TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning said Friday they have no plans to move Nikita Kucherov, hours after reports emerged that the reigning NHL MVP had told the club and his teammates he will not sign a new contract and wants to be traded.
General manager Julien BriseBois addressed the reports in a statement on the team’s social media accounts, saying the organization knows about them and has no intention whatsoever of dealing Kucherov. Neither BriseBois nor Kucherov’s agent, Dan Milstein, would discuss the trade request itself.
Kucherov, 33, is playing out the last year of the eight-year, $76 million contract he signed in July 2018, which carries a cap hit of $9.5 million. An extension has been possible since the first of July, and without one he hits the open market in 2027. His deal includes a modified no-trade clause.
In September, BriseBois said both sides wanted a new deal done and that talks with the agent were continuing, with the goal of keeping the Russian forward in Tampa for years.
The development is a jolt for a franchise built around him. Kucherov piled up 130 points last season, second in the league, and took home the Hart Trophy for the second time. He became the Lightning’s career scoring leader last weekend in Utah, passing Steven Stamkos, and now has 1,139 points in 891 games, all with Tampa Bay. He helped lead the club to Stanley Cup titles in 2020 and 2021.
Through 12 games this fall he has 15 points. Tampa Bay is 8-3-1 and sits third in the Atlantic Division, two points out of first.
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