Vancouver Canucks rookie demanding $6,000,000 for his next contract, may force him to be traded
The Vancouver Canucks are tripped in the Western Conference middle ground, between an owner who doesn't want to rebuild and being 10 points out of the playoffs already. Now the Canucks need to figure out which direction are they going to head. Canucks rookie forward Andrei Kuzmenko is drawing plenty of interest ahead of the March 3rd NHL Trade Deadline, but Vancouver wants to re-sign him according to hockey insider.
Per The Athletic' Pierre LeBrun
"I'm hearing that teams are calling more and more on pending UFA forward Andrei Kuzmenko. When one considers how cap-strung so many playoff-bound teams are, a player of his ability and cheap cap hit is a gift from heaven. However, I also heard Tuesday that the Canucks aren't sure yet they want to part with him, as they haven't given up hope on the idea of re-signing him. There haven't yet been any contract talks on an extension between the Canucks and agent Dan Milstein, although I suspect that will happen within the next month. I would imagine the starting price from the Kuzmenko side would be at least $6 million a year on a bridge deal.»
LeBrun reveals that Kuzmenko likes Vancouver a lot despite all the losing this season.
The 26 year old has a $950,000 cap hit. This is a unique situation for playoff-bound teams looking to acquire his services.
It would be tempting for the Canucks to flip the player with the situation the team finds themselves in. They didn't have to spend a draft pick or any assets in order to add Kuzmenko to their team this past offseason.
Kuzmenko is having a strong first season in the NHL with 17 goals and 35 points in 39 games. He is currently playing on Vancouver's top line with Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 12 | 351 ANSWERS Vancouver Canucks rookie demanding $6,000,000 for his next contract, may force him to be traded Which Vancouver Canuck is the first traded from the roster? | ||
| Bo Horvat | 147 | 41.9 % |
| Conor Garland | 66 | 18.8 % |
| J.T. Miller | 112 | 31.9 % |
| Andrei Kuzmenko | 26 | 7.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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