Andrei Kuzmenko: Can He Rebuild His Fantasy Hockey Value In Calgary?
Andrei Kuzmenko was shipped to Calgary in the Elias Lindholm trade. The crazy part about it is this move just might be a breath of fresh air for fantasy owners. Can the Russian forward rebuild his fantasy value with the Flames?
Kuzmenko, 28, was a rookie sensation a year ago scoring 39 goals in 81 games. This year he’s down to eight in 43 games. Does anybody know what type of guy we’re going to see with the Flames? The good news is Kuzmenko actually had to approve the trade to Calgary after having them on his no-trade list. The Flames made promises to him and early indications are that he will play on the first line again.
Coming into the season, Kuzmenko was an incredibly tough player to project. Was Kuzmenko just a flash in the pan or was he going to prove to be a dominant goal scorer? I still don’t think we know the answer to that question. Mostly because much of Kuzmenko’s struggles this season are due to the fact that Rick Tocchet clearly didn’t like him burying him lower in the lineup.
Kuzmenko is clearly gifted offensively but he’s dirt slow and needs to play with defensively responsible players. I’m not sure this will work unless they put the right type of players around him.
As I said in the Lindholm fantasy post, I hope I’ve earned your trust by now after continuing to embarrass Sean Allen. With that said, this is my advice…
If you have Kuzmenko, feel free to sell him. I’m not sure anybody in Calgary has value. That’s not a team I want stock of right now. If you have been holding onto Kuzmenko, this is the fresh start you’re looking for. Monitor how he performs early with the Flames and adjust accordingly from there.
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