Nikita Kucherov Requests Trade from Tampa Bay Lightning

The current 2026/2027 season is the last in Nikita Kucherov’s eight-year, $76 million contract, which he signed on July 10, 2018, with an average annual salary of $9.5 million. Hockey forward Nikita Kucherov He informed the Tampa Bay Lightning management that he would not sign a new contract and wanted to be traded to another NHL club overseas.

According to respected insider Elliott Friedman, Kucherov would welcome a trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens, where he would be a teammate of Juraj Slafkovský. Kucherov has a modified no-trade clause and has reportedly already given the Lightning a list of ten clubs to which they could trade him.

Rejected million-dollar offer and salary demands

According to Friedman, Kucherov demanded a contract from Tampa Bay on the level of Kirill Kaprizov, who signed an eight-year deal with Minnesota. Kucherov reportedly rejected a four-year deal worth $15 million per season, and was most upset that negotiations for a new contract were dragging on.

According to Friedman, Kucherov, his agent Dan Milstein, coach Jon Cooper and general manager met on Friday. Julien BriseBois, but the situation has not yet been resolved. The Lightning subsequently issued a statement saying they have no plans to trade Kucherov. “We are aware of the media reports regarding Nikita Kucherov’s future with the Lightning. We have no intention of trading Nikita,” BriseBois said in a statement published by sportsnet.ca.

The future of the club’s historic leader

The 33-year-old winger, drafted by Tampa Bay in 2011, recently surpassed Steven Stamkos as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. He has scored 1,139 points on 405 goals and 734 assists for the Lightning, helping the team win the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021.

After the end of the current season, Kučerov can become an unrestricted free agent, the AP agency reported, while from July 1 can sign a new contract.