Add Nikita Kucherov to the list of disillusioned NHL stars.
The 2025-26 Hart Trophy winner has requested a trade from the Lightning, with whom he’s spent his entire 13-year career, according to a report by SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman.
The report didn’t include a reason for Kucherov requesting the trade, but he has told teammates and the organization that he will not be re-signing at the end of the season and wants out.
The two-time MVP is in the final year of an eight-year, $76 million deal.
Kucherov doesn’t have a full no-trade clause, according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, and rather has provided a list of 10 approved destinations.
The Lightning, hours after the trade request surfaced, responded that they have no plans to trade the star.
“We are aware of the media reports regarding the future of Nikita Kucherov with the Lightning,” general manager Julien BriseBois said in a statement. “We unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita.”
The trade request is the latest shocker in an NHL season that has been full of them. Red Wings star Dylan Larkin is currently suspended by the team without pay after he told the team he wouldn’t play unless he was traded.
Goalie Connor Hellebuyck, the 2024-25 Hart Trophy Winner, was suspended by the Jets earlier this season for the same reason before a trade to the Devils earlier this month.
Former Senators captain Brady Tkachuk requested a trade during the offseason and joined his brother, Matthew, on the Panthers in June.
While Larkin’s frustration with the Red Wings came from the organization’s lack of playoff success in his career, Kucherov’s request raises more eyebrows. The Lightning have won two Stanley Cups with him on the top line and have generally been contenders year after year.
Kucherov, the Lightning’s all-time scoring leader, is in the middle of what is for him a low-scoring season — with four goals in 12 games — despite averaging over a point per game on the season for the 10th straight year.
In 13 seasons with the Lightning, Kucherov has 405 goals and 734 assists. He’s led the league in scoring three times.
