Friedman: Andrei Kuzmenko to LA

Nothing ground breaking here, just a simple observation, but even the reintroduction of Lewis into the lineup last night was not enough to hobble the generation of high-quality offense. That being said, he was fairly invisible, which got me thinking about what Moore truly brings to the table for us. When TO is on, it seems like he’s generating at least 2-3 high quality scoring chances per game. When he fails to finish, it’s frustrating, but when he’s picking corners and ringing shots post-in, he looks like an all star sniper. Which then led me to thinking about the amount of goals scored over the weekend, and the surprisingly low volume of shots taken to score those 14 goals. 25 shots on net against Carolina and 23 shots vs the Bruins. All of a sudden Tanner Jeannot looks like a guy who once scored 24 goals, and Byfield is playing like a true frickin All-Star. I know it goes without saying, but wow, what a difference a ‘finish’ makes..
 
DarkLeftHand said:
Nothing ground breaking here, just a simple observation, but even the reintroduction of Lewis into the lineup last night was not enough to hobble the generation of high-quality offense. That being said, he was fairly invisible, which got me thinking about what Moore truly brings to the table for us. When TO is on, it seems like he’s generating at least 2-3 high quality scoring chances per game. When he fails to finish, it’s frustrating, but when he’s picking corners and ringing shots post-in, he looks like an all star sniper. Which then led me to thinking about the amount of goals scored over the weekend, and the surprisingly low volume of shots taken to score those 14 goals. 25 shots on net against Carolina and 23 shots vs the Bruins. All of a sudden Tanner Jeannot looks like a guy who once scored 24 goals, and Byfield is playing like a true frickin All-Star. I know it goes without saying, but wow, what a difference a ‘finish’ makes..
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Moore also has some of the best stick-handling skills on the team which is a big benefit when it comes to possession, and he's tenacious. I'm not sure he will ever break the 30 goal mark again, but he brings a lot to the table beyond just scoring and appears to be a solid 20 goal a season player.

To me, Jeannot has always looked like a guy who could score 20 goals a season but has gotten very limited minutes and, for most of the season, hasn't had a decent playmaker on his line. Now that he has Turcotte with him, we are seeing his ability once more. He doesn't have the most accurate shot or crazy skills, but he knows where to be on the ice, is able to absorb punishment in order to stay in position down low, and generates chances as a result. I still think he was an excellent pickup.

Turcotte, to me, is just exceptional. I can't wait for him to get back into the top 6, in the future, as his vision, passing and cerebral game elements are all elite. He just needs to stay healthy and stop putting himself in bad positions in order to make a play (as he still frequently takes vicious hits as a result) and he's going to have a very good NHL career.
 
DryKing said:
Moore also has some of the best stick-handling skills on the team which is a big benefit when it comes to possession, and he's tenacious. I'm not sure he will ever break the 30 goal mark again, but he brings a lot to the table beyond just scoring and appears to be a solid 20 goal a season player.

To me, Jeannot has always looked like a guy who could score 20 goals a season but has gotten very limited minutes and, for most of the season, hasn't had a decent playmaker on his line. Now that he has Turcotte with him, we are seeing his ability once more. He doesn't have the most accurate shot or crazy skills, but he knows where to be on the ice, is able to absorb punishment in order to stay in position down low, and generates chances as a result. I still think he was an excellent pickup.

Turcotte, to me, is just exceptional. I can't wait for him to get back into the top 6, in the future, as his vision, passing and cerebral game elements are all elite. He just needs to stay healthy and stop putting himself in bad positions in order to make a play (as he still frequently takes vicious hits as a result) and he's going to have a very good NHL career.
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I was always under the impression that Jeannot was brought in to provide little offense but be more physical. I didn't expect any of his offensive play which has been superb.
 
DryKing said:
Moore also has some of the best stick-handling skills on the team which is a big benefit when it comes to possession, and he's tenacious. I'm not sure he will ever break the 30 goal mark again, but he brings a lot to the table beyond just scoring and appears to be a solid 20 goal a season player.

To me, Jeannot has always looked like a guy who could score 20 goals a season but has gotten very limited minutes and, for most of the season, hasn't had a decent playmaker on his line. Now that he has Turcotte with him, we are seeing his ability once more. He doesn't have the most accurate shot or crazy skills, but he knows where to be on the ice, is able to absorb punishment in order to stay in position down low, and generates chances as a result. I still think he was an excellent pickup.

Turcotte, to me, is just exceptional. I can't wait for him to get back into the top 6, in the future, as his vision, passing and cerebral game elements are all elite. He just needs to stay healthy and stop putting himself in bad positions in order to make a play (as he still frequently takes vicious hits as a result) and he's going to have a very good NHL career.
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Your read on Turcotte is pretty much how I also feel about him. Although maybe it’s best for him to have someone like jeannot and helenius riding shotgun with him for the entirety of his career, given his penchant for putting himself into bad positions and taking questionable hits.

I also love Trevor Moore’s game. He reminds me of Justin Williams-lite. Same with Turcotte in some ways. Both guys are tenacious, have high hockey IQ, but were born into bodies that are about 10% too small for the style of game they prefer to play. Alas, both guys also have great motors, and generally know exactly where to be on the ice, in order to make good things happen.
 
Dexter said:
I was always under the impression that Jeannot was brought in to provide little offense but be more physical. I didn't expect any of his offensive play which has been superb.
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Whereas I hope to see about 15% more snarl from Helenius, I -expect- to see 20% more snarl from Jeannot. I do like the fact that he has been laying the body at a decent rate, but I need to see him ramp up the intimidation factor quite a bit, and actually inspire some fear in the opposition. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that he had a career high in penalty minutes the same year he had a dramatically higher goals scoring output. He likely got married, or saddled with his first child, after that 24 goal output in the 21/22 season. Who knows what the explanation is. Either way, he needs to get back to tyrant status ahead of our pre ordained first round playoff series with you know who..
 
L.A. Kings.

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L.A. Kings with Kuzmenko.

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:LOL:
 
The most important thing is his offensive creativity shines closer to the net than Fiala. He's simply more comfortable there. Fiala's creativity is best when he moves closer to the net, but it always starts from further away. Suits Kopi much better. I'm not sold on Kuzy as a forever solution but he's putting his strengths forward well.
 
I said it in the GDT and I’ll paraphrase here. I don’t think we have to wait to know we should sign him. He’s fit right away on & off the ice. He buys into the team concept & he gives an element the team didn’t have. He’s improved the power play. And Kopi & Kempe are both producing more since he’s been here, especially Kopi. I don’t see how this doesn’t continue. Or how it will change once he gets signed. I wasn’t that excited about the trade when it happened but now I think it’s the best deadline deal for any team this year. And it’s probably Blake’s best deadline deal of his time as GM, at least for the value.
 
Dr. Tran said:
I said it in the GDT and I’ll paraphrase here. I don’t think we have to wait to know we should sign him. He’s fit right away on & off the ice. He buys into the team concept & he gives an element the team didn’t have. He’s improved the power play. And Kopi & Kempe are both producing more since he’s been here, especially Kopi. I don’t see how this doesn’t continue. Or how it will change once he gets signed. I wasn’t that excited about the trade when it happened but now I think it’s the best deadline deal for any team this year. And it’s probably Blake’s best deadline deal of his time as GM, at least for the value.
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Fans of previous teams question his consistency. I think that's something to consider when signing a player. Not sure what kind of term he would be looking for coming off a 2-year contract, but I would jump at the opt to sign him short term.
 
FoxDie said:
Fans of previous teams question his consistency. I think that's something to consider when signing a player. Not sure what kind of term he would be looking for coming off a 2-year contract, but I would jump at the opt to sign him short term.
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Agreed, there is no point rushing it. Let's see how he plays down the stretch and what he is looking for in terms of AAV and term. He's currently finishing up a 2 year contract at $5.5m AAV based on excellent production in 22/23. Based on his production over the last two seasons, he is currently overpaid and likely will need to take a pay cut / prove it deal.

If he keeps up the production like he has so far, though, the next contract thereafter should be sizeable.
 
DryKing said:
Agreed, there is no point rushing it. Let's see how he plays down the stretch and what he is looking for in terms of AAV and term. He's currently finishing up a 2 year contract at $5.5m AAV based on excellent production in 22/23. Based on his production over the last two seasons, he is currently overpaid and likely will need to take a pay cut / prove it deal.

If he keeps up the production like he has so far, though, the next contract thereafter should be sizeable.
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100%. I really like what Kuzmenko has shown the past couple of weeks. But paying $5.5 million for him long term would be madness. He's not that good. 5.5 million is the same AAV as Danault, Kempe, Marchy, Hyman, and more.

Let's see what he does over the final 2 weeks and in the playoffs before making any rash contract decisions unless Kuzy wants to sign a very cheap "prove it" deal rn.
 
hokiecat said:
100%. I really like what Kuzmenko has shown the past couple of weeks. But paying $5.5 million for him long term would be madness. He's not that good. 5.5 million is the same AAV as Danault, Kempe, Marchy, Hyman, and more.

Let's see what he does over the final 2 weeks and in the playoffs before making any rash contract decisions unless Kuzy wants to sign a very cheap "prove it" deal rn.
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I mean $5 million dollars is what players like him get. I get it though, the concern is his track record. He always has one good year and then he falls off the face of the map. So short-term would be better than long-term for big money.
 
MiketheKing said:
I mean $5 million dollars is what players like him get. I get it though, the concern is his track record. He always has one good year and then he falls off the face of the map. So short-term would be better than long-term for big money.
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But if we're going to pay 5.5 million (same as Danault and Juice although they are on older deals) then why not spend it on more of a "sure thing" in that salary range.
That said, I love what Kuzmenko has brought to the top line and he's been pretty awesome overall. For all the talk that he's one dimensional, doesn't back check, and has limited defensive awareness, I'd say he's proving those criticisms wrong in a Kings uniform.
 
I hope for a 1 or 2 year "bridge" deal similar to Gavrikov, which means a slight overpayment will be in order. But overpayment based on his last 3 seasons, not this current Kings' spell, which in my book is somewhere along the 4-5 million/year mark. I don't think he'd get more as a UFA to be honest, given his track record. He's inconsistent season-to-season and it seems he needs top talent around him.

Also I'd wait until the end of playoffs if I were Rob. He's a complete unknown in NHL playoffs...
 
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