The hammer finally came down on Evgeny Kuznetsov in terms of his NHL punishment.
After meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman sometime between Sept 9th and 12th, Kuznetsov will be suspended by the league, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. The suspension will be three games or less.
The IIHF had suspended Kuznetsov for four years for a test from the World Championship 2019 that showed traces of cocaine. The NHL does not normally suspend for non-performance enhancing drugs, so it will be interesting to see what the legal basis for the suspension will be, and perhaps how the NHLPA will respond.
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UPDATE: The NHL has confirmed the three-game suspension for "inappropriate conduct." Statements from the Caps and Kuznetsov are now also available, and Kuznetsov announced that he will not appeal the suspension.
https://www.nhl.com/capitals/news/statements-from-capitals-and-evgeny-kuznetsov/c-308630120
