Kevin Weekes reported on Sunday that the Tampa Bay Lightning opened extension talks with Nikita Kucherov at around $13 million a season, raising it to $15 million only after the Leo Carlsson offer sheet and Cale Makar‘s contract reset the market above them.
Paul Bissonnette did not need long to form a view.
“Imagine giving what Kuch gave to your organization and you low ball him in negotiations,” Bissonnette wrote. “I hope he tells them to f**k off and bounces. Pathetic.”
The numbers at the heart of it:
| Figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Lightning’s first offer | about $13 million |
| Lightning’s revised offer | $15 million |
| Kaprizov’s AAV, the original target | $17 million |
| Kucherov’s reported ask | $20 million |
Why is Nikita Kucherov upset with the Lightning?
The money is only half of it, and arguably the smaller half. Elliotte Friedman reported that the pace of the negotiations, or the absence of any, was what actually brought things to a head.
“More than the money, I think that the reason we’re here today has been the pace of the negotiations, or lack thereof,” Friedman said.
There’s a detail in there that makes the lowball framing harder to argue with. When talks began, Kucherov was only asking to be in Kirill Kaprizov‘s range at $17 million. It was the Carlsson offer sheet moving the market that led him to conclude he had undersold himself in the first place.
Greg Wyshynski put the same point from Tampa’s side of the table.
“JBB apparently didn’t go to the one place my sources have told me Kucherov wanted to go,” Wyshynski wrote. “Above the $17 million AAV that Kaprizov makes.”
Wyshynski also offered the counterargument, saying he wasn’t in favor of handing an older player whatever he asks for. Kucherov turns 34 next June, and Tampa Bay have a roster to keep together.
What isn’t in dispute is what he has given them. Fourteen seasons, 405 goals, 1,139 points, two Stanley Cups, two Hart Trophies, and the franchise scoring record he took off Steven Stamkos earlier this season. His agent Dan Milstein has said only that he will stand by Nikita unconditionally.
Kucherov has four goals and 15 points in 12 games and the Lightning sit 8-3-1, having won their first six at home.
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