Reunion in the works as NHL insider has Andrei Kuzmenko re-joining the Vancouver Canucks
Photo credit: The Athletic
When the free agent market opens at 9 am PT on July 1st, the Vancouver Canucks could potentially bring back one of their former forwards, who is set to become a UFA.
There's no question that General Manager Patrik Allvin and the Vancouver Canucks' management staff are going to be quite busy this summer on both the free agent and trade markets to try and upgrade the team's roster heading into the 2025-26 season.
Allvin will have a number of intriguing free agent options to consider this summer to fill holes left by Brock Boeser, who will be a UFA on Canada Day and J.T. Miller, traded to the New York Rangers in late January.
Could former Vancouver Canuck Andrei Kuzmenko potentially return?
At the trade deadline in March, the Los Angeles Kings went out to acquire some depth and landed former Vancouver Canucks forward Andrei Kuzmenko from the Philadelphia Flyers.
Kuzmenko was arguably one of the best trade deadline additions this year as he finished the regular season with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 22 games and followed that up with six points (three goals, three assists) during six Stanley Cup Playoff games.
The Yakutsk, Russia native is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and will have plenty of interest from teams around the league based on his strong finish to the 2024-25 campaign, but could a reunion with the Vancouver Canucks be in the cards?
In a recent article on Canucks Army, Stephan Roget looked into the possibility of a potential return of Andrei Kuzmenko to Vancouver and believes it could be a good way to get Elias Pettersson going as the two had chemistry during the 2022-23 season, which saw the Swedish forward set a career-high in points with 102.
Roget also believes that when it comes to market value, Andrei Kuzmenko could replace at least part of the production they'd be losing with the departure of Brock Boeser.
"A reunion with his old running mate isn't the worst idea in the world to get Pettersson going again." Roget said.
He added, "In terms of market value, we'd have to imagine that Kuzmenko would be coming in to at least partially replace the contributions of Brock Boeser to the top-six. While the 2025 Free Agent Frenzy will be especially frenzied this year due to the cap ceiling increase, Kuzmenko still doesn't project as someone who will break the bank. At the very least, we can confidently project that his contract will come in as significantly cheaper than Boeser's."
He added, "In terms of market value, we'd have to imagine that Kuzmenko would be coming in to at least partially replace the contributions of Brock Boeser to the top-six. While the 2025 Free Agent Frenzy will be especially frenzied this year due to the cap ceiling increase, Kuzmenko still doesn't project as someone who will break the bank. At the very least, we can confidently project that his contract will come in as significantly cheaper than Boeser's."
One positive note for Andrei Kuzmenko if he were to consider a return to Vancouver is that Rick Tocchet, who healthy scratched him and limited his ice time prior the trade to Calgary in January 2024, is no longer with the team and if Patrik Allvin & Canucks players can convince him to come back, it would be a really solid fit in a middle-six role.
Source: Stephan Roget/Canucks Army
Is a reunion between Andrei Kuzmenko and the Canucks possible this summer?
Is a reunion between Andrei Kuzmenko and the Canucks possible this summer?
| POLL | ||
MAI 9 | 1198 ANSWERS Reunion in the works as NHL insider has Andrei Kuzmenko re-joining the Vancouver Canucks Should the Vancouver Canucks bring back Andrei Kuzmenko? | ||
| Yes | 639 | 53.3 % |
| No | 559 | 46.7 % |
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