Capitals' Kuznetsov ponders future with cigars, whiskey

Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov presumably has plenty of hockey to play in his NHL career, but it's never too early to start planning for retirement.

So when asked about his plans after his hockey career comes to close, Kuznetsov perhaps caught the viewers by surprise Thursday with his answer during intermission of Washington's 4-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

From Sportnet, via Russian Machine Never Breaks:

"I don’t know. Maybe I wanna sit somewhere in Switzerland, smoke nice cigars, and drink the whiskey."

Kuznetsov has plenty on his plate before he gets on a plane and visits the Swiss Alps. Most notably, continuing his impressive play as the 23-year-old Russian scored two goals and set up another to send league-leading Washington (33-7-3) to its fifth straight victory overall and 11th in a row at the Verizon Center.

The @washcaps have 11 straight wins at Verizon Center, their longest such run since a franchise-record 13-game streak from Jan 5–Mar 6, 2010
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 15, 2016

Kuznetsov pushed his point total to 41 (15 tallies, 26 assists), tying him with All-Star forward Nicklas Backstrom for the team lead. He has already surpassed his rookie point total of 37 (11 goals, 26 assists), set last season.

The 26th overall pick of the 2010 draft, Kuznetsov has scored 29 goals and set up 58 others in 140 career contests, all with the Capitals.