New details emerge on two massive offers for Nikita Kucherov
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The Lightning offered Nikita Kucherov $15 million a year in July and again in September, per Pierre LeBrun, even as the star winger asks for a trade.
Two big offers from the Tampa Bay Lightning didn't keep Nikita Kucherov from asking for a trade, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.
Tampa first offered him four years at $15 million per season in the first week of July.
In September, the Bolts stretched that to six years at the same $15 million number.
Re Nikita Kucherov trade request: "The Lightning offered Kucherov four years at a $15 million [AAV] in the first week of July; Then the Bolts offered six years at $15 million in September."
- Pierre LeBrun
- Pierre LeBrun
That timeline tells a story.
Kucherov, 33, is in the final year of an eight-year, $76 million contract with a $9.5 million cap hit, so either offer would have been a massive raise.
The Lightning clearly wanted this locked up before it turned into a public mess.
It also sets a real benchmark for any team that wants to get involved.
Kucherov wanted a lot more
Chris Johnston reported that Kucherov was seeking six years at around $20 million per season.
That's a $5 million gap on the annual number, and the Lightning weren't ready to go there.
Now it may not even matter.
LeBrun wrote that Kucherov would pass on that price today if Tampa agreed to it, because he feels spurned after a lack of negotiations with general manager Julien BriseBois.
BriseBois said Friday that the club has no plans to move him.
Kucherov, a two-time Hart Trophy winner including this past season, is still expected to keep playing for Tampa while everything plays out.
Where this goes from here
Kucherov holds a modified 10-team list of trade destinations, and LeBrun wrote that nearly every team in the league talked about adding him over the weekend.
LeBrun also believes the Canadiens would jump into the race.
If Tampa doesn't deal him, he'll hit unrestricted free agency in July, and that's when things get really interesting.
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