The Los Angeles Kings have acquired forward Andrei Kuzmenko from the Philadelphia Flyers exchange for a 2027 third-round pick.
Kuzmenko Packs His Bags… Again… After 7-Game Stint With Flyers
The Kuzmenko era is over in Philadelphia after just seven games.
The Russian 29 year old recorded two goals and three assists for five points there after being traded from the Calgary Flames on Jan. 30. This season between the Flyers and Flames, he has six goals and 14 assists for 20 points in 44 games.
Related: 2025 NHL Trade Deadline Tracker
Kuzmenko, who originally came to the Vancouver Canucks from the Kontinental Hockey League for the 2022-23 season, has been on a steep decline since recording 39 goals and 74 points as an NHL rookie that season. He signed a two-year $11 million deal ($5.5 million average annual value) with the Canucks in 2023, which expires after this season.
The Flyers are retaining 50 per cent of Kuzmenko’s salary.
In 197-career NHL games, Kuzmenko has 67 goals and 73 assists for 140 points. He has never played in the playoffs.
Kings’ general manager Rob Blake will hope Kuzmenko can recapture his scoring touch with his third team of the season and bolster his team’s offensive attack. The Kings currently sit third in the Pacific Division with 71 points but are 26th league-wide in goals with 169.
Flyers Sell Low on Kuzmenko
It’s hard to believe that Kuzmenko — who just a season ago commanded a star player in Elias Lindholm from the Flames and earlier this season was traded for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee — would garner just a third-rounder two years from now, but that’s all Flyers general manager Daniel Briere got. It seems like Briere just wanted to get something — anything — for him instead of losing him for nothing in the offseason to unrestricted free agency.
The Flyers, second last in the Metropolitan Division, appear to be pure sellers at this deadline.
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