Nikita Kucherov is looking to leave the Tampa Bay Lightning after 13 seasons and two Stanley Cups with the franchise, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Friday.
According to Friedman, Kucherov “has informed both his teammates and the Lightning organization that he will not be re-signing with Tampa Bay and would like to be traded.”
The Lightning responded with a statement from general manager Julien BriseBoise that members of the front office “unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita.”
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported “Kucherov plans to keep playing for the Lightning while this situation plays out.”
Kucherov, 33, is playing in the final year of his eight-year, $9.5 million AAV contract with the Lightning. He holds a modified no-trade clause through which he can submit 10 approved destinations, according to PuckPedia.
The reigning Hart Trophy winner has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 12 games of the Lightning’s 8-3-1 start to the season.
Kucherov and his agent met with BriseBois about his trade request Friday afternoon, per LeBrun.
He told his teammates about the request on the team’s Friday flight to Nashville, LeBrun reported.
BriseBois said as of July the Lightning felt Kucherov wanted to stay in Tampa following early talks with his representatives about a potential extension, per TampaBayLightning.com’s Benjamin Pierce.
Kucherov signed his last extension with the Lightning in 2018, shortly before former GM Steve Yzerman’s exit from the franchise.
He now joins Connor Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin, who each held full no-movement clauses on their respective contracts, as the latest NHL star to seek a mid-season trade from his team.
Hellebuyck, who did not report to Winnipeg Jets training camp following his trade request, was suspended for the first month of the season before getting moved to the New Jersey Devils.
Larkin missed the preseason and two regular-season games after submitting his request to the Detroit Red Wings, but is now sitting out indefinitely without pay in an effort to force his own trade.
The Lightning might be hoping to maintain a more amicable relationship with Kucherov, whose 130-point campaign last season was a significant reason the Lightning extended their nine-year playoff streak.
Tampa Bay was ultimately eliminated in seven games by the Montreal Canadiens, marking the team’s fourth straight first-round elimination. BriseBois said after the loss the franchise was still committed to sticking with the NHL’s longest-tenured head coach in Jon Cooper.
Kucherov was drafted by the Lightning in 2011 and subsequently developed into one of the NHL’s best wingers. He won his first Hart and Art Ross Trophies in 2019 before helping his team claim back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021.
He will now join Steven Stamkos, who signed with the Nashville Predators when he hit free agency in 2024, as the next star of those Cup-winning teams to seek an exit from Tampa. The news comes under a week after Kucherov passed Stamkos as the Lightning’s all-time points leader.
