him a much harsher suspension for his conduct related to a positive drug test\u201d<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it weren\u2019t for my desire to apologize to the club for the mistake, then there would probably have been total silence,\u201d Kuznetsov said and as translated via Google Translate. \u201cAnd so I went to Bettman\u2019s office with [NHLPA reps]. They told me, \u2018They can\u2019t punish you at all. Why are you coming here?\u2019 I answered that I had let people down. I should come at least look the person in the eyes, say this and that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe [NHLPA reps] say, \u2018Don\u2019t worry, you\u2019ll go see Bettman now. Just a conversation between father and son, where they respect morality. Listen, just listen calmly.\u2019 I say, \u2018Yes, I\u2019m a normal person, don\u2019t worry.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Kuznetsov says he realized quickly into the meeting with the commissioner\u2019s office that he was in for quite the unexpected talking to. \u201cI see that it seems to be a real moral teaching, he said. \u201cI say, \u2018No problem, I\u2019m sorry, so and so. I came to you as a human being, on my own, without agents, without anything, I\u2019m sitting alone.\u2019 Bettman says, \u2018I respect that, thank you, well done.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

While the conversation with Bettman seemed to eventually steer in a positive direction, Kuznetsov\u2019s interaction with Daly didn\u2019t go as well. \u201cI think a 20-game [suspension] should be given,\u201d Daly apparently chimed in.<\/p>\n

Daly is in the background of the photo Kuznetsov posted, with his back to the camera.<\/p>\n

Kuznetsov played last season with the KHL\u2019s Salavat Yulaev and is currently an unrestricted free agent. It\u2019s believed he still has a home in the DC area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Evgeny Kuznetsov is at Lenovo Center for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":681685,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-681684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/681685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}