Montreal has spent months hunting for the kind of forward who can tilt a lineup, and Nikita Kucherov suddenly sits right at the center of that search.
General manager Kent Hughes has already run into wall after wall trying to land help. The Canadiens came up empty on Matthew Knies, Kirill Marchenko, and Dylan Larkin, with Larkin still declining to waive his no-trade clause for Montreal. That string of misses might not matter much if Hughes can finally pry Kucherov loose.
On Friday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Lightning captain told the organization and his teammates he would not re-sign after the season and was asking for a trade. Kucherov is 33, in the final season of his contract, and will become an unrestricted free agent after the year.
"According to multiple sources, Nikita Kucherov has informed both his teammates and the Lightning organization that he will not be re-signing with Tampa Bay and would like to be traded."
The production is exactly why the Canadiens would be all over this. Kucherov has topped 110 points in each of the past four seasons, then pushed all the way to 130 last year while winning the second Hart Trophy of his career. He already has 15 points in Tampa Bay’s first 12 games this season, and even at this stage of his career, he looks like the kind of weapon Montreal has been chasing.
The fit in Montreal is obvious. The Canadiens have been searching for a top-six addition since the summer, and the only move they actually made was signing free agent Chris Kreider. They have tried to get something done, but the market simply has not broken their way.
If Kucherov ended up in Montreal, he would slide onto the top line with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki and instantly give the Canadiens a first unit that could stack up with anyone. It would not solve everything down the middle on the second line, but it would create room for Juraj Slafkvosky to move back next to Ivan Demidov.
The biggest issue is whether Montreal is on Kucherov’s 10-team no-trade list. Even if the Canadiens are there, the argument is there for them to make, especially given the way this young core is rising. Kucherov also got a firsthand look at that when Montreal knocked Tampa Bay out of the playoffs last season.
None of this means a deal is around the corner. Kucherov’s request does not guarantee a trade, just like the recent situations with Connor Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin did not lead to immediate movement. But if Montreal is going to swing big, this may be the best opening Kent Hughes has had for the impact forward he has been trying so hard to find.
In Other News...
Canadiens Still Waiting On Clarity In Demidov Suzuki Injury Situation
The Canadiens have navigated the early stretch of their season without three key injured players, and the latest update suggests at least one of those absences may soon be nearing an end. Marc-Olivier Beaudoin reported that Ivan Demidov is expected back soon, with several sources pointing to Nov. 3 as the latest target, while Montreal has quietly kept winning anyway, stacking three straight victories without him, Samuel Montembeault or Nick Suzuki in the lineup.
Montembeaults situation remains a little murkier, even after he skated Tuesday in Brossard, because the club still has not issued an official update after his original return window came and went. Suzuki is in a similar holding pattern, with no fresh status from the team as Montreal waits for clarity and may have more to say after its next game. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens May Be Getting Boxed Out Of Dylan Larkin Sweepstakes
Dylan Larkin remains one of the bigger names to watch as Detroit works through a tense standoff with the center, but the Canadiens are not sitting in an obvious spot in the chase. Montreal has been linked to the trade discussion as the Red Wings keep talking with multiple clubs, yet Larkin has not expanded his preferred destination list, leaving the Canadiens outside the group he is known to want.
That matters because the market for centers is already thin, with Ryan O'Reilly and Mark Scheifele among the other names being floated. For Montreal, it leaves an important question hanging over the rest of the trade chatter: whether the Canadiens can stay involved long enough to matter, or whether this is another sweepstakes they are watching from the outside. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Just Got Pulled Into A Dylan Larkin Roster Watch
The Canadiens have found themselves part of an unexpected trade conversation around Dylan Larkin, with Montreal reportedly showing off young talent in discussions involving the Detroit Red Wings center. It is the kind of background noise that follows a player of Larkins stature, and in Montreals case it points to a front office willing to dangle prospects and draft picks if the right opening appears.
There is still a long way to go before anything real can come together, though, because Larkin has not yet given Montreal his approval as a destination. Detroits suspension of the situation has only added another layer to the uncertainty, and while Larkin has made it clear he wants his status settled, the Canadiens are still waiting to see whether the talks can get any traction. [Read more 🡒]