After a wild stretch around Nikita Kucherov, the Lightning are trying to keep the focus on the ice, not the noise.
That’s easier said than done when Kucherov’s agent, Dan Milstein, went public Wednesday on the “Daily Faceoff” podcast and said the superstar winger had come to understand he may need “another home elsewhere outside of Tampa Bay.” Milstein added, “Looking back at this past summer, I wish that (Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois) and I did things a little bit different. But things went horribly wrong, beyond repair probably at this point in time, and it’s unfortunate, but at the conclusion of the season it’s time to move on.”
The word “probably” matters there. So does the rest of the picture.
The Lightning are not shopping Kucherov, and they are not acting like a team preparing to lose him. They’re 2-0-1 since last Friday’s trade request, and Kucherov has already had a hand in five of their 12 goals while finishing plus-4.
That kind of response fits Tampa Bay’s personality. This is a franchise that has spent years absorbing turbulence and moving forward anyway.
It won the Stanley Cup in quarantine during COVID. The next season, it played a 56-game schedule with realigned divisions, made the playoffs without Kucherov, then won a second straight title with him.
The organization has shown over and over that it can block out the outside chatter and keep rolling.
It has also shown it can make hard calls on stars. The Lightning weren’t eager to trade Steven Stamkos, and BriseBois made that clear during Stamkos’ final season in 2023-24.
But after a first-round loss to Florida, Stamkos walked in the offseason. Tampa Bay’s approach has always been about the Cup, not about settling for a decent year or a mild playoff run.
That same mindset is why the Lightning believe they can keep reloading. They used the cap space from letting Stamkos go, then flipped Mikhail Sergachev to sign Jake Guentzel and acquire J.J.
Moser and Conor Geekie. They’ve found value in players such as Benjamin Rautianen and Dominic James.
They traded Isaac Howard for Sam O’Reilly. And they took heat for sending multiple first-rounders in a deal for Brandon Hagel, a 23-year-old with 108 games of NHL experience, only to develop him into a central locker room figure.
If Kucherov and the Lightning can’t find common ground, the organization will treat that the same way. It will keep moving.
The contract backdrop is part of what has made this so tense. Leo Carlsson’s $18 million average annual value offer sheet from Anaheim changed the market.
Macklin Celebrini followed with an $18.8 million AAV extension in San Jose. Connor Bedard’s next deal in Chicago will pay him $15 million a year.
Cutter Gauthier’s next contract with Anaheim will carry a $13.5 million AAV. And Colorado’s Cale Makar is set for $20.4 million on his next contract.
Milstein argued Kucherov belongs in that tier, saying, “I don’t see a reason why Nikita Kuchov should get paid any less than those guys,” and adding, “He has already done it, and he will continue doing it in his 40s. You see the way he plays the game.
I believe that he will be just as effective, and he’ll put out more 100-point seasons. And you can quote me on that years from now.
Into the late 30s and 40, I don’t think his production is going to dip below what you see right now.”
The history is not exactly on that side. In the salary-cap era, only one player has had a 100-point season after age 35, and Joe Sakic did it once at age 37. That reality has to be part of BriseBois’ thinking as he weighs whatever offer he has made.
For now, the Lightning are betting that time, winning and a little calm can change the mood. If they get back into real Cup contention, maybe the money and the emotion meet somewhere in the middle.
BriseBois and Milstein have both drawn lines, but nothing is final yet. There is still room for a happy ending.
In Other News...
Victor Hedman Is Giving The Lightning A Huge Reason For Optimism
Victor Hedmans start to the season has given the Lightning a welcome jolt, especially after he opened with a quiet stretch that could have dragged down expectations. Instead, the veteran defenseman has quickly found his offensive rhythm, piling up four goals and two assists over 10 games and putting himself on pace for what could become a strong rebound year.
For Tampa Bay, that matters beyond the box score. Hedman has long been the kind of player whose value runs deeper than points, and this early surge only adds to the sense that he is pushing through with the same steady professionalism that has defined his career. If he keeps producing at this rate, the Lightning may have more than just a productive blue-liner on their hands, with his persistence also putting him in the conversation for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Want Dylan Larkin But Red Wings Fans Know The Catch
Andrei Vasilevskiys camp has offered a little stability for the Lightning at a time when roster questions can start to pile up quickly around a contender. His agent said the goaltender is happy in Tampa Bay, a reassuring note for a team that has built so much of its recent identity around elite play in net and the expectation that its core stays intact.
The timing matters because there has been some uncertainty around Nikita Kucherovs future, and any hint of movement around a star can ripple through the rest of the roster. For Tampa Bay, hearing confidence from Vasilevskiys side is the kind of backdrop that helps quiet the noise, even if the bigger picture still has one notable question hanging over it. [Read more 🡒]
Lightning Fans Have A New Reason To Watch Vasilevskiy Closely
With the Lightning still sorting through front-office business, interim GM Shawn Horcoff has been handling trade talks involving Dylan Larkin and Simon Edvinsson while also trying to strengthen his case for the permanent job. The challenge is obvious: he wants the best possible return, but the market has not exactly given him a long list of ideal partners, which can make every negotiation feel a little tighter than it should.
Amid all that roster maneuvering, Andrei Vasilevskiy has emerged as a reassuring subplot for Tampa Bay fans. His agent said the star goalie is happy with the Lightning and wants to finish his career in Tampa Bay, a reminder that even as contract chatter continues around teammate Nikita Kucherov, the franchise still has one of its most important pillars sounding firmly committed to the organization. [Read more 🡒]