Calgary Flames finalizing trade for veteran sniper Andrei Kuzmenko
The Calgary Flames made veteran sniper Andrei Kuzmenko a healthy scratch late before tonight's game, and are now finalizing a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Kuzmenko has struggled to stay in the Flames lineup as his defensive play is practically non-existent, and his scoring has dried up since leaving the Canucks. Reports earlier this year suggested Kuzmenko could head back to the KHL next year.
Andrei Kuzmenko being dealt to Philadelphia Flyers
According to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, the Philadelphia Flyers are the team making the jump to trade for Kuzmenko from the Calgary Flames.
The full return for the trade isn't known yet, but with Kuzmenko's $5.5M salary, the Flames will need to take some money back in the trade to stay above the salary cap floor of $60M.
According to Elliotte Friedman, the Flames will also be sending away Jakob Pelletier in the deal.
It appears the Flyers will send Morgan Frost in return for the trade.
The Philadelphia Flyers also have had positive relationships with Russian players in the last few seasons, perhaps giving them some confidence they would be able to retain him and keep him in North America this offseason.
Now 28 years old, Kuzmenko burst into the NHL in the 2022-23 season with 39 goals and 74 points on the Vancouver Canucks.
He looked like he was going to be the next KHL superstar in the NHL, but the next season, his production cratered and was dealt to the Calgary Flames - where offence is hard to come by.
Perhaps Kuzmenko is reinvigorated by a fresh start on a new team, but also in Philadelphia, offence will be hard to create under Tortorella's defensive system. We'll see if the Flyers and Flames are able to finalize the deal.
This story will be updated as more details on the trade are broken.
