27-year-old winger Andrei Kuzmenko has seen a marked decline in ice time over recent months. At the back end of November, the Vancouver Canucks player was even scratched from the roster altogether for two NHL games. This resulted in a string of trade rumors into Kuzmenko’s availability from rival teams.
Reports suggest that Kuzmenko could be made available for a trade in early 2024, despite being midway through a two-year contract worth $11 million.
Head coach Rick Tocchet has not been shy about expressing his irritation at Kuzmenko’s lack of consistency. When Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre raised the issue of Kuzmenko’s long-term future with the Canucks, president Jim Rutherford insisted the team wouldn’t “lock itself into a specific direction” over the Russian’s destiny.
Kuzmenko overperformed in 2022-23
In 2022-23, Kuzmenko bagged an impressive 39 goals in 81 games during his debut season for the Canucks. His inability to replicate last season’s form has surprised the team’s ownership, coaching staff, and fans alike. His goalscoring and creative flair last season were some of the main reasons why some NHL analysts had Vancouver as a dark horse for the postseason playoffs in 2023-24.
However, the Canucks are to be considered candidates for the 2023/24 Stanley Cup. The latest NHL odds from sports betting platform Betano have Vancouver priced at +1700 alongside the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup futures market. They’re currently first in the Pacific Division with the Vegas Golden Knights only two points behind.
Not even Kuzmenko’s fine power-play goal in Vancouver’s recent 4-1 victory over the Lightning appears to have changed the opinion of the Canucks’ hierarchy.
What’s the catch regarding a potential trade for Kuzmenko?
With Vancouver said to be keeping an open mind on making cap room and Kuzmenko still blowing hot and cold, any potential suitors will need to be mindful of the complexities within the Russian’s contract. Not least the 12-team no-trade list, which gives him a semblance of control over his destiny should a trade materialize.
Kuzmenko’s $5.5 million salary could certainly give the Canucks plenty more headroom, while it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the Russian rediscovers his 22-23 form elsewhere at a team requiring a bottom-six boost to make a deep postseason playoff bid.
There’s a general feeling that the Canucks may have been blinded by Kuzmenko’s blistering 22-23 form. The Russian has never been considered a player who will track up and down the ice and battle harder and faster than his opponents. He’s been a streaky goal scorer for most of his professional hockey career. Even his statistics in 23-24 are by no means dreadful, they just don’t track the tally of a 40-goal marksman.
It’s possible another NHL team may be able to look past his feast-or-famine goalscoring tendencies and value the qualities he clearly possesses. He has always been adept in power-play situations – as evidenced when recently scoring against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He’s someone who can excel in between the face-off dots and beneath the hash marks of the offense zone. A change of scene at a team in need of a high-pressure goal scorer could be just what Kuzmenko needs to regain his confidence. Vancouver may be guilty of forever judging Kuzmenko on his 22-23 form which may never be replicated again.
Does that make him a bad player overnight? Far from it. But the Canucks may feel they’re now overpaying for a player who is reverting to his mean form. Vancouver needs to move fast on their gut instincts during the trade window and Kuzmenko could be the shock departure of the 2023-24 regular season.
