I can because overall he was a much bigger part of us winning a cup than he was in us not being good afterwards. We don’t win our cup without him that year, even if he was better after that we still wouldn’t have been contenders.
How the F can anyone not root for Kuzy after his MVP-worthy performance en route to this team winning its first and only Stanley Cup? He was an instrumental part of the best chapter in Capitals history, and is no worse than the fourth best Center to play for the Capitals in the franchise history (counting time spent actually on a Capitals roster, so not Fedorov as a Red Wing). He concluded his time in Washington with a very disappointing season and a half, absolutely (not 4 years - he had 78 points in 79 games in 2021-22), but he's far from the only Capitals legend to do that during that span. Kuznetsov's struggles came off the ice and with "invisible" ailments, so callous fans turn their back on him in ways that they didn't turn their back on an equally downward trend with Nicklas Backstrom. Just like we realized Backstrom's best days were behind him but still celebrated his past achievements, so the same should we do with Kuznetsov.
Gawd. A team from TX v a team from FL. Regardless of the quality of the hockey (I think FL would win), it's a karmic disaster.
His legacy is that Kuzy does what Kuzy wants. For whatever reason, in 2018 he was having fun playing hockey.
Dale Hunter belongs in that group. I'd probably replace Ridley with #32 just based on their respective times w/ the Caps. Oates would belong if the Caps portion of their careers wasn't a factor.
I'm still inclined to give Ridley the edge over Kuzy. Mainly due to his points per game, goals, and his ability to stay out of the box.
It really depends on what question you are asking. I would look at it as: Who had the best career as a Washington Capital at center?
