Canucks News & Rumours: Cotter Added, Kuzmenko Finds Another Home & Roster Planning – The Hockey Writers – Vancouver Canucks

There’s a certain rhythm to NHL offseason building when you look at it closely enough. The contending teams don’t always swing for the fences in July. More often than not, they collect pieces for both now and later. Some to see if they can catch lightning in a bottle again. The Vancouver Canucks have bought into that thinking this summer. The team is certainly not headline-chasing; just targeted bets on players who can either help the roster or become movable assets if things break right.

That’s really the thread tying today’s two stories together. Paul Cotter is the kind of low-risk, high-energy forward who can slot into a lineup and immediately make life harder for opponents. Then you’ve got Andrei Kuzmenko, still bouncing around the league trying to rediscover the version of himself that once lit up Vancouver. One player is trying to carve out a role in a new market. The other is continuing a league tour that has become its own storyline.

Canucks Sign Paul Cotter on One-Year Deal as Low-Risk, High-Utility Depth Bet

The Canucks continue to lean into a smart, opportunistic approach this offseason, and the signing of Paul Cotter fits that mould perfectly. On a one-year, $2.15 million deal, Cotter represents the kind of short-term, low-risk flier contending teams often circle back to at the trade deadline. For Vancouver, it’s a straightforward bet: add a physical, versatile forward and see where the opportunity takes him.

Cotter should get a real look in the middle six, and that could unlock more offence than he showed with the New Jersey Devils. He posted 16 goals and 22 points in 2024-25 with the Devils, but his game is less about pure scoring and more about pace, pressure, and physical disruption. At 6-foot-2 and 213 pounds, he’s the type of forward who can tilt shifts just by finishing checks and making life uncomfortable for defenders.

The real appeal here might not even be what Cotter does in Vancouver, but what he could become as an asset. With 200 hits last season, he plays the kind of heavy, direct game that tends to draw interest at the deadline. If he finds a fit and produces in a depth role, he could very realistically become a trade chip down the line. For a one-year commitment with upside both on the ice and in asset management, this is exactly the move smart teams keep making.

Penguins Take a One-Year Swing on Andrei Kuzmenko in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Penguins have added another intriguing name to their forward group, signing Andrei Kuzmenko to a one-year, $5 million deal. It’s the kind of short-term bet that doesn’t carry long-term risk but still gives the team a chance to find value if things click. For a Penguins team trying to balance competitiveness with flexibility, this is very much a “see what you’ve got” type of move. That said, the contract terms seem high for the enigmatic Russian.

Kuzmenko’s recent track record tells the story of a skilled player who has bounced around the league looking for the right fit. Last season with the Los Angeles Kings, he produced 13 goals in 52 games, including eight on the power play. There’s still offensive touch there, and if he lands a spot alongside Evgeni Malkin on the second line, the Penguins might unlock some of that creativity again. The question, as always, is whether the consistency shows up night to night.

At his best, Kuzmenko is still the same player who turned heads in Vancouver after going undrafted, exploding for 74 points in 2022-23 and finishing with 95 points across 124 games with the Canucks. Since then, he’s become more of a pilgrim than a cornerstone, moving from Vancouver to the Calgary Flames, then the Philadelphia Flyers, and later the Los Angeles Kings.

Pittsburgh is his latest stop, and while the production hasn’t matched that breakout season, the Penguins are clearly betting that there’s still enough skill left to make this one-year deal interesting.

What’s Next for the Canucks?

Put these two moves side by side, and you really see how NHL roster building works outside the superstar tier. It’s not about big headlines or franchise-altering swings most of the time. It’s about timing, fit, and giving players just enough runway to show whether they belong in a specific role.

Cotter represents the safer, more straightforward bet—simple, physical, and easy for coaches to trust in a depth role. Kuzmenko, on the other hand, is the higher-variance swing, where the talent is obvious but the consistency and fit will determine everything. One is about stability, the other is about trying to rediscover a ceiling, and both approaches are part of the same league-wide reality.