Brandon Hagel was asked after practice on Monday whether Nikita Kucherov‘s trade request had caused any damage inside the Tampa Bay Lightning dressing room. He spent most of the answer defending his teammate of six years, and then slipped in a comparison.
“Kucherov loves the city. He’s done everything he possibly could for the city,” Hagel said, via Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. “It’s not like he committed here for eight years and asked out, two years into it. This is a different situation.”
Nobody was named. Nobody needed to be.
Dylan Larkin signed an eight-year contract with Detroit in March 2023, asked to be traded in May this year, and was suspended without pay last Thursday after telling the club he wouldn’t play again until a deal was done. Connor Hellebuyck put his name to a seven-year extension in Winnipeg in October 2023 and asked out after two seasons of it.
Nikita Kucherov in Tampa Bay:
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Seasons with the club | 14th |
| Franchise points record | 1,142 |
| Conversations with the GM in four months | 2 |
Why did Nikita Kucherov request a trade?
He answered that himself on Monday, speaking publicly about it for the first time and sounding unusually emotional while he did.
“It was never about the money for me, more about poor communication and respect,” Kucherov said. “Over the last four months, we only have had two conversations.”
He was asked what the organization means to him and didn’t hesitate.
“Everything. I got drafted here. This is my 14th year. I won a couple of championships, and I’ve met a lot of great people. My kids grow up here. I’m forever grateful for this organization,” he said.
Asked whether he could see any route to staying beyond this season, the answer thinned out.
“I make my request, and yeah…” Kucherov said, his voice trailing off.
That is the distinction Hagel was drawing. Kucherov is in the final year of the eight-year deal he signed in 2018, becomes a free agent on July 1, and told his teammates about the request before anybody reported it.
“They heard it from me first,” Kucherov said. “Those guys are my family, and this will never change.”
He played in Nashville the following night and put up three points.
Tampa Bay host Detroit on Tuesday in their first home game since the news broke, which means Larkin’s club is in the building. Hagel had a request for the crowd about how to treat Kucherov.
“We love Kuch to death,” he said.
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