Canucks sign forward Andrei Kuzmenko to 2-year, $11M US contract extension
26-year-old Russian has scored 21 goals, added 22 assists to date this season
Forward Andrei Kuzmenko has signed a two-year contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks with an average annual value of $5.5 million US.
The 26-year-old Kuzmenko has played in 47 games for the Canucks this season with 21 goals and 22 assists, four penalty minutes and a plus-4 defensive ranking.
The five-foot-11, 194-pound forward ranks second on the team in goals and power-play goals (nine) this season.
Kuzmenko leads all Vancouver skaters in shooting percentage (24.7%) and ranks third in the NHL in that category (min. 20 GP).
He leads all first-year NHLers in almost every offensive category, including goals, assists, points, points per game (0.91), power-play goals, and power-play points.
A native of Yakutsk, Russia, Kuzmenko spent his first eight professional seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with CSKA Moscow and SKA St. Petersburg, registering 200 points (85-115-200) in 315 regular season games. He set career-highs in goals (20), assists (33), and points (53) last season, ranking second in the league in scoring.
Kuzmenko has also represented his country on the international stage on multiple occasions, totalling 16 points (10-6-16) and six penalty minutes in 37 games played. He was originally signed by Vancouver to a one-year, entry-level contract on July 13, 2022.
