LATEST | Andrei Kuzmenko destroyed every expectation previously set for him and it's about to cost the Canucks big-time
Russian forward Andrei Kuzmenko has had a solid first season in the National Hockey League and it will come to a close tonight as the Canucks are in Arizona to take on the Coyotes.
When a player comes over from Europe or the KHL, teams are taking a bit of a gamble because they don't exactly know if their production from their previous league will transition to the National Hockey League. But for Kuzmenko, he's had no issue putting up goals and assists.
In 80 games this season, he's recorded 72 points, which has him fourth on the Canucks behind Elias Pettersson (101), J.T. Miller (80), and Quinn Hughes (73) and he also leads the team in goals with 39.
According to Canucks reporter Patrick Johnston, Kuzmenko has hit all four of his Schedule A bonuses and will receive $850,000. Because the Canucks are in LTIR right now, Johnston added that the bonus will be applied to their salary cap next season.
"Kuzmenko is going to collect the maximum $850,000 in Schedule A bonuses (the four categories he has for sure: more than 20 goals, more than 60 points, top three in forwards +/-, more than 0.73 points per game).
Because Canucks are in LTIR, the bonus will be applied to 23-24 cap" Johnston said.
Because Canucks are in LTIR, the bonus will be applied to 23-24 cap" Johnston said.
It appears that the Canucks have hit a home run in getting Kuzmenko and it will be interesting to see how he follows up his production next season as his two-year, $11 million extension kicks in.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 13 | 414 ANSWERS LATEST | Andrei Kuzmenko destroyed every expectation previously set for him and it's about to cost the Canucks big-time Will Kuzmenko hit the 40-goal plateau against Arizona tonight? | ||
| Yes | 269 | 65 % |
| No | 97 | 23.4 % |
| He'll finish with more than 40 goals | 13 | 3.1 % |
| See Results | 35 | 8.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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