"He wants the puck": Flames getting tremendous value from Andrei Kuzmenko
Andrei Kuzmenko is far from a perfect player, but he has proven to be an excellent fit for the Calgary Flames early on.
Kuzmenko was part of the package the Flames acquired from the Vancouver Canucks in a trade that saw Elias Lindholm head the other way. The 28-year-old was struggling at the time of the deal with eight goals and 21 points through 43 games, and his placement in the trade was viewed by many as a cap dump.
The Flames not only had the money to take on Kuzmenko’s $5.5 million cap hit, but were also able to give him a fair opportunity from the get-go given where they have been in the standings all season. The hope was that he could rediscover his form from a season ago, where he recorded 39 goals and 74 points in 81 games, and so far, so good.
Despite the Flames falling to the Anaheim Ducks by a 5-3 final last night, Kuzmenko was solid once again, scoring two goals in nearly 18 minutes of ice time. His first of the night, which briefly gave his team a 2-1 lead, was arguably the nicest goal he’s scored in his 21 games with the Flames.
Patience pays off for Andrei Kuzmenko! š„ pic.twitter.com/2l7s9NXVkT
— NHL (@NHL) April 3, 2024
With the two-goal output, Kuzmenko now has nine goals and 14 points with the Flames. That would put him at a 35-goal pace over a full 82-game schedule, which is all general manager Craig Conroy could have hoped for when he acquired the Russian sniper.
Kuzmenko has seemed to find chemistry with several teammates. He began his Flames tenure on a line with Yegor Sharangovich and Jonathan Huberdeau, which, from an offensive standpoint, seemed to gel. Recently, he has found himself on a line with Nazem Kadri and Martin Pospisil, and the trio is starting to mesh well together.
“[Kadri] is competitive, [Pospisil] knows his role really well. I think he had seven or eight hits tonight,” head coach Ryan Huska said. “Kuzy’s starting to feel good about his offensive game, so he wants the puck, he wants to be around it. I think the three of them are starting to feed off each other.”
There are flaws in Kuzmenko’s game, particularly on the defensive side of the puck. Those issues were known prior to his acquisition, however. What the Flames had hoped for was that he would get his offensive touch back, and he has certainly done that. Whether he sticks around past next season or perhaps gets traded at or ahead of next year’s trade deadline for future pieces remains to be seen, but either way, his short time in Calgary has been a major success so far.
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