It was a short-lived tenure with Philadelphia for Andrei Kuzmenko. While he impressed in seven games, he was likely going to be flipped when the deadline came around.
And that's exactly what the Flyers did, sending him to the Los Angeles Kings for a third round pick in 2027. A 2025 seventh round pick is going the Kings way as Philadelphia will also be retaining 50% of Kuzmenko's contract, though he's a free agent at the end of the season. They have one retention spot left with Kevin Hayes' deal coming off after the 2025-26 season.
Sounds like Andrei Kuzmenko from PHI to LA
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 7, 2025
Kuzmenko came over in the trade from the Flames, waiving his no-trade clause to join the Flyers. The change in scenery seemed to work for Kuzmenko, similar to when he was first moved to Calgary. He sparked the power play, two of his five points coming on the man advantage. He had two goals and three assists overall.
While Kuzmenko provided some offensive jump in his limited stint, it didn't make sense to hang onto him for the rest of the season. The 29-year-old is a free agent this summer and re-signing with Philadelphia was an unlikely option with the direction the team is headed in. This move opens up a spot on offense as the Flyers could begin to look at some of their prospects down the stretch.
Unless Kuzmenko blew things out of the water, getting more than a mid-round pick was going to be unlikely. Along with an added roster spot, this gives the Flyers a bit more cap room to work with. That's one of the most important factors here. Acquiring a draft pick, albeit a few years from now, is important as well. They now have eight picks in the 2027 NHL Draft. And sure they traded one away, but losing a seventh round pick isn't anything to be upset about.
The first domino has dropped for the Flyers in what could be a busy trade deadline for them. There are plenty of names still out there. There's less than three hours to go.