Kings acquire Andrei Kuzmenko from Flyers for 2027 third-round pick

The Los Angeles Kings have acquired winger Andrei Kuzmenko from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick.

Kuzmenko had recently been acquired by the Flyers at the end of January as part of the return for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee in the trade that sent them to the Calgary Flames. With the Flyers not close to contending for a playoff spot, it was expected that they would look to flip him again before the trade deadline. He was ranked 38th on Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli’s Trade Targets list ahead of the deadline.

The Flyers also retained 50% of Kuzmenko’s $5.5 million cap hit, meaning that the Kings will have him at just $2.75 million. He is in the final year of his contract, and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Kuzmenko has dealt with his fair share of struggles this season, both in terms of staying in the lineup and with production. He has just 6 goals and 14 assists for 20 points in 44 games, although he did have 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points in just 7 games since joining the Flyers.

Kuzmenko was a free agent signing out of the KHL by the Vancouver Canucks in 2022, and after a season and a half with the team, he was dealt to the Flames as part of the return for Elias Lindholm in 2024. He spent most of the past year with the Flames before he was dealt again to the Flyers more than a month ago.

The Kings will hope that they get the latter production out of Kuzmenko, or even the player that scored 39 goals in his debut season with the Canucks in 2022-23, as they’ll look to add more scoring options to their team. Despite sitting in a playoff spot with a 31-20-9 record, Los Angeles ranks 24th in the league in goals for per game at 2.8.

Kuzmenko will have a chance to make his Kings debut on Saturday when they host the St. Louis Blues at 5 p.m. PST.