“You don’t deserve to be taking the shot,” Wayne Gretzky BRUTALLY slams Evgeny Kuznetsov’s sloth-like move, calls NHL to ban it
Evgeny Kuznetsov’s slow-move shot has brutally been shut down by NHL great Wayne Gretzky. Discussion on whether to keep the shot legal or ban it is going on in the league.
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Evgeny Kuznetsov and Wayne Gretzky [Image Credit: Bleacher Report/theScore]
It seems Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov’s slow-mo shot has rubbed the NHL great Wayne Gretzky in the wrong way. He has spoken out against such a movement and even called the league to ban it. He talked about how this movement is creating unnecessary pressure on the goalie stating, “you got to protect the goalie, right?”
Kuznetsov, nicknamed ‘The Birdman’s slow-motion shootout has both received praise and criticism in NHL so far. While some called the shot legendary and the future of hockey, some slammed it stating it’s not fair. While the question of whether it’ll be banned by the league remains, it’s interesting to see how far Kuznetsov can carry the team while showcasing his powerful slow shot.
While Gretzky blatantly stated “I hate it” on TNT, Kuznetsov daringly said he’ll go by the rules. As long as the league doesn’t ban the shot, he’ll use it to help his team move forward. “They’ll ban it I’ll come up with something new.” Even if the NHL bans the move in the future, it’ll surely be something that’ll leave a mark on the history of the NHL.
Charlie Lindgren on Evgeny Kuznetsov’s slow-mo shot: “Fun to watch and tough to stop”
![Charlie Lindgren and Evgeny Kuznetsov [Image Credit: NHL/Washington Post]](https://firstsportz.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Untitled-design-12-10.png)
Although many have criticized the move, his teammates and few others have defended it. One of them is Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren. He talked about how difficult it was to stop at practice saying that he’s glad to have Evgeny Kuznetsov on his team and not the other way around.
“I love that he’s on my team because it’s fun to watch and tough to stop”. Capitals winger T.J. Oshie also defended ‘The Birdman’ saying there’s nothing wrong with it as long as he’s following the rulebook. Well, the NHL legend Wayne Gretzky doesn’t seem to think so. He stated that there should be a time limit on how long one can keep the puck.
“If you can’t get it there in eight seconds, you don’t deserve to be taking the shot,” Gretzky said. Just like Wayne Gretzky, goalie Ilya Proskuryakov criticized the move saying, “It was difficult to catch shootouts from him…now it’s almost impossible…something needs to be done.”
Kuznetsov’s legendary slow-mo shot created a wave in NHL in 2022 where he further developed it against the Maple Leafs during the regular season. His unique movement hyped up his shootout percentage by 83.3 in the 2022-23 season.
Although Kuznetsov’s stick swirl move failed to impress NHLers and Gretzky, it sure did blow off the league when it first debuted. Whether fans will see more of his move in the coming 2023-24 season is debatable. Unless NHL bans it, Kuznetsov may continue to use his lethal weapon to help the Caps grab a Stanley Cup spot for the 2024 title.
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Kaushani Chatterjee
(2140 Articles Published)