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2026-27 Pittsburgh Penguins Player Projections: Andrei Kuzmenko
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- 2026-27 Pittsburgh Penguins Player Projections: Andrei Kuzmenko
Forward Andrei Kuzmenko was one of a few players the Pittsburgh Penguins signed when free agency started on Jul. 1.
They signed him to replace Anthony Mantha after the latter had a career 2025-26 season, finishing with 33 goals and 64 points in 81 games. Mantha was on a one-year contract and was coming off a torn ACL before the Penguins gave him a great opportunity.
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Mantha ran with that opportunity, and the Penguins are hoping that Kuzmenko will do the same after finishing last season with only 13 goals and 25 points in 52 games.
Kuzmenko burst onto the scene in his debut NHL season with the Vancouver Canucks in 2022-23, racking up 39 goals and 74 points in 81 games. He also shot 27.3% that season.
Since then, he has only compiled one 20+ goal season (2023-24) and has played on three other teams ( Calgary Flames , Los Angeles Kings , and Philadelphia Flyers ). He will be on his fifth NHL team in five seasons when the 2026-27 season starts in September.
The Penguins will likely give him plenty of minutes in the top nine and an opportunity to hit the 20-goal mark for the third time in his career. I hinted at it a bit in my piece about Ben Kindel on Monday , but Kuzmenko feels like a natural fit for the third line. He can finish off the chances that Kindel sets up and gives the Penguins some added depth for that line.
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Kuzmenko can also fill in for someone in the top six if injuries arise or if someone is struggling. Going off that, I'd bet that we at least see some minutes with him and Evgeni Malkin on the ice at the same time. It's something that Penguins head coach Dan Muse may experiment with a little bit, even though Kuzmenko is still a strong fit for the third line.
Another area that Kuzmenko will be a strong fit for is the Penguins' power play. He won't be on the top unit, but he should 100% be utilized on the second unit. He played 155:31 on the PP for the Kings last season and scored eight of his 13 goals on that unit.
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The power play comes naturally to him, so it would only be fitting for the Penguins' coaching staff to put him there.
I think there's a real shot for him to bounce back and score 20 goals this year. We've seen the Penguins take on two reclamation projects in Anthony Beauvillier and Anthony Mantha, and both turned out to be great signings.
Besides, if the Penguins are out of it by the trade deadline, Kuzmenko could get flipped to a contender for an asset or two. If they're still in it or in a playoff spot, they'd probably be happy to keep him, as they did with Mantha this past season.
All of the Penguins' top free agency signings from last year hit in a major way. Let's see if Kuzmenko can help history repeat itself this year.
(Data via Natural Stat Trick).
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