Andrei Kuzmenko

Playing career

Kuzmenko began his Kontinental Hockey League career with CSKA Moscow in the 2014–15 season. During the 2017–18 campaign, as a 21-year-old, he set personal bests of 13 goals and 25 points in 45 games with CSKA, and added four goals in 15 playoff contests as the club reached the Gagarin Cup finals. On August 8, 2018, CSKA traded Kuzmenko to SKA Saint Petersburg in exchange for Sergey Kalinin. In his fourth year with SKA, the 2021–22 season, he produced 20 goals and 33 assists for 53 points in 45 regular-season games, leading the team in scoring. He continued at a point-per-game pace in the postseason with 14 points in 14 games before SKA lost in the Conference finals to eventual champions CSKA Moscow. As an undrafted free agent, Kuzmenko signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks on June 20, 2022. He made his NHL debut on October 13, scoring a goal in a 5–3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. On November 3, he recorded his first career NHL hat-trick and a four-point game in an 8–5 win over the Anaheim Ducks, bringing his totals to six goals and four assists through 11 games. On January 26, 2023, he signed a two-year, $11 million contract extension with the Canucks. On January 31, 2024, after a difficult sophomore season that included multiple healthy scratches, Kuzmenko was traded to the Calgary Flames along with draft picks and prospects for Elias Lindholm. On January 30, 2025, the Flames traded him and Jakob Pelletier plus two draft picks to the Philadelphia Flyers for Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost. After seven games with the Flyers, on March 7, Kuzmenko and a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NHL entry draft were sent to the Los Angeles Kings for a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL entry draft, with the Flyers retaining 50% of his salary. On July 1, 2026, he signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.