- Elliotte Friedman says Nikita Kucherov is hard to talk out of a decision once he makes it
- The slow pace of contract talks was a major reason he asked out
- Read below for what Friedman said and where the Lightning stand
Talking Nikita Kucherov out of his trade request may not be easy for the Lightning.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said Saturday on Saturday Headlines that the people he has spoken with describe a player who rarely backtracks. “Once he makes a decision, it’s hard to make him change his mind,” Friedman said, relaying what they told him.
Friedman opened the show by laying out why Kucherov got to this point. He was asked to explain what pushed the Lightning star to tell the team he wouldn’t re-sign.
“The lack of pace that he felt in the negotiations is a major reason why he told his teammates and the organization that he wouldn’t re-sign and wanted to be traded,” Friedman said.
Friedman also posted the full segment, which carried the on-screen question “Could Kucherov change his mind?”:
Tampa Bay has not budged publicly. General manager Julien BriseBois said Friday the Lightning “unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita,” which we covered in our BriseBois story.
Kucherov is playing out the final year of an eight-year, $76 million deal that carries a $9.5 million cap hit. His agent, Dan Milstein, told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun that the 33-year-old will keep playing while Milstein handles the business side, as we noted in our Milstein report.
The money gap is real, too. The Athletic’s Chris Johnston reported that Kucherov is seeking a six-year deal at $20 million per season, which we broke down in our contract offer story.
Friedman also said Kucherov would consider the Maple Leafs and Canadiens if Tampa moved him, per our Leafs and Canadiens report. Our own tweet on that report broke down the 10-team no-trade list that limits his options:
The Lightning are 8-3-1 and still have their best player in the lineup. A slow-moving contract fight has turned into a standoff that Friedman says could be difficult to undo.
