Virtually everyone outside the Tampa Bay Lightning camp was ready to cry foul when Nikita Kucherov’s surgically repaired hip seemed to line up perfectly with Game 1 of the playoffs, the moment his $9.5-million cap hit stopped counting. But that timing wasn’t on him.
What mattered was what came next. After hip surgery, Kucherov returned and put together one of the most electrifying postseasons in recent memory, piling up goals, assists and deception at a pace that evoked the prime years of Mario Lemieux. His 32 points won him the playoff scoring title for a second straight year, and he became only the fifth player in NHL history to post 30 points in multiple postseasons.
The debate over the regular season’s biggest stars had belonged to Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid in 2019-20 and 2020-21, but Kucherov’s place in the conversation was already cemented before that. In 2018-19, he erupted for 128 points, the most in the salary-cap era, and he has since added back-to-back Stanley Cups.
McDavid may be the best player in the world, but Kucherov’s 2021 playoff run made a strong case for the No. 2 spot. “The guy’s just a special, special player, a big reason why we’re here celebrating, a big part of this team,” said left winger Blake Coleman.
“He’s on another level. I don’t know anybody else that could miss the entire regular season, come back and do what he did.
He deserves a ton of credit. He’s a great player, great teammate, great friend, just a great guy to have in the room.”