It appears there are no shortage suitors for Nikita Kucherov, even as the 33-year-old winger is looking for six years and a $20 million average annual value on his next contract.
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun writes in The Athletic that “nearly every team in the NHL” internally discussed the possibility of adding Kucherov this weekend, stating the list is at least 25 teams. He adds that Kucherov has not yet made a short list of teams he would consider, leaving all options on the table.
It remains unclear whether Kucherov will find his next team via a trade or be free to pick his new team in free agency in July.
Kucherov requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning last week, stating Monday that his relationship has soured with general manager Julien BriseBois over a lack of negotiations.
“It was never about the money for me,” Kucherov said. “It was more about poor communication and respect. The last four months, we’ve had two conversations. Julien made it clear that I’m free to walk on July 1.”
LeBrun writes that Kucherov currently feels spurned enough that if the Lightning met his ask of six years at $20 million per season, he would turn it down. He notes that time remains to heal the relationship, but the outlook is not promising for now.
“I made my (trade) request,” Kucherov said Monday when asked if he could end up staying with the Lightning long-term.
LeBrun also writes that Tampa Bay offered Kucherov a four-year extension at a $15 million AAV shortly after July 1 and then extended that offer to six years in September. While Kucherov likely would have been willing to sign closer to that number in the spring, salaries across the NHL jumped when Leo Carlsson signed a five-year, $90 million offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers on July 3 that gave him the highest cap hit in the league at $18 million.
Carlsson’s offer sheet was matched by the Anaheim Ducks six days later and within a month Macklin Celebrini topped the salary, taking $18.8 million on his five-year extension that will kick in next season and Cale Makar signed for $20.4 million on his eight-year extension four weeks after week.
The jump in salaries has blown the roof off any internal caps teams previously had, but the Lightning have largely been exception when it comes to rising salaries over the past several years.
Kucherov, who signed his current deal all the way back in 2018, remains tied with Brayden Point and Andrei Vasilevskiy for the highest cap hit on the Lightning at $9.5 million. As a result, Tampa Bay has nine players making more than $5 million on the team.
Kucherov inked that eight-year, $76 million contract signed in 2018 before he helped Tampa Bay win the Stanley Cup twice, led the NHL in scoring three times and was voted the recipient of the Hart Trophy in 2018-19 and 2025-26.
His 1,142 points in 892 regular-season games since debuting in 2013 are third most among all players over that time behind only Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon. His 177 in the playoffs are the most during that span.
Kucherov became Tampa Bay’s career points leader last month, passing former captain Steven Stamkos. Kucherov has four goals and 14 assists for 18 points through 13 games.
The Lightning once again fancy themselves as a Stanley Cup contender this season and currently sit in the top wild-card spot with an 8-3-2 record through 13 games. BriseBois said last week the club has no intention of trading Kucherov and it appears very much on the table that the team could keep the winger as an “own rental” for their own playoff push this season.
“For now, I’m part of this team. I’ll do anything I can to help my teammates win,” Kucherov added Monday.
The Lightning lost 5-4 in a shootout to the Nashville Predators on Saturday in their first game with the Kucherov situation hanging over the team. On Tuesday, Tampa Bay will host the Detroit Red Wings, who have suspended forward Dylan Larkin for refusing to play as he waits for his trade request to be honoured.