The Los Angeles Kings have reportedly acquired forward Andrei Kuzmenko from the Philadelphia Flyers (as per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet). The deal will see a third round pick in 2027, and a 2025 seventh round pick (as per team release) headed back to the Flyers (as per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports) who will also retain 50% of Kuzmenko’s cap hit for the remainder of the season (as per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period). Kuzmenko is in the second season of a two-year, $11MM contract that carries an annual cap hit of $5.5MM. With the 50% retention, Los Angeles will only be adding $2.75MM to their cap spreadsheet. Kuzmenko is set to hit unrestricted free agency at the end of the season.
It’s the second trade in two months for the 29-year-old Kuzmenko who was dealt from Calgary to Philadelphia back on January 30th along with Jakob Pelletier and two draft picks in exchange for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. It’s been a quiet season for Kuzmenko who has been unable to find stability among all of the movement. In 43 games this year, Kuzmenko has registered just six goals and 14 assists.
An undrafted free agent signing in July 2022, Kuzmenko had a monstrous rookie season with the Vancouver Canucks in 2022-23, posting 39 goals and 35 assists in 81 games. However, his sophomore season saw a dramatic drop off in production as Kuzmenko tallied just 22 goals and 24 assists in 72 games and was dealt midseason to Calgary in the Elias Lindholm trade.
Kuzmenko leaves Philadelphia having played just seven games with the Flyers. He was quite good in Philadelphia after struggling in Calgary, posting two goals and three assists in his abbreviated stay. He could prove to be a steal for the Kings if he can get on a heater. Kuzmenko has been streaky throughout his NHL career and has responded well following trades in the past. Last year after joining Calgary mid-season, Kuzmenko went on to notch 14 goals and 11 assists in his final 29 games after a sluggish start to his season. If Los Angeles gets production anything close to that it will have been worth the cost of the third-round pick.