Nikita Kucherov will probably remember the 2024 NHL Awards for many years to come. It certainly wasn’t a pleasant night for him.
The forward was left without awards. The Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award went to Nathan MacKinnon. The solution is not the most unequivocal, but it is more than understandable.
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An unthinkable robbery? But it is Kucherov’s own fault that he was forced to go past Hart.
The highlight of the ceremony, however, was, surprisingly, a brief interview with Kuch. And now it has caused a huge resonance.
Comedian and host Matt Friend approached Nikita for a quick comment. As a joke, he put on a fake black beard and spoke with a noticeable Russian accent.
– How are you, man? Is everything okay? You look like shit number one (reference to Kucherov’s own quote after winning the 2021 Stanley Cup. – “Championship” note). What’s up, man? – said the friend, handing the microphone to Kucherov. – (says something inaudible)
— For some reason you sound more Russian on YouTube… – (silence)
— You may have the second Hart Trophy in your career. Where will you go first? – This is my house.
– So excited! What about next season? What would you like to receive from him? — I will try to win the Stanley Cup.
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After such a disastrous performance, journalists and fans were divided into two camps. The first criticised Friend for his parody and his unfunny questions, the second criticised Kucherov for his dissatisfied and gloomy face throughout the ceremony.
Is the Tampa Bay forward deservedly criticized? Should we criticize the talk show host? Let’s figure it out.
“At least Kucherov is not a hypocrite”
Former NHL referee Tim Peel was very unhappy with the Russian forward’s behaviour.
“He showed about the same enthusiasm at the NHL All-Star Game. Show respect to the fans who support you and pay money for tickets to see you, which will allow you to make millions a year. Ashamed!” – wrote Peel on his page on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Nikita Kucherov
Photo: Fake Images
In general, criticism of Kucherov is understandable. He seriously ruined his image when in February at the All-Star Game he openly fooled around, just going out to do his routine on the field.
It is clear that you cannot miss this event without consequences: if you refuse, you will simply be disqualified from a regular season meeting. But if you still come, at least pretend you’re trying. Sports and these types of meetings between stars are events mainly for fans. Hockey players can have fun between events, so everyone has fun and relaxes.
In other words, Kucherov showed open disrespect towards the fans, for which he received a well-deserved portion of criticism. As several journalists note, it was this episode that seriously reduced Nikita’s chances of winning his personal trophy at the end of the season. These episodes of open disrespect are hard to forget.
Kuch had no chance:
Kucherov is not recognized as the best player of the NHL season. Even if he gets Tampa to the playoffs
The Lightning forward also sat through the entire awards ceremony with a dissatisfied look on his face.
“Known for his seriousness and focus on the performance, Kucherov demonstrated an open lack of interest in the ceremony, even during the comedic moments. Fans noticed his reluctance to participate in a light-hearted skit with the show’s host, comedian Matt Friend,” Sportskeeda journalist Arnab Mondal wrote.
“On February 2, 2024, a few months ago, I wrote an article saying that Nikita Kucherov doesn’t care about the All-Star Game. I gave it a title: “Nikita Kucherov doesn’t care about the All-Star Game.”
For today’s text, you could easily use the same title and simply change “All-Star Game” to “Awards Night.” I did just that, but with a little less vulgarity. After all, children read this…
My point remains the same: Kucherov really does not want to be where he is. Tonight he seemed completely indifferent, and this was not helped by the fact that the presenter had a beard and a Russian accent,” writes Dose.ca.
Kucherov at the award ceremony
Photo: Frame from the video
At the same time, the journalist notes that the ceremony itself was, to put it mildly, problematic.
“You can say what you want about the Russian, but at least he’s not a hypocrite.
The evening was disgusting… “Forced smiles and polite laughter,” as Simon-Olivier Lorang said. Everyone except Kucherov…
As for Matt Friend, I hope he doesn’t ignore the comments about him on social media. He’s clearly no Kevin Hart.
Overall, it may have been a disastrous evening, but I’m sure Nathan MacKinnon had nothing to complain about. He is the main victor of this ceremony because, unlike Kucherov, he did not leave empty-handed,” the material says.
On the one hand, Kucherov once again showed the dark side of his personality. On the other hand, the ceremony itself did not go well. He was also left without any awards. Why would Nikita smile and have fun?
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“People will understand one day: he is one of the best.” Even his main rival admires Kucherov.
I would also like to point out another important detail that is often overlooked.
There are introverts. People who don’t feel particularly comfortable at public events, who don’t particularly like communicating with someone they don’t know, who don’t like to draw attention to themselves. Kucherov is obviously one of those people. He doesn’t seem to care about his superstar status: Kuch is just Kuch.
Another question comes into play here: how logical and correct is it to force introverts to attend these types of events and communicate with someone? This issue should be serious not only in hockey, but also in other sports (and in life in general), not only in North America, but also in Russia. We should also respect introverts who do not like this type of hobby, regardless of their status.
And Nikita also has an extremely bad character.
So it was stupid to expect any different behavior from him.
“This episode was aggressively terrible.”
At the same time, Matt Friend was also heavily criticized. And discontent with his work is understandable.
The Outkick journalist analyzed Friend’s behavior at the ceremony in detail.
“The NHL awards show always has a habit of veering into cringe-inducing territory, but this year, during a conversation with Tampa star Nikita Kucherov, the show didn’t just veer off course: it swerved to one side and crossed several lanes of traffic to send chills.
This year’s host was Matt Friend. If you’re not sure you know who he is, fear not: plenty of people have asked the same thing. He’s a comedian and impressionist popular on social media, so apparently the league thought, “This guy will connect with young people. It’s not like he’s going to put on a horrible-looking beard and fake a bad Russian accent when he talks to Russian players or something.”
They were wrong on both sides.
friend mate
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
During the show, Friend sidled up to Kucherov, who was sitting next to his wife awaiting the results: whether he would win the Hart Trophy (he didn’t).
“How are you, man? Are you feeling okay? You look like shit number one. How does it feel, man?” – a friend said that this was supposedly an impression of Kuch himself.
He pointed the microphone at Kucherov, who only muttered something unintelligible.
“For some reason you sound more Russian on YouTube anyway…” Friend said.
*Crickets*
Look… this doesn’t seem like an easy way to run an awards show, but maybe it’s not worth trying to talk to a guy who can’t play along.
Remember the skills competition at the All-Star Game four months ago? The boy barely bothered to participate in the skills competition.
Apparently Matt Friend tried to talk to this guy…
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“This will be your second Hart Trophy,” he said, no doubt sweating under his fake beard, knowing he had to see the show to the end, dead or alive. “Do you remember where you put the first one or what you did with it?”
“Yes, it’s at my house,” Kuch said with a shrug.
“What enthusiasm from Kucherov!” Friend said to the camera before pointing to the gallery. “They love it up there.”
Was this really the case? Or was the sound we heard a chilling tremor?
Believe me, I know comedy is hard, but… you have to test out your jokes first before you deliver them.
However, believe it or not, the worst part was left for last.
A friend asked the Rayo striker what his predictions were for next season.
“Eh… I’ll try to win the Cup,” Kucherov replied.
“This is fantastic advice for hockey players, man. Wah-wa-wee-wa,” Friend said.
Yes, you heard right. This was Borat’s favorite phrase “va-va-vi-va” (the hero of the movie of the same name, known for his defiant humor. – Note from “Championship”) in 2024 according to our calendar, when he was talking to a guy from Russia, not Kazakhstan.
Nikita Kucherov
Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
I think Kucherov certainly could have behaved better, but this is a two-way street. This episode was so aggressively terrible that it will make a guy who is no longer interested in participating in this action even more silent.
Hopefully this is a learning experience for the NHL and whoever it chooses to host next year. Maybe we should think a little more and choose more wisely,” the article says.
Well, obviously things didn’t go as Friend expected. But everything is not so simple here either.
On the one hand, obviously, if no one laughs, everything is very bad. The main indicator of humor is the audience’s reaction. She wasn’t there. Then Amigo failed.
On the other hand, it is clear that the comedian was not trying to insult Russian culture or anything like that. The Russian accent in North America is a kind of meme, devoid of negative connotations. Some people really like the Russian accent. That is why it is at least strange to accuse him of Russophobia or lack of respect for our culture.
In addition, he specifically prepared for the conversation with Kuch. His phrase about “number one” is a clear reference to Nikita’s quote after winning the 2021 Stanley Cup. So Friend didn’t come to the performance to improvise. Overall, though, the comedian’s jokes probably weren’t that good.
However, humor is a subjective matter. Humor must be sharp, it must provoke. In Friend’s parody, it is clear what he wanted to play with. Imagine: a funny American guy with a thick Russian accent talking to a silent, gloomy Russian star, as if he were the personification of a stereotypical Russian. It even sounds funny! At best, this could be downright hilarious.
In reality, the world is open to Russia:
“It doesn’t seem like anything is missing.” Is the hockey world ready to get Russia back?
The problem, it seems, was not so much the comedian.
The heavy atmosphere that is noticeable throughout the ceremony is something that one person cannot fix. A friend did a funny skit that might have worked if the audience had been more in the mood for jokes. And the chosen interlocutor could not avoid the situation.
The right atmosphere is often important for humor. Friend was not the main character, he was not the comedian for whom people came there. He could not achieve it on his own. Perhaps, in the end, the jokes themselves were not particularly funny, but even the funniest jokes in such a situation would hardly have calmed the situation.
So, perhaps, neither Kucherov nor Friend deserve any accusations against them for this whole situation. The question here is rather for the NHL in general and for the organizers of the ceremony in particular, why they failed to create the right atmosphere for the spectacle.
I would like to hope that next year the event will be held without scandals. And the prominent and harmful Kucherov will leave not with a wave of criticism and a gloomy face, but with a couple of personal awards and at least a kind of smile.
