NHL superstar Nikita Kucherov has informed the Tampa Bay Lightning he is not re-signing with the team and has asked for a trade, according to multiple media reports.
The Athletic reported that Kucherov and his agent, Dan Milstein, made the request during a meeting Friday with Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman broke news, which was confirmed by ESPN's Emily Kaplan and The Associated Press.
All cited league sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the discussions are private. The Lightning did not respond to the media outlets' requests for comments.
Kucherov, the reigning NHL MVP who became the franchise's all-time leading scorer last weekend, told teammates about the request during the flight to Nashville for Saturday’s game against the Predators.
Kucherov plans to keep playing for the Lightning unitl the situation is resolved, league sources told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun.
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Kucherov is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after this season, the last of an eight-year, $76 million contract signed in 2018. Since then, he has helped Tampa Bay win the Stanley Cup twice with two other appearances in the finals, led the NHL in scoring three times, and was voted the recipient of the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2018-19 and 2025-26.
Talks on a contract extension have not progressed, although BriseBois told reporters in mid-September that the goal was to get Kucherov signed to a deal that keeps him around for years.
Kucherov has been seeking a six-year extension with an average annual value in the range of $20 million, NHL sources told the Athletic’s Chris Johnston.
Kucherov has a modified no-trade clause, which allows him to submit a 10-team list of approved teams for Tampa Bay to work with, Kaplan reported. Sources also told ESPN that Kucherov wants to go to a team with another NHL superstar.
Kucherov's 1,139 points in 891 regular-season games since debuting in 2013 are third most among all players over that time behind only Edmonton's Connor McDavid and Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon. His 177 in the playoffs are the most during that span.
“Nikita is a historically great player,” BriseBois said 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. I have every reason to believe that he’s going to remain an elite player well into his 30s. That’s been the mindset throughout these contract negotiations."
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This season, Kucherov has four goals and 11 assists for 15 points through 12 games, second on the team behind Brandon Hagel. The Lightning go into the Nashville game in third place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 8-3-1.
Kucherov's request makes him the latest high-profile star to ask for a trade in recent months, after Brady Tkachuk went from Ottawa to Florida, Connor Hellebuyck from Winnipeg to New Jersey and Dylan Larkin remains in limbo with Detroit.
The others had more time left on their current contracts than Kucherov, whose uncertainty threatens to upend what has been one of the most successful runs in the league since the salary cap era began in 2005.
The Lightning have made the playoffs 12 times in 13 seasons and reached the final four times with Kucherov and defenseman ictor Hedman at the center of their core, with forward Steven Stamkos, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, center Brayden Point and others cycling in and out. They have also been knocked out in the first round each of the past four years.
WUSF's Rick Mayer contributed to this report.
