The Calgary Flames want Andrei Kuzmenko to shoot more.
In 29 games this season, Kuzmenko has fired only 30 shots on net, and it’s a part of the reason why he’s been in a goal-scoring slump that’s seen him light the lamp only once.
For a guy whose goal-scoring abilities were his calling card in his first two years in the NHL, when he scored 47 goals in a season-and-a-half with the Vancouver Canucks and then 14 more in 29 games with the Flames, it’s an alarming drop in productivity.
The solution is more complicated than just saying “shoot more,” of course, and speaking on Monday morning from the Saddledome, Kuzmenko explained he believes breaking out of his slump is about getting in dangerous positions as much as it is about firing more shots.
“We play against five guys, it’s not easy. If I shoot every game maybe three or four shots? Dangerous shots, yes, I understand I score,” Kuzmenko said. “I need more shots. I need more dangerous moments (to) score, dangerous shots.
“It’s not simple shots because if you shoot simple shots, how many people are going to score? Maybe one person from 100 (people). I don’t like. I like dangerous shots but before a dangerous shot I need a good position for shot.”
Kuzmenko was back in the lineup for Sunday night’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights after being scratched for six games. He hasn’t scored since Oct. 15 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The 28-year-old has been working on finding his game with the Flames coaches, but so far solutions have been hard to come by.
It’s certainly not as simple as just shooting more, but that’s still something the Flames would like to see him do. In his 29 games after being acquired from the Canucks last season, he fired 58 shots. That’s nearly double the 30 he’s managed in the exact same number of games in 2024-25.
“I remember a few games last year, there was a night when he had two goals and he took a shot from right inside the blue line and scored,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “I wouldn’t consider that a high-danger chance from there but he’s got a very hard shot where oftentimes when it hits the net there’s something that’s going to come off of it, whether it happens to find its way in or there’s a rebound for someone else.
“For me, when a guy is struggling to put the puck in the net when that is part of his game, I would revert to shot volume and that’s where we do push him.”
If it sounds like Kuzmenko and Huska are carrying opposing views about him shooting the puck more, that’s unintentional on the part of this writer. Both the player and the coach spoke at length about the work Kuzmenko has been doing in other areas of his game that should translate into better scoring opportunities.
“I need to work hard, on the ice, in the gym, it’s better for me,” Kuzmenko said. “It’s so close but for me for scoring, there’s other steps. I want step-by-step. First step is a very good feeling. Second step is hard work, hard work in gym, step on ice … the score, is it close? I hope it’s a little bit close.”
And as Huska explained, while shooting more is hopefully a part of the solution, the Flames also want to see Kuzmenko controlling the puck more.
It’s certainly more complicated than more shots equalling more goals.
“We all want him to shoot more because we all know the type of shot that he does have,” Huska said. “For me it’s more important that he’s around the puck because when he’s around the puck he puts himself in positions where he can use his shot. The concern comes when he’s not touching it, that’s part of where the issue comes into play.
“How do you go about getting the puck more or getting around it more? For me, that’s about skating and making sure you’re competitive to be there on loose pucks, you’re competitive when it’s you and someone else fighting for it, that’s what he needs to focus on and the shots will come from there.”