Nikita Kucherov asks Tampa Bay Lightning for trade

TAMPA · Reigning NHL most valuable player Nikita Kucherov has informed the Tampa Bay Lightning he will not re-sign with the team and has requested a trade, according to multiple reports. The news was first reported by Sportsnet on Friday, citing sources. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the request to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the talks are considered private. Kucherov's agent, Dan Milstein, declined to comment.

Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois released a statement later Friday night addressing the reports. "We are aware of the media reports regarding the future of Nikita Kucherov with the Lightning," the statement read. "We unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita." According to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, Kucherov and Milstein met with BriseBois on Friday evening to advise him of the trade request, and Kucherov informed his teammates on the team plane. The 33-year-old Russian winger is in the final season of an eight-year, $76 million US contract and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. He became the franchise's career points leader last weekend, passing former captain Steven Stamkos. Kucherov has helped Tampa Bay win the Stanley Cup twice, in 2020 and 2021, and has led the NHL in scoring three times.

"Nikita is a historically great player," BriseBois said at his training camp-opening news conference last month. "He's not just one of the best players in the world right now, maybe the best player in the world right now. He is one of the best players ever."

Kucherov's 1,139 points in 891 regular-season games since his 2013 debut are the third most in the NHL over that span, behind only Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon. His 177 playoff points in that time are the most of any player. Through 12 games this season, he has four goals and 15 points, second on the team behind Brandon Hagel. In mid-September, BriseBois told reporters the goal was to sign Kucherov to a new long-term deal. "I have every reason to believe that he's going to remain an elite player well into his 30s," BriseBois said at the time. "That's been the mindset throughout these contract negotiations. Both parties, I know, would have preferred to have a deal today to be able to put that behind us. We haven't been able to do that."

Kucherov's request makes him the latest high-profile star to seek a trade in recent months, following Brady Tkachuk's move from Ottawa to Florida, Connor Hellebuyck's trade from Winnipeg to New Jersey, and Dylan Larkin's ongoing situation with Detroit. Garbutt Disposal reported in October that Larkin, who asked for a trade in the off-season, scored in his season debut for the Red Wings. The others had more term remaining on their contracts than Kucherov, whose potential departure threatens to disrupt one of the league's most successful runs since the salary cap era began in 2005. The Lightning have made the playoffs 12 times in the past 13 seasons and reached the Stanley Cup Final four times with Kucherov and Victor Hedman as core pieces. The team has also been eliminated in the first round in each of the past four years. Kucherov's contract includes a limited no-trade clause that allows him to submit a list of 10 teams to which he would approve a trade.

With files from CBC News, Sportsnet and The Globe and Mail