Kuznetsov calls out Leafs media for treatment of Samsonov
Carolina Hurricanes forward Evgeny Kuznetsov doesn’t appear to be a big fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ media group.
Kuznetsov and the Hurricanes are in Toronto to take on the Leafs tonight, which means the 31-year-old will be going up against his former teammate, Ilya Samsonov. The two Russians were teammates for several seasons with the Washington Capitals and share a close bond. It appears that Kuzy is keeping up with his former teammate and noticed, in particular, how some media members were treating him earlier this season.
“You guys have been so hard on the players in general here,” Kuznetsov said. “I’m so happy [Samsonov] doesn’t speak English well, so he doesn’t understand everything. That’s huge for him. I think there is a lot of talk about hockey and the team in general. That’s life here, more than life for me, probably. I’m so happy he doesn’t watch that all the time, doesn’t read everything, which is pretty hard to do sometimes.”
Asked about how he thinks Samsonov has turned things around since being placed on waivers earlier in the season, Kuznetsov believes the best has yet to come for the 27-year-old goaltender.
“I haven’t seen him at his best because [his] best games are ahead [of] him,” Kuznetsov said. “I believe his best games are ahead of him. I’m pretty sure the people will see his best version. If he can get confident [and] if he stays inside [the crease], because he can’t play the puck, you guys could have a good goalie.”
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Kuznetsov made sure to throw in a friendly jab at Samsonov to end things, but it is clear that he sees greatness in his former teammate. Though his season has consisted of highs and lows, he has been excellent as of late, winning 13 of his last 16 starts. There was some concern for his status regarding tonight’s game after he appeared to suffer an injury in practice this morning, but head coach Sheldon Keefe has since confirmed that he is okay and will be starting.
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