Nikita Kucherov Walks the Road to Free Agency

A week ago, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet announced that Nikita Kucherov would not be re-signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning and had requested a trade. Kucherov told his teammates what was happening before their game against the Nashville Predators last Saturday and ahead of his meeting with agent Dan Milstein, head coach Jon Cooper, and General Manager Julien BriseBois.

That meeting made it clear nothing changed Kucherov’s mind or convinced him to stay with the Lightning. This summer, BriseBois and the Lightning aim to make Kucherov a lifetime member of the organization. However, as his agent Dan Milstein explained to Jeff Marek and Dave Pagnotta on DFO Insider, it is unfortunate they couldn’t reach an agreement, but at season’s end it will be time to move on.

“I can’t say anything bad about Julien (BriseBois). I believe, for a very long time, very good terms… Looking back at this past summer, I wish that both him and I did things a little bit different,” Milstein said. “And I’ll just leave it at that. Things went horribly wrong, beyond repair, probably, at this point in time, and it’s unfortunate, at the conclusion of the seasonit’s time to move on.”

Again, at the end of last season, Kucherov let his agent handle things. The player didn’t seem concerned when training camp opened, while the Lightning General Manager hoped something would happen. However, when training camp opened, there was disappointment in BriseBois’s voice, but they tried to work through the problems, and it got to the breaking point when Kucherov requested a trade.

However, the Lightning have no plans to trade him. Brisebois made that clear in a statement, saying they emphatically aren’t trading him. That leaves the team and the player at a crossroads, as feelings were hurt and things became personal. As Kucherov noted in his press availability on Monday, it wasn’t about the money, but the lack of communication and respect.

“I think it was never about the money for me, more about poor communication and respect,” Kucherov told the assembled media when asked what in particular in these trade negotiations led to the trade request. “Over the last four months, we only have had two conversations, and Julien [BriseBois]made it clear that I’m free to walk on July 1st.”

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That’s what the player will be doing as he continues to play for the Tampa Bay Lightning. While everyone knows the situation, Kucherov doubled down on his training-camp comments as he remains committed to helping the Lightning win. That was where his mind was then and remains now, even in this tough situation. There are no issues between the player and his teammates. Nor between the player and the head coach.

If you thought Kucherov was going to take his stick and go home, think again. As his agent, Dan Milstein, noted, his client isn’t going to go home just because a trade hasn’t happened. He is committed to the Tampa Bay Lightning. As Full Press Hockey has documented, unless something major happens where the Lightning are out of playoff contention, Nikita Kucherov isn’t being traded.

That means he is heading into July 1st and free agency, as his agent told Jeff Marek and Dave Pagnotta on the DFO Insider.

“My job, whether he’s going to get traded or not. He’s going to play out his existing contract,” Milstein added. “And he’ll play his heart out for the Tampa Bay Lightning and July 1 regardless if he gets traded now or later. On July 1, he will sign with a new club and he’ll just take it from there.”

Again, Nikita Kucherov has seen the Tampa Bay Lightning take this similar path with previous players, including most recently Steven Stamkos. Stamkos, who was the same age as Kucherov, was given a low-ball offer, and the team felt his production and foot speed were diminishing. Stamkos put up 42 goals last season with the Nashville Predators and continues to score this season.

So Kucherov wants to control where he goes and how he gets paid. While it isn’t about the money, the market has been reset, and the player is looking for fair market value. Whether that is $20 million a season remains to be seen, but he definitely wants to be in the Kirill Kaprizov range of $17 million a season for what he has done in the NHL and will continue to do.

But again, if there was one team, as Full Press Hockey has documented, that could do this with a player, it would be the Tampa Bay Lightning. But who would have thought, at the end of last season, that all roads pointed to Nikita Kucherov being a free agent on July 1st, 2027?

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