Rumor: Ottawa wants Andrei Kuzmenko (SKA, KHL)

[Kshahdoo]

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[2020 Cup Champions]

Whosmenko

 

[Altimus]

Andrei Kuzmenko at eliteprospects.com

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

RW/LW. 2nd in KHL scoring. Leads SKA in scoring by a large margin and is outproducing his teammate, Gusev, by a slim margin in pts/game.

Top 5-10 season for a player his age (25) in KHL history. Up there with the likes of Backstrom (lockout season), Radulov, Gusev, Cervenka, Kovar and Da Costa.

Seems intriguing. Had 2pts in 2 games in last years WC but not much other international experience. Been a steady producer the last few years and has played pro since 18 but exploded offensively this year.

Hopefully works out better for them than Dadonov.

Dadonov worked out just fine, all things considered. Paid him 3.5m of a 15m contract and then parlayed him into Holden (probably our 3rd best D this season) & a 3rd.

The real blunder was letting Duclair go for him!

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

Hopefully works out better for them than Dadonov.

 

[Brodeur]

Because of his age (26 if he signs with an NHL club this spring), Kuzmenko is required to sign a 1 year ELC and then could be UFA in the summer of 2023. So there'd be a limit of how much guaranteed money + bonuses that a team could offer, so he'd likely be looking for a situation where he could get ice time.

 

[SpezDispenser]

Free wallet!

 

[Anthony5967]

I'm assuming he's OTT bound unless Dorion blows his own foot off here. Haven't heard of any teams by name expressing interest.

 

[HSF]

I'm assuming he's OTT bound unless Dorion blows his own foot off here. Haven't heard of any teams by name expressing interest.

apparently lots of teams had interest in november. Don't know who

 

[Kshahdoo]

People say Carolina wants him too.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

Because of his age (26 if he signs with an NHL club this spring), Kuzmenko is required to sign a 1 year ELC and then could be UFA in the summer of 2023. So there'd be a limit of how much guaranteed money + bonuses that a team could offer, so he'd likely be looking for a situation where he could get ice time.

I think Ottawa can offer ice time haha.

 

[King Karl]

I think Ottawa can offer ice time haha.

Absolutely. Could easily find a spot on our second line.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

Absolutely. Could easily find a spot on our second line.

I dunno about 'easily'. Would have to beat out at least 2-3 of Tkachuk, Batherson, Stutzle/Pinto, C. Brown, Formenton. Not an unthinkable task, but doing so would make him one of the more successful instances of KHL vet fwd -> NHL.

I think he would have a better chance at a top 9 spot than with most other teams, though, that's for sure. Things level off pretty quickly after our top 4 or 5 wingers.

 

[2020 Cup Champions]

How are we not in on this guy?

 

[Guttersniped]

Ottawa:

 

[kerrabria]

Andrei Kuzmenko at eliteprospects.com

He's 25 and has been in the KHL for a while. This is first big year. I'm gonna have very tempered expectations.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

How are we not in on this guy?

You probably are.

Back in 2018, his North American agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey told Championat that 24 teams had expressed interest in his client. In the same interview, he spoke about the interest in Ilya Mikheyev and Artem Zub, who subsequently came over and found success.

And he has only progressed since then.

From EF:

One non-North American to watch in Beijing will be Russia’s Andrei Kuzmenko. I’ve written about him before, and interest continues to be hot across the NHL. According to several sources, he’s in no hurry to sign and likely won’t commit until after his KHL season ends. He’s also told teams the right fit is most important to him. Under CBA rules, he’s eligible for a one-year contract, and can be unrestricted in the summer of 2023.

I don't think Ottawa is close to the only team interested and probably not even the front-runner. Just one of the teams involved and, due to the Zub connection & their meeting with Milstein, probably in legitimate contention for him.

He's 25 and has been in the KHL for a while. This is first big year. I'm gonna have very tempered expectations.

Expectations on these guys should always be tempered - especially offensive players - but there has been interest in him for a while now. Obviously his agent could have been pumping his tires, but it seems like the only reason he wasn't in the NHL several years ago was because he chose not to.

 

[2020 Cup Champions]

You probably are.



And he has only progressed since then.

From EF:


I don't think Ottawa is close to the only team interested and probably not even the front-runner. Just one of the teams involved and, due to the Zub connection & their meeting with Milstein, probably in legitimate contention for him.

Expectations on these guys should always be tempered - especially offensive players - but there has been interest in him for a while now. Obviously his agent could have been pumping his tires, but it seems like the only reason he wasn't in the NHL several years ago was because he chose not to.

Yeah, after I posted that I thought to myself that our FO is probably following him with interest. Sometimes we have free agent signings that really come out of nowhere. I don't recall ABB, Gourde, or Bogosian signings being in the TBL media eye before they were announced by the club (but I could very easily be wrong about that).

 

[SensFactor]

Is this Ottawa's version of Ilya Mikheyev? If so, good move by the Sens. We need a top 6 with players older than 23. Tkachuk, Norris, Stutzle, Batherson are all going to be good down the line but are just kids.

 

[SensFactor]

 

[Brodeur]

How are we not in on this guy?

As others mentioned, multiple teams have kicked the tires most likely including Tampa. Since Kuzmenko has to sign a 1 year ELC, there's not much teams can do regarding the length/amount of the contract. So it may end up being a recruitment process with the promise / likelihood of NHL ice time in 2022-23. We've seen other guys come over like Alexander Barabanov who signed with Toronto only to struggle for ice time but could find success in San Jose with more time.

Joining a contending team like Tampa could be very attractive, especially if the Lightning need a cheap contract to potentially replace Palat next season. On the flip side, the player (and his agent) might look at Tampa and figure that Kuzmenko would be low on the totem pole for PP time, so he might not get the chance to put up numbers as he enters a possible UFA contract in 2023.

 

[Knies iT]

Milstein has a strong relationship with Dubas. Past Leaf clients include Mikheyev, Barabanov, Korshkov, Zaitsev, Lehtonen, etc.

Could see TOR swooping in here much like they did with Lehtonen, but might be hard pressed to guarantee him NHL minutes like OTT could.

Is this Ottawa's version of Ilya Mikheyev? If so, good move by the Sens. We need a top 6 with players older than 23. Tkachuk, Norris, Stutzle, Batherson are all going to be good down the line but are just kids.

Completely different players stylistically. Milstein is also on record saying he believes Mikheyev is the best KHL undrafted UFA since Panarin.

Probably closer to Barabanov who has also done well in SJ. 9/10 of these guys fail though.

 

[TheDoldrums]

Milstein will want to put him in a situation to put up points before he quickly becomes a UFA.

Milsteins had a bit of a pipeline to Toronto but not sure he'll want this guy going there. He's pushed for Mikheyev to get more PP time and has watched him fail to grab a regular top 6 role, there's definitely other teams where Kuzmemko will have more guaranteed opportunities.

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

So what’s his nhl upside, if any?

 

[2020 Cup Champions]

So what’s his nhl upside, if any?

He's got 52 points in 42 games playing for SKA St. Petersburg. Panarin had 62 in 54 (Kuzmenko would have 66-67 at current pace in this many games) the season before he came over and Kaprizov had 62 in 57 (Kuzmenko:70-71 at current pace in this many games) for CSKA Moscow, for comparison. Not to say his production will directly translate but I think his situation is probably not terribly different with respect to having other talent to play with.