Despite his initial early efforts to bring Andrei Kuzmenko to the Vancouver Canucks, Bruce Boudreau has shared some minor criticism of the star winger a year later.
Andrei Kuzmenko has been one of the few negative attributes surrounding the Canucks this season. They started their 2023-24 campaign with an impressive 14-7-1 record, and have had many players take major steps forward as the team looks to return to the playoffs.
Kuzmenko, however is one of those players who has appeared to take a step backwards under head coach Rick Tocchet.
With just 3 goals, 11 assists in 19 games, the Russian winger has been off to a slower start than expected of him. He has been one of the least noticeable players on the ice, and has even been a healthy scratch the past two games.
Coming off an outstanding 39 goal season last year, the 27-year-old signed a huge $11 million, 2-year contract with the Canucks. His play, however, has seen a significant drop-off in year one of that contract extension.
Former Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau recently spoke on Donnie and Dahli's podcast to discuss a multitude of things, and Andrei Kuzmenko's recent healthy scratches were something that came up in the conversation.
This story was originally reported by CanucksColumn on Instagram
When Bruce was asked about what Andrei was like to coach, he answered:
"I'm sure Rick's going through the same thing. I mean some days he was great, and some days he was not there" Said Boudreau.
"Evidently he's trying to send the same message. We did the same thing early last year. We sat him out in Toronto or somewhere, he got the message, caught on fire, and had the year that he did" Bruce adds.
You can listen to the discussion with Boudreau about Kuzmenko down below. The conversation begins around 1:15 into the video.
Canucks fans are expecting a bounce back from the winger as the team begins their home stand against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night.
Can Kuzmenko score 30 goals again in 2023-24?
Yes
No
