The Ottawa Senators are flirting with a playoff spot, which is something that hasn’t been able to be typed out in the month of January in a very long time. While things are going pretty well this season, all things considered, there are definitely some things that need to be addressed. The goaltending could use some help with Linus Ullmark out, and the defense could get a bit stronger, but one of the more glaring issues lately has been goal-scoring. The Senators could take advantage of the Calgary Flames and acquire forward Andrei Kuzmenko for a low price, and it could work out very well.
Senators Goal-Scoring Inabilities
To start the season, scoring goals was no issue for the Senators. They had their top forwards contributing, as well as some great additional scoring support from Adam Gaudette, Jake Sanderson, and others. As is usually the case, the offense has slowed down, but it got to the extent that the Senators are barely scoring enough to stay in games, let alone win them.
Since the conclusion of the big win streak leading into the holiday break, the Senators are 2-5-1, and in those eight games, the Senators have scored just 15 goals, with five of them coming in their most recent game, a 5-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. While some things do play a factor, including the fact that a lot of the Senators players had some sort of illness, in the NHL, there are no excuses for scoring just 10 goals in seven games.
Related: Senators Shut Out Penguins 5-0 in Dominant Performance
The 5-0 win against the Penguins certainly helps make the case for the Senators being out of their slump, but regardless, they could certainly still use some help on the wings.
Kuzmenko Struggling in Calgary
Over the last 17 Flames games, Kuzmenko has dressed for just seven of them. He has very clearly fallen out of favor with the team and is being regularly healthy scratched.
In 32 games this season, Kuzmenko has recorded just one goal and nine assists, giving him 10 points.
As a 26-year-old, Kuzmenko transferred from the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and joined the Vancouver Canucks. He had an excellent first season, recording 39 goals and 74 points in 81 games. That was just two seasons ago. He started the 2023-24 season with the Canucks and struggled to get back to the pace he had been on the season before. He ended up being traded to the Flames in a package for Elias Lindholm, and finished the season strong with Calgary.
To finish off the 2023-24 season, Kuzmenko scored 14 goals and 25 points in 29 games. So far this season, it has started off even worse than last season with the Canucks, and the Senators can take advantage of that.
Senators Could Use Kuzmenko’s Goal-Scoring
A 39-goal season doesn’t usually happen by accident, especially in a first season. Now, Kuzmenko has struggled to stay consistent outside of that first season, but the cost of acquisition would be low enough that the Senators could certainly take that risk.
Outside of his goal-scoring, Kuzmenko doesn’t bring much with his play. He isn’t strong defensively and doesn’t accrue many hits or blocks, so when he isn’t producing, having him out of the lineup is fair. The Senators have a better top-end of forwards than the Flames, and it is clear Kuzmenko can’t carry his own line to success. Pairing up with two players like Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk could lead to a great path to success for Kuzmenko in Ottawa.
Kuzmenko is 28 years old and has an expiring contract. He currently has a cap hit of $5.5 million, which is a bit rich for what he is currently bringing. It would be realistic to think that either the Flames would be willing to retain salary on the player, or the Senators could find a third party to retain salary.
The cost for the player would be a mid-round pick, likely a fourth-round pick, making it well worth the risk. Finding a team to retain salary, whether it be the Flames or someone else, would probably cost another pick in the same range as a fourth. The Senators don’t have a 2025 fourth-round pick, but they have three third-round picks in 2026 and a fourth. If they could use one of each of those to acquire Kuzmenko with a cap hit of $2.75 million, it could make a lot of sense.
The Senators could also opt to send Anton Forsberg to the Flames, and while they seem content with Dustin Wolf and Dan Vladar, the future of Vladar is still up in the air, and if they decide to sell some assets and go for a higher pick, Forsberg could make sense in the deal too.
General managers are able to get creative with trades, so if those options don’t work for either Steve Staios or Craig Conroy, they could certainly figure out a better alternative. Regardless of what that is, the cost of the player is low enough, with the potential reward being high enough, it should be a no-brainer for the Senators to look to acquire Kuzmenko.
