The Tampa Bay Lightning have no one else to blame but themselves for the current Nikita Kucherov mess they’re in.
Specifically, GM Julien BriseBois is where fingers should be pointing right now.
BriseBois followed the same playbook he did with Steven Stamkos a couple of summers ago. He slow-walked negotiations, hoping to convince Stamkos to sign for a lower number. Stamkos didn’t bite and ended up bailing for Nashville.
And now, the Lightning are pretty much walking down the same path.
According to reports, the Bolts slow-walked negotiations with Kucherov to the point where he became frustrated with the lack of advancement. That situation culminated in a trade request.
Kucherov’s trade request came days after he became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer.
But that’s a situation that could have been perfectly preventable.
All the Lightning had to do was sign Kucherov when they had the chance. Had they agreed to a deal on July 1, none of this situation would be happening.
Things Changed for Lightning and Kucherov Because of Leo Carlsson
One of the unseen consequences of the Leo Carlsson offer sheet was this situation with Kucherov. Reports suggest that Kucherov had an initial ask in the ballpark of $15 million to $17 million.
The chatter posits that Kucherov wanted a deal on par with Kirill Kaprizov, who was the highest-paid player at the time.
The Lightning balked, and that extended negotiations past July 1. On July 3, news of the Carlsson offer sheet changed the entire NHL market. And it changed the equation for the Bolts.
Overnight, player salaries spiked. And with them, Cale Makar became the NHL’s first $20 million player.
That’s the new bar set for Kucherov. The Lightning could have signed Kucherov at, say, $16 million months ago on a four-year deal.
Instead, BriseBois’ penny-pinching ways forced Kucherov’s hand. The Tampa Bay GM’s lack of certainty essentially pushed Kucherov to the brink, and, well, now his team faces a situation that it won’t be able to get out of very easily.
Tampa Could Have Avoided Everything Months Ago
Earlier this season, a piece here on Heavy looked into the contract extension no one was talking about. The hermeticism surrounding the Lightning did not offer much of a glimpse of the Kucherov extension talks.
Everyone seemingly glossed over the fact that the NHL MVP did not have a contract beyond this season. In fact, the market hadn’t even considered that the situation could descend to this level.
Well, things are here now. It’s a situation that was perfectly preventable and put one of the NHL’s best teams into a tough spot.
Unless BriseBois can somehow pull a rabbit out of his hat, the outcome of this situation could very well cost him his job.
The Lightning weathered Stamkos’ departure precisely because of Kucherov. Without him, there isn’t anyone who could really step up and take over the reins.
Don’t look now, but this situation could mean the beginning of a gradual decline in Tampa that could lead to one of the NHL’s best clubs over the last decade or so descending into ignominy.
Lightning Have Only Themselves to Blame for Kucherov Mess