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After a fourth straight first-round exit to the Oilers, the Los Angeles Kings will look to improve this offseason to finally get past the Oilers. The Kings have hired a new GM tasked with getting them over the hump. One of the first tasks for the new GM will be looking at the Kings' pending free agents, including Andrei Kuzmenko. We look at the three best landing spots for Kuzmeno in this 2025 NHL free agency period.
Kuzmenko was a midseason acquisition for the Kings this year. He began his career with the Cnuacks before being moved in the 2023-24 season to the Flames. The Flames traded Kuzmenko to the Flyers during the season. He would play just seven games with the Flyers before being moved to the Kings. In 22 games with the Kings, Kuzmenko scored five goals and added 12 assists. Further, in three NHL seasons, Kuzmenko is averaging over 50 points per year.
Kuzemko is coming off a contract with an AAV of just $2.75 million, and is expected to command a contract closer to $4.5 million AAV. This makes Kuzmenko an affordable option with a high upside for many teams.
Kuzmenko stays in LA
The Kings acquired Kuzmenko from the Flyers for fairly cheap. They brought him in for a 2027 second-round pick, while the Flyers also retained half of his salary and sent a 2025-seventh seventh-round pick in the deal. Still, Kuzmenko was immediately productive. He scored five goals with 12 assists in just 22 games. That is good for .77 points per game, slightly better than his career average. He also made an impact on the power play, having five assists. The Kings should look to bring Kuzmenko back just for his ability on the power play. They were 27th in the NHL on the power play, but improved towards the end of the season.
Further, the Kings are excited to have $23 million in cap space. While the Kings are expected to be aggressive with other free agents this offseason, they will still have plenty of money to bring back Kuzmenko. Further, if the Kings bring in another top-quality free agent, such as Mitch Marner, they could keep Kuzmenko on the power play and join him with Kevin Fiala and Quinton Byfield on the second line.
The Blue Jackets need scoring
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The Blue Jackets are expected to have over $40 million in cap space this offseason, and the Blue Jackets could be looking to spend their cash or draft capital. Kuzmenko could be a solid addition to the Blue Jackets. First, Kuzmenko would be able to join other Russian-born players, Kirill Marchenko and Dmitry Voronokov. Further, he would provide another top-quality scoring option. Since coming over from Russia, Kuzmenko has averaged 27 goals and 31.8 assists per 82 games played. Those totals would be some of the best on the Blue Jackets.
The goal total would be third on the team, behind Kirill Marchenko and Adam Fantilli. Marchenko projects to stay on the top line with Sean Monahan and Boone Jenner, but Fantilli could be a linemate with Marchenko. Further, 31.8 assists would have been fifth on the team this year. The Blue Jackets have a solid top-five forward, but replacing a player such as James van Riemsdyk on the second line would improve the entire lineup. Still, the Blue Jackets could keep van Reimsdyk on the second line and pair Kuzmenko with Voronkov on the third line, giving three full lines of scoring options.
The Wild bring in another winger
The Minnesota Wild could also be looking to strengthen their forwards this offseason. Priority number one will be to re-sign Kirill Kaprizov, who becomes eligible for an extension this offseason as he heads into the final year of his contract. Still, the Wild have four forwards who are free agents. They could lose restricted free-agent Marco Rossi, who was second on the team in points this year. Kuzmenko would not be a perfect replacement, but could be suitable and at a slightly lower cost.
Still, the Wild are expected to have $23.4 million in cap space, meaning they could easily bring back Rossi and upgrade other positions. Marcus Johansson and Gustav Nyquist are both free agents, and both played on the third line this past season. Johansson scored just 34 points this past year, while Nyquist had 28 between two teams. Further, the Wild were 20th in the NHL this year on the power play. While the Wild have Kaprizov, who has shown he can score on the power play, they will need someone to help set him up. Kuzmenko could be that missing piece, which would improve the scoring output as a whole.
