Wednesday, 27 Apr 2022. 08:59
After a stellar season in the KHL with SKA St. Petersburg, forward Andrei Kuzmenko will have plenty of options in the NHL when his contract in Russia expires.
TSN network insider Chris Johnston reported Tuesday that more than half of Bettman Tour teams plan to contact the 26-year-old winger.
“He’s ready to start discussions next week with NHL teams, and we think there will be 20 teams that will at least indicate their interest. He and his agent Dan Milstein will review the options, try to narrow them down to five or six, have conversations and then make a final decision.
“Kuzmenko averaged a point per game in the KHL. Obviously there is a lot of interest. What is he looking for? He wants to go to a place where he can play, where he will have a role. He hasn’t identified a particular city where he would like to play. »
Kuzmenko has a career-high 20 goals and 53 points in 45 games this season. He maintained his one-point-per-game average in the playoffs with seven goals and seven assists in 14 games.
Hailing from Yakutsk in Russia, Kuzmenko was never drafted. He played for Russia at the 2016 World Juniors, scoring zero points in seven games.
He has spent the last eight seasons in the KHL and has worn the colors of SKA Saint Petersburg since leaving CSKA Moscow in 2018.
