The contract talk can wait, at least for now, if you ask Nikita Kucherov.
With a year left on his current deal at a $9.5 million cap hit, the Tampa Bay Lightning winger is one of the biggest names still without an extension after a hectic month around the NHL, when several teams and players got new deals done before the league’s new CBA kicked in Wednesday. Kucherov became eligible to sign on July 1, but when he met with reporters after arriving at training camp on Wednesday, he made it clear where his attention is.
“My mind is trying to help the team this year,” Kucherov told the media, including team reporter Gabby Shirley. “I control what I can control, and I’ll do my best with what I can on the ice, and that’s what I’m focusing on right now.”
That answer fits a player who just turned in one of the finest seasons of his career. The 33-year-old winger won his second Hart Trophy after piling up 130 points in 76 regular-season games, a reminder that his game still sits in the sport’s highest tier.
The production hasn’t been a one-year spike, either. Over the last five full NHL regular seasons - leaving out the two pandemic-shortened years - Kucherov has reached at least 113 points every time and never finished lower than 12th in Hart Trophy voting. Four of those five seasons ended with him inside the top three.
At this point, he belongs in the same offensive conversation as Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Leon Draisaitl. And with the salary cap climbing sharply over the past two years, Kucherov looks positioned for a major raise whenever the next deal comes together.
In Other News...
Lightning Start The Season With A Forward Problem They Can't Ignore
The Lightnings center depth took a hit before the puck even dropped, with general manager Julien BriseBois saying Yanni Gourde will remain sidelined through the early part of the season while he continues recovering from offseason hip surgery. Gourde is entering the second season of the six-year deal he signed with Tampa Bay, and his absence leaves a notable void in the middle of the lineup for a team that was counting on veteran stability down the center aisle.
Dominic James was supposed to be part of the next wave after his rookie NHL season and a new two-year entry-level contract, but he, too, is out of the picture for now after breaking his hand during training. BriseBois said James will miss the first few weeks of the season, which only heightens the pressure on Tampa Bay to patch together its forward group until reinforcements start coming back. [Read more 🡒]
Lightning Already Face A Forward Depth Problem Before Camp Opens
The Lightning were already headed into camp with a thin margin for error up front, and Julien BriseBois update only sharpened that concern. Yanni Gourde is not expected back until December after offseason hip surgery, a significant hit to the kind of energy and reliability Tampa Bay has long counted on from its lower lines.
Dominic James added to the short-term squeeze when he broke his hand during offseason training and will miss several weeks. For a team trying to sort out its bottom six before the season begins, the timing is less than ideal, leaving Tampa Bay to navigate the early months without two forwards who were supposed to help stabilize the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]
Nikita Kucherov's Biggest Lightning Question Still Has No Clear Answer
Contract questions around star players can linger all season, and Nikita Kucherov has now become the latest reminder of how carefully the Lightning manage their biggest business decisions. Julien BriseBois has confirmed that extension talks with Kucherov are still ongoing, a notable backdrop for a player whose place in Tampa Bays core has long been settled on the ice even as the paperwork remains unfinished.
Kucherov is heading into the final year of his deal, and for now the Lightning are leaving the hockey side to take care of itself while the front office keeps the dialogue open. BriseBois has stayed in touch with Kucherovs agent, and both sides would have preferred to have something done already, but the lack of a clear answer is exactly what keeps this one in view as the season moves along. [Read more 🡒]