The Los Angeles Kings have announced that they have re-signed forward Andrei Kuzmenko to a 1-year, $4.3 million contract.
Since Kuzmenko put the league on notice in 2022-23 by scoring 39 goals and recording 74 points in his rookie season with the Vancouver Canucks, he has struggled to find a role and a home in various cities.Â
He started the 2023-24 season with the Canucks before being traded to the Calgary Flames midway through the season. He finished that season with the Flames and started the 2024-25 season in Calgary. After 37 games with the Flames in 2024-25, he was dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers. He was traded again after just seven games with the Flyers to the Los Angeles Kings, where he finally produced numbers similar to his rookie season. He put up 17 points in 22 games to close out the regular season, then added six more points in six playoff games against the Edmonton Oilers.Â
Kuzmenko Looking to Get Back to Rookie Season Form
After just three seasons in the NHL, Kuzmenko has played for four different teams. He has not been able to replicate his rookie season performance, which was inflated mainly by his 27.3% shooting percentage. He still consistently produced offence, tallying 35 or more points in two straight seasons despite being traded multiple times.Â
Related: 2025 Free Agency Tracker
Some teams may be hesitant to sign Kuzmenko after his lack of production following signing his last contract with the Canucks. However, after signing this deal, the Canucks brought in now-fired head coach Rick Tocchet. Kuzmenko was not a good fit in his system and fell out of his rotation, averaging the fewest minutes per game of his career under Tocchet.Â
This was the start of a trend. We can now see that Kuzmenko is a much more effective player when he can get into the rhythm and the flow of a game. Throughout his career, in situations where he has played 15 minutes or more of ice time per game, he averages 0.81 points per game. In contrast, when his ice time falls below 15 minutes per game, he averages only 0.44 points per game.Â
Kuzmenko Will Shine if Given the Opportunity
Despite being passed around from team to team in his first few seasons in the NHL, Kuzmenko has made a significant offensive impact when given the chance to play with other skilled offensive players. He has an incredibly hard shot, which allows him to score from areas of the ice that other players couldn’t dream of.
Kuzmenko is the perfect fit for a Kings teams that struggled offensively last season. Suppose Kuzmenko can continue to improve his ability to win puck battles and work on playing away from the puck. He could make a profound impact for the Kings as he will likely slot into a top-six role and play critical power-play minutes.
