Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov says he has "nothing to hide" after a video emerged of him hanging out in the presence of what appears to be a white powdery substance.

This week, a 20-second video was shared online that shows Kuznetsov hanging out in what looks to be a hotel room. As he engages in what seems to be a FaceTime conversation on his phone, two lines of white powder can be seen next to a rolled up dollar bill on table mere feet away. Kuznetsov is never seen taking or even acknowledging the substance. 

The video has since been deleted by the original poster, but not before being widely dispersed and picking up steam on social media.

After being made aware of the video, which didn't include a date or timestamp, Kuznetsov publicly addressed the incident and said he has "nothing to hide." According to Kuznetsov, the video is from the summer of 2018 (after the Capitals' Stanley Cup win) and the powdery substance did not belong to him.

"I just went to my friends in the room. When I saw what was happening there — unfamiliar women, strange substances on the table," Kuznetsov told Sport Express, a Russian news publication . "I have nothing to hide, let it remain on the conscience of the one who posted this video."

Kuznetsov said he's never done drugs and would be happy to comply with a drug test or medical exam.

The Capitals also released a statement addressing the video, saying they're aware of it and are "in the process of gathering facts and will have no further comment at this time." 

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly delivered a similar statement when asked about the video prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday. 

"I hesitate to use the term 'investigation' just because I think it's a fairly ambiguous word," Daly said. "Obviously, we have to understand the facts and circumstances and what happened, and that involves appropriate follow-up with the appropriate people. I wouldn't call it a formal investigation; we want to know what's going on. … He seems to have acknowledged that he was in that room with whatever it is, but I don't know what whatever it is, and he claims not to have used whatever it is, so on that basis, I'm not going to convict him of anything."

The NHL doesn't have a strict policy against recreational drug use. Players are drug tested but those test results are rarely made public and a positive test doesn't automatically result in disciplinary measures from the league. If a player is found to possibly be struggling with substance abuse, he could be subject to assessment by doctors working for the NHL's Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program, who could then mandate substance-abuse treatment.