Lightning star Nikita Kucherov lands Bud Light sponsorship after wild press conference
Nikita Kucherov had an entertaining postgame press conference after winning his second straight Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning this week.
The 28-year-old went shirtless after Tampa's Game 5 victory over the Canadiens, took a shot at Marc-Andre Fleury for winning the Vezina over teammate Andrei Vasilevskiy and then called out Montreal's fan base for celebrating as if the Canadiens had won the Stanley Cup after Game 4.
Kucherov's comments came as he chugged several Bud Lights, and his spectacle of a press conference landed him an endorsement deal with the beer giant. Simply put, there's plenty more Bud Light in his future.
Kucherov was unstoppable in the postseason, leading all scorers with 32 points (eight goals, 24 assists) in 23 games. He also led the 2020 playoffs in scoring as the Bolts won their first Stanley Cup since 2004.
The Russian native's performance was even more impressive because he did not play a single regular-season game during the 2020-21 campaign due to injury. That would typically keep a player from competing at a high level, but not Kucherov.
The Canadiens' fan base thought Kucherov's comments were absurd and unnecessary, but it was nice to see him inject some personality into his press conference.
More must-reads: