Bruce Boudreau goes to crazy lengths to bring Kuzmenko to Canucks

In case you missed the news earlier today, the Vancouver Canucks managed to woo KHL superstar free agent Andrei Kuzmenko.

Kuzmenko had met with a number of NHL teams this offseason, but narrowed his choices down to the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers before agreeing to terms with the Canucks earlier today.

"I have been watching Andrei since his 2014.15 season and have been impressed with his development and improvement on the ice," said Canucks GM Patrik Allvin in a statement on his team's website. "Once the contract details are finalized, we look forward to welcoming him to the Canucks organization and helping him continue to grow as a hockey player."  

"We would like to thank all the teams that we met with for their time and interest," said Dan Milstein, Kuzmenko's player agent. "We were impressed by what the Canucks organization wants to accomplish and the winning culture they are building. Andrei felt a good connection with the management team and is looking forward to playing for Bruce Boudreau." 

Milstein also praised the Canucks' young roster and the natural beauty and the culture of Vancouver itself as reasons for Kuzmenko's decision. Further to that, Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal reports that both Allvin and head coach Bruce Boudreau went to incredible lengths to impress Kuzmenko and that those lengths didn't go unnoticed.

From Dhaliwal:

 How can you not love Bruce Boudreau? The guy has no commitment beyond this season but he's still going literally 6 hours out of his way just for the chance to get a quality player on his roster. You love to see it.