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Washington will have to wait: Caps prospect Kuznetsov officially staying in Russia

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According to the KHL website, the Washington Capitals won’t be seeing 2010 first-round pick Evgeni Kuznetsov anytime soon.

Under the league’s contract listings for the upcoming campaign, Kuznetsov’s name appears alongside a new two-year deal with Traktor Chelyabinsk, the team on which he’s played since 2009.

(There’s a screengrab here, courtesy Russian Machine Never Breaks)

Taken 26th overall by Washington 2010, Kuznetsov made waves earlier this month by verbally agreeing with Traktor on the two-year deal and, in the process of explaining his decision to stay in Russia, revealed he hadn’t yet informed the Capitals.

This raised eyebrows throughout the league as many figured Kuznetsov would soon be joining the Caps and playing alongside countryman Alex Ovechkin (much like the two did for the gold medal-winning Russian team at the recently completed World Hockey Championships.)

The plight of Kuznetsov has been closely followed in the nation’s capital this year, especially after his scintillating performance at the 2012 World Juniors. He scored 13 points in six games and was named to the first All-Star team, Best Forward and Tournament MVP.