Andrei Kuzmenko does not appear to be a favourite of his head coach in Calgary. The former Vancouver Canucks winger won’t be in the lineup for the Flames at the Saddledome tonight.
Flames head coach Ryan Huska had Kuzmenko working late after the morning skate, per Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg, indicating a healthy scratch is coming.
Looks like Joel Hanley and Walker Duehr coming back into the lineup tonight vs. Vancouver.
Andrei Kuzmenko, Daniil Miromanov, and Tyson Barrie working late after morning skate. They’ll be healthy scratches.
Dustin Wolf starts in net. #Flames
— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) December 31, 2024
It’s not the first time Kuzemenko has been healthy scratched this season, but this one feels extra significant. A regulation win by the Flames would leapfrog them ahead of the Canucks in the standings and into the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
And then, of course, there’s the fact that the Flames are playing Kuzmenko’s former team. If the 28-year-old Russian can’t get up for a game against Rick Tocchet and the Canucks, who can he get up for?
Kuzmenko burst onto the scene in his first NHL season in 2022-23, scoring 39 goals and 74 points for the Canucks. That earned him a two-year contract extension, worth $5.5 million per season.
He turned out to be a terrible fit in Tocchet’s system, so Kuzmenko was traded midway through last season. Tocchet despised Kuzmenko’s lacklustre effort on the forecheck and his lack of attention to detail in the defensive zone. But there’s no doubting Kuzmenko’s talent.
The well has run dry in the scoring department for Kuzmenko this season though, given he has just one goal in 29 games this season. Heading into the season, Kuzmenko was a prime candidate to get dealt by the trade deadline, but it’s hard to envision a taker for his services now.
The Flames may be the surprise team of the NHL this season, given nobody had them pushing for a playoff spot in preseason predictions. Meanwhile, the Canucks are one of the league’s biggest underachievers. The defending Pacific Division champions have lost four of their last five games and it’s clear from a recent interview that general manager Patrik Allvin isn’t happy.