Nikita Kucherov did it with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He won two Stanley Cups, two Hart Trophies, and scored 1,139 points with the franchise over his entire 13-year career.
Now, according to reports, he wants a trade. He’s in the final year of a huge contract and will get a big raise as he continues to be one of the NHL’s best. Plus, he has a 10-team destination list, and while we don’t know which teams are on that list right now, we can try to guess where he might land next.
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Here are five possible landing spots:
They are already a contender with a young, dynamic core. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson are all incredible … but adding a name like Kucherov could put them over the top. It could also cost them some of that young talent.
I mean… Dylan Larkin wants out. Kucherov wants to leave. This would be the start of a pretty big turnaround for the Wings. Hmm.
New York Islanders
A team that looks solid to start the season, but lacks a superstar up front (Matthew Barzal is good, but Kucherov is not).
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They are now set up to win. He could join fellow Russian star Kirill Kaprizov as the franchise hopes to win the Cup before Quinn Hughes leaves for free agency.
Washington Capitals
At the end of the season, Alex Ovechkin and Kucherov appear. Plus, the Caps have the type of youth that could be really tempting for the Lightning to come back to terms with.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: 5 Nikita Kucherov landing points when requesting a Lightning trade