Main factors: Bad first impression with new coach and Yegor Sharangovich being more effective. Gusev looked lost like he did initially as a rookie under John Hynes, turnover machine in the offensive zone and lost in the defensive zone. Sharangovich and Janne Kuokkanen aren't as skilled as Gusev, but they took the spots on Travis Zajac's line as they weren't as prone to bad decisions. Jack Hughes is a work in progress defensively so it's pretty ugly when he and Gusev were paired together. Gusev had a solid finish to 2019-20 on a line with Pavel Zacha and Jesper Bratt, but Lindy Ruff didn't give that line much if any time together from what I remember even with Nico Hischier hurt to start the season.
This was a nightmare shift for Gusev, but a bit of a microcosm where he'd try to dangle through everybody, turn it over, then get lost defensively.
And on a personal level, I think Gusev and his wife welcomed their first child right before training camp started. Many of my friends have been having their first kids in recent years, so I've seen how that can be mess up their sleep cycles and the effect that can have. As a result, I'm always a bit a sympathetic towards athletes who have to try to balance that as well and whether they might have a bounce back season once they get used to the routine (looking in Dylan Strome's general direction).
