from Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post,

What Evgeny Kuznetsov needs right now isn’t wrath or scorn but support. The three-game suspension the NHL handed the Washington Capitals forward Saturday was a punishment. What he needs is a path forward. The good news for Kuznetsov: He — and no one else — will determine whether that path is a direct line to becoming a consistent, accountable, productive professional or whether it’s the meandering and (occasionally) maddening route his career has been on thus far.

Even after Kuznetsov faced questions from the media and spoke for the first time since he tested positive for cocaine during the world championships in May, there’s only so much we can know. Is he someone who used the drug once, regretted it and moved on? Or does he have a problem for which he needs help?...

Forget that he didn’t address that issue in his statement. This isn’t a time for condemnation, because whether he dabbled and put it down or was a regular user, he has been outed. That has the benefit of being good for Kuznetsov personally and professionally because he can get himself right. It also, in a roundabout way, can be good for the Capitals. Regardless of the magnitude of the problem — minuscule or major — exposure was the best route to making sure Kuznetsov acts, each and every day, not only like one of the centerpieces of an organization that has entrusted him with much money and responsibility but also like a 27-year-old father of two, a more important role.

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