The LA Kings have signed forward Andrei Kuzmenko to a one-year contract extension worth an average annual value (AAV) of $4,300,000 through the 2025-26 season.
Kuzmenko, 29, played in 22 regular-season games for the Kings last season after being acquired via trade with the Philadelphia Flyers on March 7, 2025. The forward registered five goals and 12 assists for 17 points (5-12=17), including 15 points (5-10=15) in as many contests played at Crypto.com Arena to account for the fifth-most home points by any NHL skater in that span. The 5-11, 195-pound forward made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut this past year with six points (3-3=6) in six games, including a three-point outing (1-2=3) in Game 1 of the First Round to become the second player in franchise history to record a three-point effort in their Stanley Cup Playoffs debut.
The undrafted native of Yakutsk, Russia, made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks in the 2022-23 campaign, tallying a career-high 74 points (39-35=74) in 81 games played in his rookie campaign. Kuzmenko is set to enter his fourth NHL season with a total of 157 points (72-85=157) in 219 regular season appearances split between the Kings, Flyers (2024-25), Calgary Flames (2023-25) and Canucks (2022-24). Of his 72 career tallies, 26 have come on the power-play and 12 have been game-winning markers.
Prior to his NHL career, Kuzmenko skated in parts of eight seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Across 315 regular-season games for CSKA Moskva and SKA St. Petersburg, Kuzmenko accumulating 85 goals and 200 points (85-115=200). The right-shot winger played a total of 61 KHL playoff games, notching 29 points (18-11=29). During the 2021-22 season, Kuzmenko was named the KHL Forward of the Month in December en route to a KHL First All-Star Team selection at the end of the campaign.
Internationally, Kuzmenko has represented Russia at two International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) tournaments, including the 2021 IIHF Men’s World Championships and 2016 IIHF Men’s World Junior Championships.
