Kucherov Requests Trade After 8-Year, $76M Deal Enters Final Season
Tampa Bay's all-time leading scorer told teammates on the team flight that he wants out, and his contract expires after this season.
By Hiroshi Sato ·
Nikita Kucherov, the 33-year-old winger who has played for the Tampa Bay Lightning since the 2013-14 season, has asked the team to trade him, according to reports published Friday. Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois and Kucherov's agent, Dan Milstein, both declined to comment.
Kucherov told teammates of his request during the team's flight to Nashville, where Tampa Bay faces the Predators on Saturday. He is in the final season of an eight-year contract worth $76 million, and the two sides have not reached agreement on a new deal.
Any trade would run through a modified no-trade clause that lets Kucherov give the Lightning a list of 10 teams he would accept moving to.
He has played 891 career games and produced 405 goals with 734 assists for 1,139 points. Earlier this week he passed Steven Stamkos, now a Predator, as the franchise's leading scorer.
Kucherov won the Art Ross Trophy as the league's top scorer in 2018-19 with 128 points, in 2023-24 with a career-high 144 points, and in 2024-25 with 121 points. He collected 66 points in the 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs as Tampa Bay won consecutive titles, and holds 177 points across 159 career playoff games.
Source: KOYY
