Another Blow To Kings Offense As Kuzmenko Undergoes Surgery

Los Angeles Kings forward Andrei Kuzmenko

The LA Kings are already missing a major part of their offense after Kevin Fiala went down for the count during the Olympics. Now they've learned that they will be without Andrei Kuzmenko for an extended period after undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus in his knee.

Forward Andrei Kuzmenko underwent successful surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He has been placed on injured reserve (IR) and is listed as week-to-week.

Additionally, defenseman Angus Booth has been recalled from the @ontarioreign (AHL).

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— LA Kings PR (@LAKingsPR) February 28, 2026

The 30-year-old forward has been placed on injured reserve, and is out week-to-week as he recovers from the procedure.

Kuzmenko suffered the injury in Wednesday night's 6-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. It's terrible timing for the Russian, as he'd registered four points in his last three games.

After bursting onto the NHL scene three years ago with a 39-goal rookie season with the Vancouver Canucks, he hasn't been able to recapture that elite production since. This year, he has 13 goals and 25 points in 52 games for LA.

Kings will be active at deadline in search for top-six forwards

The Kings were already in the market for another top-six forward, and now, with this latest news, the need is even more urgent.

Ranked 29th in the NHL in goals per game at just 2.53, LA went out and traded for Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers earlier this month. But they'll need to do more than that now, and we expect them to be active leading up to Friday's deadline.

The Kings are currently three points back of a Wild Card berth in the Western Conference, heading into Saturday night's play.