Nikita Kucherov is looking to leave the Tampa Bay Lightning after 13 seasons and two Stanley Cups with the franchise, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported Friday.
According to Friedman, Kucherov “informed his teammates and the Lightning organization that he would not re-sign with Tampa Bay and would like to be traded.”
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that “Kucherov plans to continue playing for the Lightning while this situation plays out.”
Kucherov, 33, is playing 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 in the Lightning’s 8-3-1 start to the season.
Kucherov and his agent met with Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois about his trade request Friday afternoon, according to LeBrun.
He informed his teammates of the request during the team’s flight Friday to Nashville, LeBrun reported.
BriseBois said that in July, the Lightning felt Kucherov wanted to stay in Tampa after initial discussions with his representatives about a possible extension, according to Benjamin Pierce of TampaBayLightning.com.
Kucherov signed his last extension with the Lightning in 2018, shortly before former general manager Steve Yzerman left the franchise.
He now joins Connor Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin, who each held no-movement clauses on their respective contracts, as the latest NHL star to seek a mid-season trade with 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 being traded 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 out indefinitely without pay in an effort to force his own trade.
The Lightning are hoping to maintain a more amicable relationship with Kucherov, whose 130-point campaign last season was a big reason the Lightning extended their playoff streak to nine seasons.
Tampa Bay was ultimately eliminated in seven games by the Montreal Canadiens, marking the team’s fourth straight first-round elimination. BriseBois said that after the loss, the franchise was still committed to sticking with the NHL’s longest-tenured head coach, Jon Cooper.
Kucherov was drafted by the Lightning in 2011 and went on to become one of the best wingers in the NHL. He won his first Hart and Art Ross Trophies in 2019 before helping his team win back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021.
He will now join Steven Stamkos, who signed with the Nashville Predators when he entered free agency in 2024, as the next star from those Cup-winning teams looking to leave Tampa. The news comes a week after Kucherov passed Stamkos as the Lightning’s all-time scoring leader.
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