Maxim Kuznetsov

For the Russian swimmer, born in 1982, see Maxim Kuznetsov (swimmer).
Maxim Kuznetsov
Born (1977-03-24) March 24, 1977 (age 47)
Pavlodar, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight 240 lb (109 kg; 17 st 2 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Traktor Chelyabinsk
Vityaz Chekhov
Avangard Omsk
SKA Saint Petersburg
Dynamo Moscow
Los Angeles Kings (NHL)
Detroit Red Wings (NHL)
NHL draft 26th overall, 1995
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 1995–2008

Maxim Romanovich Kuznetsov (Russian: Максим Романович Кузнецов; born March 24, 1977) is a Kazakhstani-born Russian former professional ice hockey player. Kuznetsov was drafted in the 1st round (26th overall) by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

After the 1995 draft, Kuznetsov played for the Dynamo Moscow before making the trip to North America. For two games in the 96–97 season and until the end of the 98–99 season he played for the Detroit Red Wings' AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Red Wings. He followed this with a single season playing for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks before being called up to the NHL in the 00–01 season. Unfortunately, a knee injury suffered in a game against Vancouver caused him to miss much of the remaining season. The following year he found his place with the Wings as a true defenceman and bolstered the already deep blueline, helping the Wings to win the Stanley Cup. He played 39 regular season games, but did not play in the playoffs. His name was left off the Stanley Cup, because he was two games short of 41 minimum required to be engraved on the cup. However, Detroit did award Maxim with a Stanley Cup Ring.

In the latter part of the 02–03 season, Kuznetsov was traded to the Los Angeles Kings along with Sean Avery and two draft picks for Mathieu Schneider. Upon his arrival with the Kings organization, he spent the majority of his playing time with the team's AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs.

On June 7, 2004 Kuznetsov signed as a free agent with Dynamo Moscow (due to the NHL lockout) once again. After playing only ten games for Moscow he was released and then signed as a free agent by SKA Saint Petersburg where he continued to contribute with his hard lined defensive play.

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1993–94 Dynamo–2 Moscow RUS.2 32 4 4 8 62 — — — — —
1994–95 Dynamo Moscow IHL 11 0 0 0 8 — — — — —
1994–95 Dynamo–2 Moscow RUS.2 36 4 7 11 75 — — — — —
1995–96 Dynamo Moscow IHL 9 1 1 2 22 4 0 0 0 0
1995–96 Dynamo–2 Moscow RUS.2 28 6 7 13 28 — — — — —
1996–97 Dynamo Moscow RSL 23 0 2 2 16 — — — — —
1996–97 Dynamo–2 Moscow RUS.3 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1996–97 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 2 0 1 1 6 2 0 0 0 0
1997–98 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 51 5 5 10 43 3 0 1 1 4
1998–99 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 60 0 4 4 30 3 0 0 0 0
1999–2000 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 47 2 9 11 36 — — — — —
2000–01 Detroit Red Wings NHL 25 1 2 3 23 — — — — —
2001–02 Detroit Red Wings NHL 39 1 2 3 40 — — — — —
2001–02 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 7 1 0 1 4 — — — — —
2002–03 Detroit Red Wings NHL 53 0 3 3 54 — — — — —
2002–03 Los Angeles Kings NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2003–04 Los Angeles Kings NHL 16 0 1 1 20 — — — — —
2003–04 Manchester Monarchs AHL 39 2 8 10 57 2 0 0 0 4
2004–05 Dynamo Moscow RSL 10 0 0 0 24 — — — — —
2004–05 SKA St. Petersburg RSL 34 4 6 10 72 — — — — —
2005–06 Avangard Omsk RSL 6 0 1 1 6 — — — — —
2005–06 Avangard–2 Omsk RUS.3 2 0 0 0 12 — — — — —
2005–06 SKA St. Petersburg RSL 15 1 0 1 26 3 0 0 0 4
2006–07 SKA St. Petersburg RSL 14 0 1 1 12 — — — — —
2006–07 SKA–2 St. Petersburg RUS.3 29 4 10 14 66 — — — — —
2007–08 Vityaz Chekhov RSL 31 2 1 3 67 — — — — —
2007–08 Vityaz–2 Podolsk RUS.3 9 2 2 4 4 — — — — —
2008–09 Traktor Chelyabinsk KHL 10 0 0 0 16 — — — — —
RSL totals 133 7 11 18 223 3 0 0 0 4
AHL totals 206 10 27 37 176 10 0 1 1 8
NHL totals 136 2 8 10 137 — — — — —
Preceded by Detroit Red Wings
first round draft pick
1995 		Succeeded by