The “Kuzmenkshow” has been renewed for another season as the Kings re-signed winger Andrei Kuzmenko to a one-year contract worth $4.3 million, the club announced in a news release on Monday.
Kuzmenko, 29, arrived at the trade deadline. Not only did he score 17 points in 22 games, all of which came in a 14-match stretch, but his ostensibly modest addition had a significant ripple effect.
He sparked the top line, reinvigorating Anže Kopitar and Adrian Kempe after a midseason lull. He allowed several forwards to slot into more natural roles, creating better offensive balance and catapulting overall scoring.
The Kings had ranked 27th in goals per game for the better part of two seasons, but placed second in the NHL during Kuzmenko’s initial stint. They also won 17 of 22 games with Kuzmenko in their lineup.
Last Wednesday, Kings general manager Ken Holland said he had been in contact with Kuzmenko’s agent, Craig Oster, and that they had both zeroed in a short-term deal. Kuzmenko made $5.5 million annually on his previous two-year contract. While he took a pay cut, he will seek to use this season to rebuild his value in order to sign a long-term pact at age 30, as Holland acknowledged.
Kuzmenko didn’t arrive in the NHL until age 26 after lighting up Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League with 53 points in 45 games. Holland said he had pursued Kuzmenko out of Russia with the Detroit Red Wings and again when his Edmonton Oilers lost out to the Vancouver Canucks.
In his first season with Vancouver, Kuzmenko thrived with 39 goals. In his next two campaigns, he didn’t match that total cumulatively, depositing 33 goals across two seasons that were spread between Vancouver, Calgary, Philadelphia and, finally, the Kings’ dressing room.
Free agency opens on Tuesday with more and more names coming off the board by the hour.
Notably, Mitch Marner traded blue and white for gold and gray, as he went from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade arrangement.
Vegas is also the frontrunner to land Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson via trade, per multiple reports. TSN’s Darren Dreger divulged that Holland made a hefty offer to Calgary during this weekend’s draft, only to discover that Andersson, who is a 2026 UFA, was not interested in extending his contract if he were traded to the Kings.
The Florida Panthers re-signed both Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad to long-term deals, allowing the defending champs to retain all three of their notable UFAs after already locking up Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett. Columbus also re-signed Ivan Provorov, taking another potential blue-line target off the board.
Kuzmenko was not the only Russian that the Kings were courting to remain in the fold. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov has grown increasingly vital to the Kings on the ice and, now, in the offseason. While they have been in consistent contact with Gavrikov’s new representative, Pat Brisson, Holland has expressed little in the way of outward confidence.
While Holland’s tendency has long been to under-promise and over-deliver, his tone has been unmistakable and LoHud’s Vincent Mercogliano reported that at least one league source told him that Gavrikov signing with the New York Rangers was a “done deal.”