Reigning NHL MVP Nikita Kucherov asks Tampa Bay Lightning for a trade
Reigning NHL most valuable player Nikita Kucherov has told the Tampa Bay Lightning he will not sign a new contract with the team and has asked to be traded. Elliotte Friedman first reported the news on Friday, 30 October, and The Associated Press confirmed it.
Kucherov, 33, is in the final season of an eight-year, $76 million contract, which works out at $9.5 million a season. He is set to become a free agent after this season. He told his team-mates he wanted to leave, and he and his agent, Dan Milstein, met general manager Julien BriseBois to tell him. The reasons for his decision are not clear.
It is a shock because Kucherov is one of the best players in the world. He has won the Stanley Cup twice with Tampa Bay, led the NHL in scoring three times and won the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player in 2018–19 and again in 2025–26. Last weekend he passed Steven Stamkos to become the team’s all-time leading scorer. He has 1,139 points in 891 games for Tampa Bay, and 15 points in 12 games this season.
Why it matters
Tampa Bay has built one of the most successful teams in the league around Kucherov, reaching the playoffs in 12 of the last 13 seasons and the Stanley Cup Final four times. But the team has lost in the first round in each of the past four years, and losing its star player would leave a huge gap. Kucherov is the latest big-name player to ask for a trade in recent months, after Brady Tkachuk and Connor Hellebuyck.
What happens next
The Lightning have said they will not trade him. “We unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita,” BriseBois said in a statement on Friday. Kucherov can block a move to most teams: his contract lets him name 10 teams he would accept a trade to, and no possible destinations have been named yet. He is still playing for the team: he had three assists in Saturday’s 5-4 shootout loss to Nashville. The trade deadline is still months away, so the two sides now face a long stand-off — unless they agree a new contract after all.
This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.
Sources
- https://www.tampabay28.com/sports/reigning-mvp-nikita-kucherov-has-requested-a-trade-from-the-tampa-bay-lightning-espn (The Associated Press, 30 October 2026)
- https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/report-nikita-kucherov-requests-trade-from-tampa-bay-lightning (The Hockey News, 30 October 2026)
- https://www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-nashville-predators-game-recap-october-31-2026 (NHL.com, 31 October 2026)
