Kuznetsov cleared after NHL investigation into white powder video

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly released a statement on Friday regarding Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov after a video circulated online appearing to show the Russian beside two lines of cocaine.

Following the release of the video, Kuznetsov said he "never used drugs" and has no intention to "get into it." He also said the video was more than a year old and was taken after the Capitals' Stanley Cup victory in 2018.

On Friday, Kuznetsov apologized for his involvement in the video.

"While I have never taken illegal drugs in my life and career, I would like to publicly apologize to the Capitals, my teammates, our fans, and everyone else for putting myself in a bad situation," he said, according to the team. "This was a hard lesson for me to learn."

The Capitals also posted a statement on Friday accepting Kuznetsov's apology.

"In addition to doing our own due diligence, we met with Evgeny to discuss the video circulated on social media. While we are disappointed by his presence in the video, we accept his explanation and apology for putting himself in an unfortunate situation," the team said. "Evgeny has been a terrific player and an active member of our community, and we expect him to learn from this experience and uphold both the standards the organization has for him as well as his own."

Kuznetsov has been a key piece of the Capitals' core, recording 70-plus points and 50-plus assists in three of the last four campaigns.