While Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Julien BriseBois has quite a bit of work to get done as he looks to improve the Bolts ahead of the 2026-27 season, he'll have another major piece of business to attend to as well. As of July 1, star forward Nikita Kucherov will officially enter the final year of his current contract, meaning he'll be eligible to sign a new contract extension.
Kucherov will likely receive quite a pay raise from his current cap hit of $9.5 million. At 33 years of age, the term will likely be much shorter than his current deal, but as we've seen with players like Brad Marchand in Florida, some players well into their 30s can still demand long-term contracts.
Kucherov has been winning quite a bit of hardware since entering his 30s, as he's won the Art Ross Trophy in two of the last three seasons and was most recently named the winner of the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.
