When the Calgary Flames first acquired Andrei Kuzmenko partway through the 2023-24 season, the expectation was that he would be flipped sometime between then and the 2025 Trade Deadline. The theory made plenty of sense, as the Flames are in the early stages of a rebuild and would be able to move him for another piece that could help improve their future.
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What seemingly no one expected, however, was for Kuzmenko to fit in as seamlessly as he did. The 28-year-old wound up scoring 14 goals and 25 points in 29 games with the Flames last season, all while quickly becoming a fan favourite. All of a sudden, a trade didn’t seem quite as probable.
Shortly before the 2024-25 season began, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported that the Flames were interested in extending Kuzmenko. It wasn’t a complete surprise given how well he fit in, but some questioned whether it made sense given his age and the current state the team is in. Now, given how he’s started the 2024-25 season, it’s become crystal clear that a trade is the right move to make.
Kuzmenko Is Extremely Inconsistent
After a number of successful seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), Kuzmenko chose to sign a one-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks ahead of 2022-23. It was an immediate success, as he had a phenomenal rookie season, scoring 39 goals and 74 points in 81 games. The Canucks were thrilled with his play and quickly rewarded him with a two-year, $11 million extension.
Things didn’t go well in year two for Kuzmenko, however, as he struggled to adjust under a new head coach in Rick Tocchet, and found himself sitting out of the lineup as a healthy scratch on numerous occasions. The Canucks eventually decided they had seen enough, and sent him to the Flames as part of the Elias Lindholm trade.
As fate had it, Kuzmenko began producing like he had a season prior immediately after joining the Flames. Many figured that his dip in scoring was simply due to a bad fit with Tocchet, but based on how he’s begun this season, that may not be the case.
Kuzmenko has really struggled to begin the 2024-25 campaign, finding the back of the net just once through 15 games. It isn’t due to a lack of opportunity, as he’s spent plenty of time in the top six and has had minutes on the power play. It looks like it’s instead a case of a very streaky player.
Flames Better Off to Pick Up an Asset
Despite Kuzmenko’s struggles early on this season, there will still be interest in him come the trade deadline. Teams are always looking to improve ahead of the playoffs, and adding a forward who has proven he can put up big numbers like Kuzmenko will interest several general managers (GMs).
Though the Flames have gotten off to a good start this season, they are still years away from being a true Stanley Cup contender. They are on the right path, however, adding plenty of prospects and draft picks since Craig Conroy has taken over as GM. It’s important not to rush their plan, and extending Kuzmenko would make it seem as though that’s what they’re doing.
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By moving out Kuzmenko, the Flames could elect to sign a free-agent forward on a short-term deal similar to what they did with Anthony Mantha this past offseason. They again could rely on that forward to keep them afloat offensively for a big portion of the year, and once again flip him to a playoff contender at or ahead of the trade deadline.
As painful as rebuilds can be, the Flames fanbase seems to be on board with the moves Conroy has made so far. It’s quite obvious that most Calgarians grew very frustrated with watching this organization be so mediocre for as long as they were, resulting in them being willing to go through a few rough years to ensure better success in the future. Trading Kuzmenko, rather than extending him, will help with that.
