Nikita Kucherov still has no extension with the Lightning, and Chris Johnston put a number on the holdup Saturday.
Johnston said on his podcast that the ask sits in something like a $20 million range on a six-year deal.
Read that again. It would more than double what the winger is making right now.
Kucherov carries a $9,500,000 cap hit this season with one year left on the paper.
For scale, the largest cap hit in the league right now belongs to Leon Draisaitl at $14,000,000.
The production earns him the conversation. He put up 130 points across 76 games last season.
That came with 86 assists and a +43. Nobody carried him anywhere.
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Chris Johnston reveals shocking price of Nikita Kucherov's next contract
Tampa Bay is reported to have a little under $30 million in room for next season, with as many as eight spots to fill.
Hand two-thirds of that to one forward and the rest of the roster gets built out of loose change.
Here's the part nobody wants said out loud. He's 33 now, 34 when the deal starts, and near 40 when it ends.
Elite scorers slow down eventually. A cap hit never does.
The new CBA caps term at seven years, so a six-year ask sits right up against the ceiling.
The sheet is already busy too. Jake Guentzel sits at $9,000,000 and Brandon Hagel at $6,500,000.
Brayden Point managed only 50 points in 63 games last season. That question is sitting in the same room as this one.
The Lightning finished 50-26-6 for 106 points and fifth overall. Nobody in that building is thinking about a rebuild.
They allowed 231 goals getting there, which is the real reason the window is still open.
Yanni Gourde is expected out until at least December 2 with a hip issue. Jon Cooper is short before the season even starts.
Brisebois says he wants a deal that keeps Kucherov in Tampa for years. The player says he's focused on winning this season.
So who moves first? Signing that contract works like taking a seven-year loan on a car when you already know the transmission goes at year four.
One season left on the current deal. Tampa Bay has to decide how much of 2031 it's willing to mortgage for 2027, and that clock only runs one way.
Should Julien Brisebois give Nikita Kucherov a six-year deal at that price?
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