In the hours after Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov informed his team and teammates that he has no intention of re-signing and would like to be traded, the organization said it has no intention of trading him.
That hasn’t stopped fans and analysts from theorizing several trade possibilities and considering what Kucherov’s priorities might be if a trade ultimately takes place. One of the more interesting reports comes from ESPN’s Emily Kaplan.
Kucherov Wants to Play with a Superstar
Kaplan writes, “Believe Kucherov has his eyes set on playing with another one of the league’s top superstars and has a few players/teams in mind. We’ll see what moves the Lightning can, or are willing to, pull off.”
This report makes sense given Kucherov’s recent remarks that there are a lot of dumb players in the NHL. “The game now is a lot faster, but dumb,” Kucherov told reporters in Tampa Bay. “I think that’s all I can say. Yes, it is faster, but it’s very dumb. Low IQ.”
Perhaps his motivation isn’t about money. If it were, leaving a tax-free state like Tampa — which is also often quite competitive — wouldn’t make a lot of sense. But if things have gone south there, and he wants to play beside a player or players who process the game the way he does, that’s an intriguing wrinkle in all of this.
Who Would Be an Obvious Choice for Kucherov?
You don’t have to look hard to find teams with incredibly gifted, elite superstars. As NHL Trade Talk points out, “The Minnesota Wild have Kirill Kaprizov. The Toronto Maple Leafs have Auston Matthews. The Colorado Avalanche have Nathan MacKinnon. And the Edmonton Oilers have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.”
There are others.
The Montreal Canadiens might not have a top-tier Hart Trophy candidate on their roster, but they’ve got a couple of players who could emerge as one. The Utah Mammoth might be intrigued by the idea, and they have some solid young pieces and an owner who would love to make a splash. Vegas is in on everything, and they’ve got names like Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner.
Does What Kucherov Wants Matter?
At the end of the day, the Lightning say they won’t trade him. If that’s the case, it might not matter what Kucherov wants. And if Tampa changes its mind, he holds a 10-team approved trade list as part of his protection. That rules out 21 other teams as options. But do all 10 teams have a superstar?
And let’s not forget… if Kucherov wants a superstar on his team, that likely means the team has already committed huge money to said player(s). It could require Kucherov to take a bit less on his next deal if he wants to stay on a team with more than a handful of the league’s best.
Clubs like the Wild and the Oilers won’t have unlimited funds. Every penny going to Kucherov is another penny the Oilers might not have to pay McDavid in two years or Evan Bouchard in three.
Insider Says Kucherov Looking to Team Up With Another NHL Superstar