Washington Capitals: Top 3 reasons Evgeny Kuznetsov will breakout in 2021-22

#1 His confidence is back and that will translate to on ice success

This is perhaps the biggest reason Evgeny Kuznetsov will have a breakout season in 2021-22. When he spoke with the media after day one of training camp, he was smiling, he was laughing, he was the Kuznetsov we all know and love. He said as long as he has his smile back on the ice, expect a big year out of him. I’ll let his words do the talking.

"“The goal is for me to get my smile back in the game, and if I don’t smile in the game, that means something bad, we don’t play good. For me, it was always important to see guys happy, to see smiles during the game. Even you lose the game, you come back in the locker room and see [we] did everything we could. Come back next day be happy with the work… if you not happy, it does not make you better, does not make it easier to compete.”"

Call it the revenge tour or the redemption tour, Kuznetsov is ready to make the most out of this opportunity and invites you to judge his game along the way. Everybody loves a good comeback story and Kuznetsov has the potential to write one this season.