Update On Nikita Kucherov

So why was Tampa lowballing their offer for a player of that caliber? Most likely, it’s because of where the Russian winger is in his career and the help with the cap hit%. Given their reported offers, they would’ve given him a similar chunk as they did in 2019-20, when his contract began at an 11.6% cap percentage, which has decreased to around 9%. The reported $15MM a year would’ve taken up 13.2% of the cap hit; $20MM would’ve taken up 17.6% of Tampa’s payroll.

Kucherov is 33. Simply put, it wouldn’t appear that Tampa is willing to continue to pay him at that rate, given what they see as a potential regression. It’s not the first case the Bolts have parted ways with aging talent. As my colleague Brennan McClain pointed out a few major cases. In 2008, because of a salary crunch, the Lightning traded Brad Richards after signing Vincent Lecavalier to an 11-year contract, which they later bought out in 2013. A few months later, another franchise legend, Martin St. Louis, requested a trade and was eventually dealt to the New York Rangers. Finally, a few summers ago, after lowballing Stamkos, he signed with the Nashville Predators as an unrestricted free agent.

Although Tampa made it clear that they aren’t willing to trade their franchise legend, who recently became the franchise’s all-time points leader, passing Steven Stamkos, it’d be hard to imagine this not going Kucherov’s way, unless the Lightning are willing to go where the ask is.

There are only seven teams in the NHL that have less than what Kucherov would ideally want on the open market. Those are the Devils, Ducks, Knights, Avalanche, Capitals, Panthers, and Leafs as the teams under $20MM in cap space for 2027-28. With Kucherov’s contract clause of a ten-team no-trade list; the possibilities are endless. Friedman mentioned during his headlines that Toronto and Montreal were two teams among many that Kucherov would consider. Having said that, Toronto, unlike Montreal, has little to no money, $2.4MM in 2027-28, Montreal has $29.7MM.

Tampa, among all these teams, can pay him, with $29.8MM in cap space, yet if they do so, they’re going to have a harder time paying for depth pieces. It’s hard overall to imagine, given their current trajectory with a solid veteran core intact for the foreseeable future, to contend that they can continue that without a player who is one of the few humans on planet earth to score over 110 points in each of the last four seasons. Even if they trade him, what contending teams will part ways with, say, a top-line player and futures? Given the fact that the Bolts are for now in this window, they’ll have to weigh out what an ideal package would look like for when the league comes calling.