Nikita Kucherov: Teams to Watch (According to Pierre LeBrun)

Marc-Olivier Cook
Nikita Kucherov: Teams to Watch (According to Pierre LeBrun)
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

The Lightning has quite a problem on their hands.

And I don't need to spell it out for you to understand.

Will Julien BriseBois keep his word by deciding NOT to trade Nikita Kucherov by the trade deadline on March 1, 2027? If so…

If so, the Lightning risk losing Kuch's services for nothing on July 1, 2027. And for a franchise, it's never ideal to lose a player like that without getting anything in return.

But if Kuch were traded before the deadline or had to wait until July 1, which teams should we keep an eye on in this scenario? Pierre LeBrun named 10 in a recent article:

  • The Leafs
  • The Canadiens
  • The Mammoth
  • The Kings
  • The Golden Knights
  • The Islanders
  • The Hurricanes
  • The Stars
  • The Kraken
  • The Red Wings

Obviously, he's talking about the Habs and the Leafs as teams that could be aggressive on July 1—because Julien BriseBois doesn't want to trade his forward within the Atlantic Division.

But as for the rest… it's interesting.

I was surprised to see that the Wild wasn't on LeBrun's list.

We know that Kucherov wants to play with an NHL megastar, and in Minnesota, there's his compatriot (Kirill Kaprizov) who's been calling the shots for several years now…

But it will all depend on what the Lightning decide to do, too.

Will Julien BriseBois cave and decide to trade him before the trade deadline rather than let him walk away for free as a free agent? Perhaps there's also a scenario in which Kucherov himself will want to choose his next destination in the coming months, which could tie BriseBois's hands…

We'll see in due time.


In a nutshell

– Nothing less.

– I like that.

– Oh.

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