Opinion: The Timeline Isn't Right for Nikita Kucherov to Make Sense in San Jose

It's undeniable that watching a line of Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and Nikita Kucherov would be entertaining, to say the very least. With that being said, the timing for the San Jose Sharks simply isn't right.

The Tampa Bay Lightning winger requested a trade out of the organization according to Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman, and although he's a phenomenal player, there are quite a few reasons why bringing him to the Bay Area doesn't make sense in my eyes.

If the Sharks were even close to being true Stanley Cup contenders, there's no doubt that adding Kucherov would help them in that pursuit. As we saw last night against the Vancouver Canucks though, they're struggling to scrape a win against the worst team in the league. There are bigger issues that need to be solved.

One of those issues, the 5-on-5 play, would certainly be helped by acquiring Kucherov. He's an elite player at even strength, as evidenced by his 35 goals and 57 assists at even strength. The others, such as the systems and the blue line, would still hold back the Sharks to a point where even with Kucherov, they'd be long-shots to go on a deep playoff run. 

Financially, the Sharks would have to move out some cap space to be able to fit Kucherov on the roster. The clear solution would likely be trading Dmitry Orlov, who has struggled to this point in the season, but at this stage, the Sharks may need to attach an asset to him to make a trade. That also doesn't account for the fact that Kucherov is likely going to get a massive pay raise next season, as his current $9.5 million cap hit is well below market value for the reigning Hart Trophy winner. His next contract could easily mirror Celebrini's, although it would likely be shorter term.

Additionally, Kucherov is 33 years old. If the Sharks hadn't signed Mason Marchment, Alex Wennberg and Kiefer Sherwood to long-term deals, bringing in a veteran forward wouldn't be a bad idea. However, with them on the roster and all holding full no-trade clauses, adding another would just take away from the team's ability to develop young players to create long-term success rather than a short blip of success.

Last but not least, while the Sharks are struggling to score at 5-on-5 this season, that seems more like a temporary issue due to usage rather than a personnel issue. The Sharks would be better off using their assets to address the defensive core which lacks a player projected to be a true number-one defenseman. The reports linking them to Detroit Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson seem like a much more logical use of assets to create long-term success in the Bay Area.

Nikita Kucherov in teal would be entertaining, there's no doubt about it. But mortgaging a promising future for a couple of playoff runs that likely wouldn't end in a Stanley Cup coming to San Jose wouldn't be wise. Although, if Mike Grier didn't at least check in on the reigning MVP, he wouldn't be doing his job. The Sharks will almost certainly be linked to Kucherov in the near future, but it shouldn't go further than that.