Father of Penguins’ Andrei Kuzmenko killed in bear attack

“The Pittsburgh Penguins organization was deeply saddened, this morning, to learn of the passing of Andrei Kuzmenko’s father, Alexander,” Pittsburgh GM Kyle Dubas said in a statement Thursday morning. “Our deepest thoughts and sympathies are with the Kuzmenko family and their loved ones as they grieve the loss of Alexander. We ask that the privacy of Andrei and the Kuzmenko family be respected at this time.

“Andrei chose to be surrounded by his teammates and practice with the team this morning before returning to Moscow to be with his family this afternoon. Andrei and the Kuzmenko family have the full support of the Penguins organization during this time.” 

Andrei Kuzmenko, 30, signed a one-year contract worth $5 million with the Penguins this summer. He joined the club after registering 13 goals and 25 points in 52 games with the Los Angeles Kings last year. Kuzmenko has 85 goals and 182 points in 271 career regular season games, as well as another 200 points in 315 KHL games with CSKA Moskva and SKA St. Petersburg.

Kuzmenko registered an assist in his lone preseason game with the Penguins over the past week.

Pittsburgh will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night before capping off their preseason slate against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. The Penguins will take on their Pennsylvania rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, on Sept. 30 to open the regular season.