Wysh List: Seven teams that could win Nikita Kucherov derby

• Greg WyshynskiNov 5, 2026, 08:00 AM ET

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  Greg Wyshynski is ESPN's senior NHL writer.

The hockey world was shocked by Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov asking for a trade last week, as well as his decision to not sign a new contract with the team after this season.

(OK, maybe his general manager wasn't shocked, for reasons we'll get into later.)

There were different jolts within that shock. That last season's most valuable player suddenly becoming available, either as a free agent next summer or more immediately through a trade this season, was a jolt. The Lightning losing that Hart Trophy winner, which might slam shut a Stanley Cup contention window that was barely cracked open, was a jolt.

It's a new milestone in the "player empowerment" movement, albeit a player who is a pending free agent rather than one leaving during a long-term deal. Or as Tampa Bay teammate Brandon Hagel put it, with a nod toward Connor Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin: "It's not like he committed here for eight years and asked out two years into it."

(Thus reinforcing the notion that Hagel hates anything, and anyone, associated with Team USA with the fury of a thousand burning suns, save for Jake Guentzel.)

But the biggest jolt of all was that any of this was happening to begin with: Kucherov wanting out, and the Lightning and GM Julien BriseBois having allowed it to reach this point.

"It's a shock the way things have been handled there," one former teammate of Kucherov's told me this week. "He's the kind of guy where the minute July 1 hits, you'd expect he'd have a deal done."

There was no deal in the summer or in training camp. Kucherov said he and the team have had only two conversations about his contract in the four months leading to his trade request.

My colleague Kevin Weekes reported the Lightning's first offer to Kucherov was around $13 million annually, making him the only current Tampa player with a cap hit higher than $10 million. Weekes said that BriseBois went all the way up to $15 million annually after the NHL's big spending summer, as the Ducks matched Leo Carlsson's offer sheet ($18 million AAV) and the Avalanche signed Cale Makar to new deal with a record $20.8 million cap hit.

Sources told me earlier this year that Kucherov was seeking an average annual value north of $17 million, which is the AAV on Kirill Kaprizov's contract with the Minnesota Wild. Multiple reports said Kucherov was now seeking a contract of six years and $20 million annually after the NHL financial landscape shifted in the summer.

He turns 34 next June. If age is a concern for the Lightning, it shouldn't be. First off, Kucherov isn't exactly a speedster, so any decline in his skating won't impact a pair of the best hands in the league (and a brain to match). Second, every current and former teammate I've spoken to about his condition raves that he'll be productive deep into his late 30s.

No, the concern for the Lightning is the compensation, what it does to their salary structure and how it affects BriseBois's cap flexibility. Remember what the GM said when he let Steven Stamkos walk? That meeting his contract demands "would not being putting ourselves in the best position to chase championships moving forward."

(And let's not lose sight of how that whole situation with Stamkos in 2024 plays on the mind of Kucherov.)

BriseBois and Lightning coach Jon Cooper had a meeting with Kucherov and his agent Dan Milstein in Nashville last Friday. At 6:49 p.m. ET that night, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet sent out his breaking news on Kucherov's trade request. At 9:35 p.m., the Lightning released a statement from BriseBois that said "we unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita."

On Saturday, Cooper told reporters: "Kuch is 100% a part of this team. He wants to be a part of this team for this season, and he is committed to be with the group that loves him and the group he loves."

On Monday, Kucherov finally met with reporters to say that "it was never about the money to me. It was more about poor communication and respect," while adding "for now, I'm part of the team, and I will do everything I can to help my teammates win."

It was interesting to see the reaction to Kucherov asking out. I saw a lot of sentiment online that he had done the Lightning a solid by clearly communicating his intention to not sign and pushing them along to acquire assets for him out the door. I don't know if fans are being "player empowerment-pilled" or they're just relieved to see a pending unrestricted free agent declaring his desire to leave rather than a guy in the middle of a long-term contract, but there was a lot of sympathy for Kucherov.

My initial reaction was that it was understandable moment of petulance.

He's a superstar who has helped lead the Lightning to a decade of success, and suddenly he's not feeling the love at a critical contractual time. That's understandable, as is communicating that he doesn't intend to re-sign. The petulance is making this all public, which hurts the Lightning's negotiating leverage and creates a giant distraction for those teammates he's trying to help win.

Unless, of course, this is exactly how BriseBois wanted it to play out.

Here's a theory I heard from two separate NHL sources in the last week: BriseBois has shown a propensity for moving on from players who would have required a hefty commitment of years and money. Players such as Alex Killorn, Yanni Gourde and, of course, Stamkos.

If BriseBois also wanted to move on from Kucherov, there would have been more blowback on him and the franchise than with any other player who previous bolted, as a Hart Trophy winner. Despite a 40-goal season, there were those who felt Stamkos was in decline at the time of his departure. Not so with Kucherov. Trading him or walking away would be extremely unpopular.

So the theory goes that BriseBois ignored negotiations and hospitality with his star winger, while sticking to his financial benchmarks, to force Kucherov and his agent to state their intentions and demand a trade. Now, it's a general manager granting a player's trade request rather than proactively dealing him. There is a difference.

Is this plausible?

"I wouldn't put it past him," one former Lightning player said of BriseBois.

When asked about that theory, an NHL executive said: "Yeah, I don't buy that. Julien has always had a price and will grind guys down to get it. He'll walk them to free agency and have them decide they want to stay for that price."

Under that scenario, Kucherov would remain with the Lightning through the season. I still think that's the most likely scenario. There's zero chance they get anything close to equal value for Kucherov. They'd essentially be trading any chance of winning a championship along with him. So it's plausible that the two alphas coexist until it's time to either take what the Lightning are offering or go elsewhere to find that $20 million AAV payday.

But I keep coming back to that BriseBois statement: "We unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita."

Intentions are not concrete. "Good intentions" literally means the desire to do something helpful. It doesn't mean you've done it.

So perhaps there's a chance for a trade. At the very least, there's a chance for Kucherov to leave as a free agent. If he does go via either route, here are six teams that would be fascinating winners in the Nikita Kucherov derby:

Montreal Canadiens

How many boxes do the Canadiens check for Kucherov? They have coach Martin St. Louis, his former teammate. They have Ivan Demidov, a young Russian star who shares an agent with Kucherov. They have offensive dynamos with whom Kucherov can play, whether it's up with Nick Suzuki or across from Demidov or in front of Lane Hutson. They're also a meticulously managed team under the salary cap, setting themselves up for a giant swing like this for an ascendant team that made the conference finals last season.

If there's a knock on this move, it's that the Canadiens have more pressing needs, especially at center. But it's Nikita Kucherov. You make exceptions when it's Nikita Kucherov. (A trade scenario I've been toying with: Dylan Larkin won't go to Montreal; Nikita Kucherov probably doesn't sign in Detroit; so, the Canadiens send the trade package they've offered for Larkin to the Lightning for Kucherov, and the Bolts then send it to the Red Wings for Larkin. Two off-ice dramas solved at once!)

Utah Mammoth

The Mammoth also made immediate sense. Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is Kucherov's former Lightning teammate, one of his closest friends and is signed through 2030-31. Like Montreal in the East, they're on their way up in the Western Conference and should remain there give the age of their core and the reinforcements in their prospect pipeline. He could play with Clayton Keller, who has a 90-point season to his credit, or he could play with someone such as Logan Cooley and elevate him to superstar status.

One of the things Kucherov cherishes about playing in Tampa is not having to be a front-facing talent for the franchise. He just kind of does what he does, without multitudes of media interviews and appearances at car dealership openings. One assumes that's the kind of existence he could have in Utah, should he choose that destination.

Vegas Golden Knights

By law, we must include the Golden Knights if a superstar player could become available in free agency or via trade. They'd have to bury a few contracts in the desert to make it happen -- and adding Kucherov's salary would make them a perilously top-heavy team at forward against the cap.

But they're a contender, they have Ivan Barbashev as a countryman and a Milstein client, and Kucherov would have the likes of Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner with whom to vibe. Oh, and no state income tax. That too.

Dallas Stars

Another no-tax state, in case Kucherov is wrong and it's a little about the money. The Stars literally have an entire Nikita Kucherov cap hit coming off their books next summer at the forward spot. Jason Robertson and Tyler Seguin are unrestricted free agents. That's $21.85 million in cap space that could open up for a player reportedly seeking just below that.

Seguin certainly isn't coming back at that cap hit, if he's back at all. What the Stars and Robertson end up doing in the long term is anyone's guess. The way Dallas has treated Robertson makes it look like BriseBois was on one knee reading Kucherov poetry by comparison. Would Mikko Rantanen move to the middle to play with Kucherov? Wouldn't you?

New York Rangers

Stop me if you've heard this one before. The Rangers send a letter to their fans declaring that the franchise is going to make some painful personnel decisions and enter into a retooling phase. The next year, they sign a Russian-born superstar winger to a massive free agent contract to expedite the rebuild and join the star Russian goalie that was, at the time, on his way.

Now, Artemi Panarin was in his late 20s when he signed with the Rangers while Kucherov will be 34. But this is the kind of cheat code move that New York is famous for making. They prepare the fans for pain and then add a big name in lights on Broadway while flexing their financial and cultural muscle. They have the cap space next season. Having Igor Shesterkin doesn't hurt, either.

(Of course, there's another Russian goalie by the name of Ilya Sorokin on the New York Islanders, where former Lightning assistant GM Mathieu Darche is the general manager. Let's not discount that possibility, either.)

Chicago Blackhawks

Desperate times call for $20 million average annual value contract offers to two-time league MVPs. GM Kyle Davidson isn't long for that chair if things don't start to turn it around in Chicago, where the Blackhawks were 31st in the league after 15 games. They do have a star player for Kucherov in Connor Bedard, who would probably submit to some dark magic ritual to conjure this free agent signing.

Or, perhaps, a trade: What collection of young players would the Blackhawks move for Kucherov that the Lightning would identify as their next Brandon Hagel? Chicago is so terrible that Kuch might never extend there anyway, but Davidson needs to back up the truck and find out.

Let's add a seventh team here: The Tampa Bay Lightning.

As one NHL source put it, the beef is between Kucherov and BriseBois. Not the teammates. Not the fans. Not the coach, at least from what I've been told. It's a star player getting his ego bruised by a general manager who's not exactly known for his empathy in contract negotiations.

Is there a way to coexist? Is there a path back to some level of civility between Kucherov and Lightning management?

I don't know. But if I were to guess, I'd say Kucherov isn't traded before the deadline. If he still decides to walk, BriseBois can get something for his negotiating rights at the NHL draft. But I'm holding out hope that Kucherov and the Lightning find a way to mend fences and continue a successful and lucrative relationship.

Where else in the league is he going to celebrate a championship on a Jet Ski and give a beer-drenched shirtless news conference? That's Tampa, baby.

Jump ahead:
Winners, losers of the week
Favorite on-ice moment
Must-see games
Puck headlines

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Winner: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

If you had told me back in 2016 that the Nuge would become the all-time leader in games played as an Oiler (1,038), there's zero chance I would have believed it. That was the year the Oilers offered Nugent-Hopkins to the Nashville Predators for defenseman Seth Jones, who was eventually traded to Columbus for Ryan Johansen.

I've said for years that Nuge is the kind of forward that teams trade away and then spend the next several seasons trying to find again. He's a versatile, hard-working "players' player."

I spoke with him on Tuesday, and it was clear that setting this mark for the Oilers meant everything to him.

"I haven't wavered throughout my entire career that I want to be an Edmonton Oiler. Start my career here, finish my career here," he said. "There's obviously sometimes you're not in control of that. I've been fortunate that I've been able to stick around and that they've had that faith in me."

Loser: Hometown Remix jerseys

We love the Hometown Remix jerseys. OK, most of the Hometown Remix jerseys.

Perhaps teams were overwhelmed by their sheer awesomeness, because those that wore their Remix jerseys through Wednesday night's games were just 4-5-2. Thursday night is the big test for this trend, as five teams will make their Remix debuts that evening.

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Ranking the top three NHL 'Hometown Remix' jerseys

Winner: Manitoban fish

Congratulations to the aquatic creatures of Manitoba, Canada, who were mentioned by Connor Hellebuyck in his Instagram "letter to fans" no less than five paragraphs before he mentioned any of his former Winnipeg Jets teammates.

Loser: #ArnielWatch

Logic dictated that Jets coach Scott Arniel would be out of a job right now. The Jets were winless in nine straight games, culminating in a 7-0 humiliation at the Carolina Hurricanes. At the end of a road trip, before a game against lowly Vancouver, the timing just seemed right.

And then the Jets set an NHL record with the latest four-goal comeback ever to stun the Canadiens, putting forth an effort in that game that might has saved Arniel's job.

"I really don't care about that. I really don't. I'm so happy that we won tonight," Arniel said when asked about the sword of Damocles hanging over him. "To me, we're still in the hunt."

Winner: Red Wings fans

Newly elected U.S. senator Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan? Puckhead. He was a hockey goalie in his youth sports days and a legit Detroit Red Wings fan.

"I was at the game when Darren McCarty took on Claude Lemieux," El-Sayed told the Octopus Thrower blog recently. "The '97 and '98 Stanley Cup championships are still highlights of my childhood. The teams the last few years have been a far cry from the Wings I came to love as a kid."

He also chimed in on the contract standoff between the Red Wings and one of their better young defensemen: "The team holding out on Simon Edvinsson is just the latest example in a long series of ownership prioritizing their bottom line over the team and the fans. Our teams aren't just assets for billionaires, they're part of our culture and heritage. Hockeytown deserves better."

Loser: Shawn Horcoff

The Red Wings interim general manager made it clear to suspended center Dylan Larkin: If you expand your list of approved trade destinations, there's a deal to be made.

But Larkin and agent Pat Brisson are holding it to the 10 approved teams. Larkin is willing to wait this out, probably with the hope that Horcoff swallows his pride and accepts that Minnesota offer.

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FAVORITE OFF-ICE MOMENT

Have you seen this highlight from a recent University of North Dakota game?

Tough day to be a UND fan https://t.co/5Riwc0pcAz

— F'n Hawks Talk (@fnhawkstalk) November 1, 2026

Brad Elliott Schlossman, a fantastic writer for Grand Forks Herald, tracked down the fans involved: Jett Deren, 22, holding the beers and trying to get the attention of brother Cole, 28, who threw the blind elbow because he thought his little brother was bugging him.

In an effort to win a Pulitzer Prize, Schlossman got the brothers on a Zoom call for this story and just let'em rip:

Jett: "There was an older lady sitting two seats over to my left. I was like, oh my gosh, he got beer on an old lady. I felt so bad. She got a little bit. I thought she got more than she did. She looked over, saw it, and just gave it a quick little swipe off her shoulder."

Cole: "I apologized to her."

Jett: "A switch flipped."

Cole: "We were yelling at each other. Eventually, I realized, 'I've got to calm down. I just elbowed a whole beer onto this lady, the seat and my brother. I was in the wrong.'"

In the end, Cole admitted that he did take a little swig of what was left in the cup. As one does.

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JERSEY FOUL OF THE WEEK

Spotted at the Caps game tonight. Wonder how many people are double-dipping. 📸 @Max_Wolpoff https://t.co/MqtBjABBc9

— Brandon Alter (@brandon__alter) November 1, 2026

Alex Ovechkin has played in D.C. since 2005, and we've seen his name on several Washington football jerseys through the years.

There's something really honorific about Ovechkin being so iconic that he transcends all sports boundaries in D.C. But we're also fans of the punk rock subversion of having hockey on the jerseys of the most popular sport in America.

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MUST-SEE GAMES

Anaheim Ducks at Edmonton Oilers

Thursday, Nov. 5, 8 p.m. ET

In their last six games, the Ducks are scoring a league high 4.67 goals per game while also giving up a league high 4.67 goals per game. And now they're playing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Buckle up.

New Jersey Devils at Winnipeg Jets

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 8 p.m. ET

Connor Hellebuyck returns to Winnipeg. It might not reach the acidic heights of Brady Tkachuk Night in Ottawa but Jets fans will bring the bile.

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PUCK HEADLINES

DATELINE: San Jose

The Sharks have been an massive disappointment this season, dropping to 7-9-1 with a thumping at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night that resulted in a players' only meeting afterward.

We suspected their defense would be porous, given the inexperience on the roster, but not this porous: San Jose was last in the NHL in expected goals against and scoring chances against per 60 minutes through 16 games. But in projecting San Jose as a playoff team for the first time since 2019, we figured they could score their way out of defensive problems like the Ducks did last season. Alas, the Sharks were also last in 5-on-5 goals and expected goals for per 60 minutes, too.

GM Mike Grier hasn't made many missteps. Perhaps handing coach Ryan Warsofsky a multi-year extension in September, with one year left on his current deal, was one of them?

Here's a thought: If the Sharks flop this season and the coach takes the blame, is there a more logical landing spot for former Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy than behind the Sharks' bench? Vegas infamously holds his rights though next June, but he's free to sign anywhere after that. The structure, the gravitas, the pedigree ... if San Jose is treading water, Cassidy would get them swimming in the right direction.

But hopefully they don't flop. Warsofsky is a solid coach and it's still early. But the returns so far are pretty brutal.

DATELINE: World Cup of Hockey

Back in September, I spoke with NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly about the Russia issue. We discussed this season's All-Star Game, in which five international teams will compete in a 3-on-3 tournament. That includes a "world" team for whom Russian players will be eligible to play.

"It's a league event. We shouldn't be excluding categories of players. Opening that up for Russians to be able to participate, I think it only made sense," he said.

Our conversation occurred right after the IOC executive board provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee. The NHL has certainly weighed the IOC's approach to Russia as a bellwether more than, say, the International Ice Hockey Federation. I asked Daly about that decision and its implications for events like the World Cup of Hockey in 2028, specifically when it comes to countries boycotting because Russia is in the tournament.

"I've been left with the understanding that if there's adequate cover, there's not going to be any issue with them participating," he told me.

That the NHL could point to the Olympics, say "Russians are allowed" and therefore the NHL must allow them too?

"That's what I've been led to believe," he said.

I thought of that conversation this week after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the IIHF must lift its ban on Russian hockey teams that was in effect since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Again, that would seem like one of those "adequate cover" developments for the NHL and the NHLPA.

Except that ruling kicked the hornets' nest. Finland, Sweden, Czechia, Norway, Denmark and Latvia said they will not play games against Russia if the Russians are allowed into the IIHF world championship in Germany. The tournament's main sponsor, automaker Skoda, said it will "reassess" its involvement if Russia plays. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that Russia will not be allowed to play at the upcoming IIHF world junior hockey championship in Alberta.

The next World Cup is scheduled for February 2028. A lot can change before then. But this week served as a reminder of how dug-in European teams are on Russian participation as long as their invasion continues. The Russia issue already helped scuttle one World Cup cycle. Hopefully that doesn't extend to 2028.