Kucherov Says Trade Request Was About Respect, Not Money

Nikita Kucherov broke his silence on Monday. Speaking to reporters after practice in Tampa, the Tampa Bay Lightning winger said his trade request had nothing to do with money and everything to do with how the club handled talks on a new contract.

"It was never about the money for me," Kucherov said. "It was more about poor communication and respect. Over the last four months, we only have had two conversations, and Julien, in the end, made it clear that I'm free to walk on July 1." Julien BriseBois is the Lightning general manager.

The comments were Kucherov's first in public since the request became public on Friday. He confirmed that he told his teammates he would not re-sign with Tampa Bay and wanted a trade. USA Today reported that he informed them on the team flight to Nashville. The request landed days after Kucherov became the highest scoring player in franchise history.

A weekend of contract numbers

Kucherov spoke about respect, but the weekend reporting was full of figures. ESPN's Kevin Weekes reported on X on Sunday that Tampa Bay first offered an extension worth about $13 million a season. Weekes said the club raised that offer to $15 million a season only after Leo Carlsson's $18 million offer sheet and Cale Makar's $20 million deal reset the market for top players. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported that Kucherov wanted a contract in the range of Kirill Kaprizov's deal, around $17 million a year.

Kucherov, 33, is in the final season of an eight year, $76 million contract that carries a $9.5 million salary cap hit. He becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1 if no new deal is reached. He is the reigning Hart Trophy winner as the league's most valuable player, and he has spent his whole NHL career with Tampa Bay, winning the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021.

The club is not budging

BriseBois answered on Friday, hours after the request became public. "We are aware of the media reports regarding the future of Nikita Kucherov with the Lightning," he said in a statement the club posted on X. "We unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita." The Lightning had no further comment on Monday and pointed reporters back to that Friday statement.

The standoff is a sharp turn from mid-September, when BriseBois told reporters the goal was a new contract that would keep Kucherov in Tampa Bay for years, and said the club and agent Dan Milstein would keep talking. Kucherov's account on Monday described a different reality: two conversations in four months, and a general manager willing to let him leave for nothing next summer.

What happens next

Kucherov said he will keep playing for Tampa Bay while he remains on the roster, and he has not threatened to sit out. His contract includes a 10 team trade list, and Friedman has reported the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens are among the clubs he would consider. BriseBois has said the club does not plan to move him this season, which leaves the March 1 trade deadline as the next date that matters. Until then, the Lightning have a superstar in the lineup who has told them, in public now, that he wants out.