The reaction to Evgeny Kuznetsov's suspension and how it will affect his immediate future and his career is provoking a lot of different reactions. Back in Russia, the opinions are mixed. His former coaches are sympathetic to his plight. Hockey legend Slava Fetisov, who is now a member of the Russian parliament, was extremely critical, saying that Kuznetsov put a stain on the honor of Russian hockey just as it was attempting to recover for the PR disasters of the last few years, when North American players came back with horror stories of playing in Russia.
But in North America, where anyone other than Caps fans has no horse in the race, the reaction has been a combination of condemnation and humor. Russian news agency RIA has scoured Twitter and the majority of fans feel that Kuznetsov should face some sort of sanction from the NHL and are surprised that the league testing policy does not include automatic suspensions for substances like cocaine. More abuse came from GordieDownie who said that Kuznetsov must have practiced with 80s Oilers team, referring to a mid 80s scandal where several Oilers were caught using hard drugs.
But perhaps the cruelest cut came from former NHL and KHL veteran Zach Boychuck.
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