Media chatter around Nikita Kucherov is suddenly all over the map, but the one concrete line in the middle of it came from Tampa Bay itself: the Lightning say they have no intention of moving him.
In a statement from GM Julien BriseBois, the team said, “We are aware of the media reports regarding the future of Nikita Kucherov with the Lightning. We unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita.”
Even with that out there, the speculation hasn’t slowed down. Pierre LeBrun reported that Kucherov will keep playing for the Lightning while Tampa works through the situation.
From there, the discussion quickly turned to where he could fit if anything ever changed. Emily Kaplan said she believes Kucherov would want to play alongside another one of the NHL’s top players, and that he has a few teams and players in mind.
One name that immediately got traction was Macklin Celebrini. Max Miller pointed to that fit, saying, “This screams Celebrini. Players love what he’s bringing to the league and the other top stars in the NHL have raved about playing with him during best on best/international tourneys.”
Then came the market guesses. Jonny Lazarus made the case for Utah, writing, “My gut is telling me #TusksUp will be the landing spot for Kucherov, they have the $ and assets to pull off a trade.
Bill Armstrong is the kind of guy to make a splash and their team is loaded. They have $25M in projected cap space next year, per @PuckPedia.
Mikhail Sergachev is signed through 2031. Kucherov played for Andre Tourigny in the QMJHL in 2012-13″
Cole Bagley also saw reasons Utah could be in the mix, though he raised the bigger question of whether that kind of move makes sense for where the team is right now. “A whole lot of reasons it would make sense for Utah to go after Kucherov.
Bill is always looking for ways to make the team better. But are they ready for something like this?
Is this the scenario where you finally mortgage the farm to accelerate the rebuild?”
The Islanders got mentioned too. Stefen Rosner said, “Kucherov is a fit for #Isles, for sure.
Likelihood of it happening, no idea. But he’s exactly the kind of player this team needs.
Also there is a connection with Darche.”
Colorado entered the conversation as well, though Evan Rawal didn’t sound eager to try constructing that deal. “I’m on vacation and the thought of a “Kuch to Colorado” package hurts my brain and would need to involve a big contract (and good player) headed other way.
And oh yes, the Avs are asset poor. We all know Nate loves Kucherov, though.”
Ben Pope dismissed the idea of Chicago paying a huge price for a player who is already 33. “I cannot see a world in which the Blackhawks give up tons of young players/1st rounders and commit $18 million or whatever to a 33-year-old. Obviously Kucherov would make the team immensely more watchable right now, but that would be insanely shortsighted.”
David Staples had his own shortlist, putting Carolina, Utah and Boston at the top. He added, “Kucherov?
Carolina, Utah or Boston would be my bet. I’ll bet Boston gets him.
But why is he pushing for a trade now? Makes little sense, given he’s on a good team.”
And Matt Marchese floated a more complicated idea involving Detroit and Dylan Larkin, saying he didn’t know who was on Kucherov’s 10-team trade list but that Utah has center depth and blue-chip prospects. He added, “Detroit is looking for a centre, help to move Larkin
- Tampa could take on Larkin
- Utah gets Kucherov
- Detroit gets a package of players & prospects.”
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