“Nikita Kucherov wants to play with another NHL superstar”

Mathis Therrien
“Nikita Kucherov wants to play with another NHL superstar”
Credit: Mike Carlson/Getty Images

The hot topic right now in the hockey world is Nikita Kucherov's trade request, which was made public yesterday by several reputable sources, including Elliotte Friedman.

This has obviously sent shockwaves through the National Hockey League, given that Kucherov is one of the best players in the world and is clearly among the top five in the NHL.

We were all surprised by this news, and we're now eagerly awaiting further developments.

As of the latest reports, Kucherov—who is in the final year of his eight-year, $9.5 million contract—has not submitted a trade request list.

So we don't know where the Tampa Bay Lightning's #86 wants to be traded, but we're learning some important details that are likely to fuel the rumors.

According to Emily Kaplan, Kucherov wants to play alongside another NHL superstar, and he reportedly already has a few players and teams in mind.

Obviously, not every NHL team meets the criterion of having a superstar on its roster, which significantly narrows down the list of options for potential trade rumors.

It all depends on what Kucherov considers a superstar, but my gut tells me he surely means the best players in the NHL—the cream of the crop.

Furthermore, I personally believe that Kucherov would want to play alongside this superstar frequently, and therefore, he would want a team with at least one superstar forward—not just a superstar defenseman.

This further narrows the list of potential teams to which Kucherov would agree to be traded, especially considering that he'd want a competitive team with a good chance of winning the Stanley Cup in the near future.

At age 33, here are the teams I see as being in the Lightning forward's best interest:

Atlantic Division

  • Florida Panthers (Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov)
  • Toronto Maple Leafs (Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Gavin McKenna)
  • Buffalo Sabres (Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin)
  • Montreal Canadiens (Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Ivan Demidov, and Lane Hutson)

Metropolitan Division

  • Carolina Hurricanes (Sebastian Aho)
  • New Jersey Devils (Jack Hughes and Connor Hellebuyck)

Central Division

  • Minnesota Wild (Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Quinn Hughes)
  • Colorado Avalanche (Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar)
  • Dallas Stars (Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, and Miro Heiskanen)

Pacific Division

  • Edmonton Oilers (Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl)
  • Vegas Golden Knights (Jack Eichel)
  • San Jose Sharks (Macklin Celebrini)
  • Anaheim Ducks (Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier)

In short, a little more than half of the NHL teams can forget about Kucherov, in my opinion.

So this is definitely a story to watch closely.


In a Nutshell

– That would be funny.

– Phew, that's rough.

– Stay tuned.

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