NHL teams continue their pursuit of Russian free agent Andrei Kuzmenko
Plenty of NHL teams have expressed interest in signing Russian free agent Andrei Kuzmenko, who's currently in the third round of the KHL playoffs with his club, SKA St. Petersburg.
During Thursday's edition of Insider Trading, Chris Johnston mentioned that several teams continue to be interested in Kuzmenko, and he'll be eligible to sign a contract in the National Hockey League as of May 1st.
"Well especially in Andrei Kuzmenko, Gino and he's a player that's still involved in the playoffs with SKA St. Petersburg in the third round. So his focus might not be on the NHL just yet but there's certainly a lot of teams from this side of the pond that are keeping an eye on him." Johnston said.
He added, "He had over a point per game this year in the KHL. I think what's interesting is that even with the situation with Russia having invaded Ukraine, it doesn't seem to have scared teams off at this point. And his contract in Russia runs through April 30. So as of May 1, he's available to sign an NHL deal. Unlike some other Russian free agents, I don't think this one is cooked. I do believe once his season gets done, he's willing to talk to multiple teams, consider his options, and pick someone from there."
He added, "He had over a point per game this year in the KHL. I think what's interesting is that even with the situation with Russia having invaded Ukraine, it doesn't seem to have scared teams off at this point. And his contract in Russia runs through April 30. So as of May 1, he's available to sign an NHL deal. Unlike some other Russian free agents, I don't think this one is cooked. I do believe once his season gets done, he's willing to talk to multiple teams, consider his options, and pick someone from there."
Kuzmenko, 26, had a strong regular season with SKA St. Petersburg, and is matching that success in the playoffs too. In 45 regular season games, he put up 53 points (20 goals, 33 assists), and in 12 playoff games, Kuzmenko has 13 points (7 goals, 6 assists).
Source: Chris Johnston - Insider Trading.
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