And just like that he was gone.
Forward Andrei Kuzmenko and a 2025 seventh-round pick were traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a 2027 third-round pick on Friday. Kuzmenko is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and the Flyers will retain $2.75 million of his $5.5 million contract.
The Flyers also traded defenseman Erik Johnson to the Colorado Avalanche for winger Givani Smith. Emil Andrae was recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League to fill Johnson’s spot on defense. Smith will be assigned to the Phantoms and forwards Rodrigo Ābols and Olle Lycksell will be recalled to fill Kuzmenko and Scott Laughton’s spots.
» READ MORE: Flyers trade Scott Laughton to Maple Leafs
Johnson was acquired at the NHL trade deadline last season from the Buffalo Sabres. He skated in 17 games last season and 22 this season as the seventh defenseman. Johnson played his 1000th NHL game on Nov. 16 against the Sabres, 717 of them coming with the Avalanche. He won the 2022 Stanley Cup with Colorado.
“In Erik’s case, it’s more of a favor to him to give him a chance to go chase a Cup in a place that he played a lot of years, that he still has lots of friends,” Flyers general manager Danny Brière said. “So it’s not something that we were really looking forward to do. It was it was more for him, to give him the chance to chase it one more time.”
The Kuzmenko trade “came out of the blue” on Friday.
Acquired in the early morning hours of Jan. 31 with Jakob Pelletier from the Calgary Flames for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee, Kuzmenko had five points (two goals, three assists) in seven games with the Orange and Black. Due to visa issues, he did make his debut with the Flyers until Feb. 8, the last game before the 4 Nations Face-Off; his first point with the Flyers was an assist on a Laughton goal.
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Speaking to the media as his team practiced below without Kuzmenko and Laughton, who was also dealt on Friday, coach John Tortorella confirmed that the winger was traded before it became official.
“Good kid, full of energy, very skilled,” Tortorella said on Friday. “It’s tough to give a full report on him because I haven’t had him long enough, but I liked his energy. … Obviously, the book on him is the inconsistency, he’s really good and then there’s some struggles. I do believe that happened.
“I wish him nothing but the best. It’s been a good experience for me with him, and I hope for him, with us trying to help his game.”
Kuzmenko, 29, will play on his fourth NHL team after also playing for the Vancouver Canucks, where he had an impressive rookie campaign in 2022-23. He had 39 goals and 74 points in 81 games that season while skating with center Elias Pettersson.
Tortorella has spoken highly of Kuzmenko’s coachability and he is an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Russian winger was in the locker room after the team finished practice and was spotted saying goodbye to fellow Russian Ivan Fedotov and the team’s equipment staff.