Andrei Kuzmenko Staying With Kings On One-Year Extension

Andrei Kuzmenko Staying With Kings On One Year Extension

Andrei Kuzmenko is avoiding free agency at the eleventh hour. The Russian forward is returning to the Los Angeles Kings on a one-year, $4.3 million contract. News broke minutes ago when the team announced it themselves:

The @LAKings have signed forward Andrei Kuzmenko to a one-year contract extension worth an average annual value (AAV) of $4,300,000 through the 2025-26 season. pic.twitter.com/J9L7rFynrZ

— LA Kings PR (@LAKingsPR) June 30, 2025

Kuzmenko enjoyed a very productive post-deadline runway in LA. He scored five goals and 17 points in 22 games, followed with three goals and three assists in six playoff games. The former Canuck also gave Los Angeles a much needed boost on the powerplay, and also earned the highest average ice time in any of his NHL stops. This is a well-deserved low risk move by Ken Holland and it keeps around a piece that may provide very important offense next season.

He represents an important secondary scoring element behind the likes of Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe. He is obviously nowhere near the 39-goal, 74 point firecracker he showed in Vancouver in 2022-2023. However, he will certainly have a role to play in the Kings’ middle six as they look to tread water in an absolutely stacked Western Conference. You can expose him with skating and defensive acumen but his abilities in the O-zone will keep him on the ice:

Andrei Kuzmenko, signed 1x$4.3M by LA, is an efficient scoring winger with a deceptive release from distance, a knack for placing deflections, and superb hands in tight. One of the slowest skaters in the league and not remotely physical but never a defensive liability. #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/AVRCfIxwyq

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) June 30, 2025

Welcome To July

Free agency is creeping open in both the NHL and NBA so there is plenty more to come. For the Kings, however, it is a very important offseason. After getting bounced in the first round to the Oilers again, LA decided to bounce former executive Rob Blake in favor for veteran Ken Holland. He definitely has the occasional clunker of a move (like trading Jordan Spence for nothing), but he is inheriting a pretty solid NHL roster with some young talent to boot.

Outside of Kuzmenko the other main priority is deciding what to do with Vladislav Gavrikov. There are murmurs out there that he favors a move to the Rangers and partnering Adam Fox but a return to LA is not completely off the cards. After this move they still have $19.6 million in cap space so they can handily afford bringing him back along with a second goalie and filling out the bottom six. However, it is an arm’s race in today’s market as there are not any flat out rebuilders besides maybe Chicago. Almost every team wants to get better and, as a result, don’t want to give up talented players unless they get NHL roster players in return. It should go for a fascinating dynamic between trades and free agency this Summer.

Aaron Ekblad Inks Eight-Year Extension With Panthers

Andrei Kuzmenko enjoyed a small renaissance of sorts with the Kings last season. He will now have a chance to parlay that fast start into another nice contract during 2025-2026.

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