Grading the Kings’ Trade for Andrei Kuzmenko

Kings Add Right-Shot Forward 

Kuzmenko has been tossed around like a hot potato, now on his third team in three years, which doesn’t give off the best impression. The appeal with Kuzmenko is his innate ability to put the puck in the net. Coming into the NHL from the Kontinental Hockey League with the Vancouver Canucks in the 2022-23 season, Kuzmenko scored 39 goals and finished with 75 points. Putting up almost 40 goals and 75 points in a rookie season is nothing short of remarkable, but the truth is that Kuzmenko hasn’t been that same productive player since then, only scoring 28 goals in his next 116 games. The major drop-off lowered his value profusely, and it doesn’t help that his cap hit is $5.5 million as well. 

Because Kuzmenko has shown high levels of production in the past, the possibility he can get back to that is there, although it’s getting to the point where it seems like his rookie season may have just been a one-hit wonder. The important part to note, though, is that he needs to be surrounded by talented players to succeed, and that wasn’t something he had the luxury of after he departed from Vancouver. By joining the Kings, Kuzmenko has the chance to play alongside players like Quinton Byfield, Kevin Fiala, or Adrian Kempe. These three could complement Kuzmenko’s skillset very well and be the ones to hopefully propel his game. Kuzmenko has ridiculous hands and one hell of a shot, and if he can play with players who can distribute the puck and create time and space for him in the offensive zone, the puck is going to find the back of the net a lot more often. 

If you have watched or read anything about Kuzmenko, you would know that being responsible defensively is not a part of his game. That strikes up the conversation of whether Kuzmenko could fit with the Kings and their heavily defensive-focused system. His deployment and use will be the most important determining factors of whether he succeeds in Los Angeles, and if he is forced to play the “Kings way” and be punished for his defensive flaws, he is not going to be effective and will end up either on the fourth line or in the press box. 

The current version of Kuzmenko doesn’t provide a big splash for the Kings, but taking a look at both the market and what they gave up, this was a great move. This year’s trade deadline has benefited sellers a whole lot, with players like Anthony Beauvillier and Brandon Tanev costing teams second-round picks. For the Kings to only give up a 2027 third-rounder while having the Flyers retain half of Kuzmenko’s salary, it’s impossible not to like this move for Los Angeles. 

After seeing how active some of the top teams in the Western Conference were at the deadline, this move was a smart one for Blake. Not only do the Kings get a right-shot forward who can provide some much-needed help to the power play and has the potential to make an impact if used correctly, but they got him for a low cost and don’t have to worry about him not working out because he will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. 

The Kings, on paper, aren’t in a place to compete with teams like the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche, so even if they were to go out and trade assets for a higher-caliber player, it wouldn’t make the biggest difference when looking at the teams they could possibly face in the playoffs. 

While this move probably won’t make that much of a difference in terms of how much better the Kings got, it’s a very low-risk move with an upside that could potentially end up working out really well for them. 

Kings Grade: A

Flyers Showcase Solid Asset Management 

Kuzmenko came to the Flyers as part of the January deal that sent Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee to the Calgary Flames. Kuzmenko did pretty well in his short tenure with the Flyers, scoring two goals and recording five points in seven games. 

This deal doesn’t provide much significance for the Flyers. They are near the bottom of the Metropolitan Division and clearly had no interest in re-signing Kuzmenko, so why not flip him to a team that could use him and gain some draft capital in return? 

Retaining salary is probably what allowed them to acquire a third-round pick and not anything lower, and for a team not looking to add any pieces as they aren’t contending for a playoff spot, retaining half of Kuzmenko’s salary until the summer doesn’t negatively affect them in any way.

For the Flyers, this was just a matter of getting some value out of a player they were going to let walk in free agency anyway.

Flyers Grade: A