At the outset of unrestricted free agency this past week, former Los Angeles Kings forward Andrei Kuzmenko signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, worth $5 million in base value for this upcoming season.
The Hockey Writers argued this week that letting go of Kuzmenko was the right choice for the team to make this offseason. It is true that Kuzmenko wasn't going to be a cheap contract for Holland and the Kings to re-up this offseason.
While I do believe that the Kings ultimately made a smart decision to move on from Kuzmenko, I don't think that the choice was nearly as straightforward as some have made it out to be.
The Kings did make the roster more potent and deeper at a few positions of need in free agency this offseason, even by letting the likes of Kuzmenko and winger Jeff Malott walk this summer.
It also made more sense for the Kings to pursue adding more center depth and a playmaking top-six winger to the roster lineup this offseason with the cap space they had available by letting Kuzmenko walk in free agency.
Holland and the Kings signed former Minnesota Wild veteran winger Mats Zuccarello to a one-year contract in free agency this past week, worth $1 million in base value for the 2026-27 season. Zuccarello scored 54 points in 59 games this past regular season and he could be an even more adept playmaker for the Kings' top six than Kuzmenko.
Zuccarello looks like a really smart replacement for the Kings. He's coming off a productive season this past year in Minnesota, and he signed for a fraction of the cost. Zuccarello also has chemistry with Kevin Fiala from their time playing together in Minnesota. If he replicates that production with the Kings this upcoming season, this move will look really good.
That's still a projection, though. Kuzmenko did prove this past year that he can thrive offensively in Los Angeles.
And while I do agree that it was very unlikely that Holland and the Kings were going to re-sign Kuzmenko this summer, there were reasons why it would've made sense for him to stay in Los Angeles too.
First, Kuzmenko provides the type of offensive upside and playmaking ability that the Kings needed in the forward group going into training camp and the preseason this fall. He was a spark plug for the Kings on special teams on the power play.
Kuzmenko was also a fan favorite for the Kings who was a good fit in the locker room in this past couple of seasons. He provided a big spark offensively for the Kings after Los Angeles acquired him at the trade deadline this past year in the 2024-25 season, scoring five goals and 17 total points in just 22 games played.
The Kings could have really proved that they made the right decision by letting Kuzmenko depart in free agency this summer. But now that Kuzmenko is gone, the Kings still have to replace some of the offensive creativity and playmaking he had with the forward group this past couple of seasons. That's not to mention the fact that he had good chemistry with the Kings and he was a fan favorite in Los Angeles this past couple of years.
I do think that Zuccarello and the Kings' other offseason additions will ultimately be upgrades in the roster lineup this upcoming season, which would make Holland's decision here justified. That said, it's still fair to say that there are reasons that Kuzmenko could've stayed in Los Angeles for another season.
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