Three Potential NHL Trade Destinations For Tampa Bay Lightning Star Nikita Kucherov

The recent frenzy of trade requests around the NHL took a spooky turn on the eve of Halloween.

Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov reportedly told the organization he has no intention of re-signing when his contract expires, and also asked for a trade. The 33-year-old is in the final season of an eight-year, $76-million contract ($9.5 million per season). 

According to PuckPedia, Kucherov has a modified no-trade clause with a 10-team list of approved destinations. None of those teams, or his preferred destinations, have been formally revealed at the time of writing.

While Lightning GM Julien BriseBois came out on Friday and announced that the organization has "no intention" of trading Kucherov, the prospect of the reigning Hart Trophy winner being on the move is far too intriguing to not explore.

With that said, here are three possible trade partners to look out for:

Of all the destinations on this list, the Canadiens feel like the team that is best equipped to provide the assets needed to acquire a player of Kucherov's caliber.

That is, of course, in a scenario where the Lightning are willing to take on prospects and draft picks in a move that would set them back significantly from a competitive standpoint and would likely spark a rebuild.

Canadiens GM Kent Hughes reportedly just missed out on Matthew Knies before he was traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Kirill Marchenko, another Russian winger who they were interested in.

It's clear they've been looking to make a splash, and landing Kucherov would probably be the greatest consolation prize of all time.

After learning from those previous negotiating processes, Hughes has to be willing to lay everything on the table. That means some combination of Michael Hage, Alexander Zharovsky, and even first-round picks have to be assets they are willing to part ways with.

The deal would almost certainly need to feature a roster player with a significant cap hit heading the other way as well, with Zack Bolduc ($4.2 million AAV), Phillip Danault ($5.5 million AAV), Josh Anderson ($5.5 million AAV) all standing out as potential candidates.

If the Lightning are looking to remain competitive, there happens to be another disgruntled star winger on a Cup-contending franchise who could be looking for a change of scenery.

Rumors circulated throughout the summer that Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill had been shopping Robertson to franchises like the Seattle Kraken and the St. Louis Blues when both parties were unable to come to terms on an extension.

They ultimately agreed on a one-year, $12-million contract and the 27-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Robertson is eligible to sign an extension on Jan. 1, 2027.

It's impossible for the Lightning to replace what Kucherov provides in a trade like this, but landing a younger winger who has scored 40 goals in three of the last five seasons would probably be a dream 'downgrade' for BriseBois.

Not much explanation is needed on the Stars' end, as Kucherov possesses the talent that could finally get them over the hump. On top of freeing up $3 million in cap space by trading Robertson, veteran Tyler Seguin is set to become a free agent next summer and would give the Stars an additional $9.85 million in space to work with on an extension.

Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong could assemble arguably the strongest top-six group of forwards in the NHL if were to land Kucherov.

This scenario would be similar to the proposal with the Canadiens, where they'd be able to give up multiple high-end prospects like Tij Iginla, Caleb Desnoyers or Ethan Belchetz. They have three first-round picks over the next two drafts as well, and for a team on the rise, there's no need to hold on to all of them.

As for the financials, the Mammoth currently have just over $4.6 million in cap space along with a handful of roster players with no trade protection they could attach to make the money work. Lawson Crouse ($4.3 million AAV), Jack McBain ($4.25 million AAV), and Kevin Stenlund ($2.75 million AAV) stand out as potential options.

With Kucherov, teams would dread playing shorthanded against the Mammoth. Adding arguably the most talented power-play specialist in league history to the second-best unit in the NHL would instantly make them a must-watch team on a nightly basis.

This is the exact type of swing that could put a young team like the Mammoth over the edge and push them to be perennial Cup contenders.

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