Wow oh wow. Another trade request has rolled through the NHL, and this might be the biggest bombshell we’ve seen in years.
According to Elliotte Friedman, Nikita Kucherov has requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning and has made it clear he won’t be re-signing.
Kucherov, only 33, has been neck and neck with MacKinnon and McDavid for years. Not since Evgeni Malkin’s prime has there been a less-covered superstar. Diehard hockey fans obviously know Kuch, but he isn’t nearly as recognized as he should be. That might be about to change.
My early front-runner would be the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal has an exciting young core and would LOVE to add a game-breaker like Kucherov. I could also see Washington and Minnesota being interesting destinations.
Kucherov has a modified no-trade clause allowing him to approve 10 teams, which makes finding a destination a little more complicated.
The details haven’t fully come out about why he’s choosing this path. Is it the contract? Does he just need a change of scenery?
Tampa Bay has already said it has no intention of trading him, so this could get messy.
Regardless of what happens, this adds another massive name to an already fascinating period of player movement around the NHL.
What do you think the Lightning should do?