Canucks Sign Andrei Kuzmenko To Contract Extension
They didn’t listen to me. Although I didn’t expect the new contract extension to only be a two year agreement. The Vancouver Canucks and Andrei Kuzmenko have agreed to a two year contract extension that will pay him an AAV of $5.5 million.
Kuzmenko’s agent was the first to drop the news. Frank Seravalli at the Daily Faceoff added in the details of the new extension. The deal also comes with a 12 team no trade list.
Kuzmenko, 27, takes a two year deal with Vancouver. He made his thoughts well known that he preferred to stay with the Canucks despite all the chaos going on with the franchise. It includes a head coaching change to Rick Tocchet and a fire sale that’s well on the way. Kuzmenko must feel comfortable with Tocchet going forward having signed the extension just two games into his head coaching tenure with the Canucks.
On the surface, this feels like a really good deal for the Canucks. Kuzmenko is still very much in his prime and has performed well in his first year in the NHL after transitioning from the KHL. In 47 games, Kuzmenko has 43 points including 23 goals. His finishing ability has been noticeable and has given Vancouver a reliable top six winger all season.
Given the age and reasonable AAV, it’s hard to hate this deal for the Canucks. Maybe the sample size wasn’t large enough to land a real asset via trade either at the deadline. Locking Kuzmenko going forward gives the Canucks a lot more certainty heading into next year.
