Nikita Kucherov could have waited.
The All-Star winger could have played out this season, scored another 40 goals and then tried to squeeze the Lightning for a mega contract. Unlike when Kucherov, 25, signed his bargain bridge deal worth $4.7 million two years ago, he would have the hammer in negotiations this time with arbitration rights.
Advertisement
But when general manager Steve Yzerman went over to agent Dan Milstein’s Detroit-area home Thursday, it wasn’t just Tampa Bay that was serious about getting a long-term deal done. By Sunday night, Kucherov agreed on an eight-year extension with a $9.5 million annual cap hit.
“I didn’t think twice,” Kucherov said. “Why wait?”
The next morning, he was doing a 90-minute workout on the ice in Clearwater, Florida, where he began his training two weeks ago.
“He has one goal and one goal only — to win a Stanley Cup in Tampa,” Milstein said. “This is his home.”
While the hockey world was wondering all weekend whether Senators star defenseman Erik Karlsson would land in Tampa Bay, Yzerman was working on locking up his leading scorer. And the Kucherov contract doesn’t preclude the Lightning from making a Karlsson blockbuster happen.
It actually might help in terms of having cost certainty.
Yzerman said the timing of the Kucherov extension was unrelated to any other moves he had in mind. Without mentioning Karlsson’s name, he said any report a deal was close or imminent was “very inaccurate.”
But when asked how challenging it might be to take on another significant long-term deal in a trade, Yzerman didn’t rule it out.
“I don’t think it’s impossible,” Yzerman said. “But if you look at our commitments, if we were to bring on a significant contract, we would have to make the money work, so to speak.”
The Lightning continue to lock up their core, re-signing Kucherov, defenseman Ryan McDonagh (six years, $6.75 million AAV) and J.T. Miller (five years, $5.25 million AAV) this summer. With big contracts for Steven Stamkos ($8.5 million AAV) and Victor Hedman ($7.875 million AAV) already on the books, it would take some sleuth salary cap maneuvering to take on another sizable one.
There’s still $4 million in cap space for this season — when Karlsson makes $6.5 million. Next summer, Braydon Coburn ($3.7 million), Anton Stralman ($4.5 million) and Dan Girardi ($3 million) come off the books, which could help handle some of Kucherov’s bump and the raise Karlsson would need in an extension that’ll likely be in the eight-year, $80 million range.
Advertisement
The Lightning could also move someone like Ryan Callahan ($5.8 million AAV) or Tyler Johnson ($5 million AAV). For what it’s worth, neither player — as of Tuesday — has been asked about their no-trade clauses. Johnson has a full no-trade. Callahan has a list of 15 teams he can be dealt to without his permission and the Rangers are believed to be one of them.
Yzerman said he wants to keep this team together as long as possible. But it hasn’t stopped him from going for the big fish, with Tampa Bay one of five teams who met with star center John Tavares, who ended up in Toronto.
The Lightning can only keep everybody for so long, however. According to CapFriendly, Tampa Bay has $65 million already committed to just 12 players for the 2019-20 season. By then, center Brayden Point will be a restricted free agent and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy will be one year away from being a restricted free agent.
“I don’t know if you’re ever completely comfortable (with the cap situation),” Yzerman said. “The reality is with Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Nikita Kucherov, these guys are really good players. You look around the comparables, they’re going to get paid a certain amount.
“We want to keep as many good players as we can. But at some point, you can’t keep everybody. At some point, we’ll have to make some decisions that are strictly (cap related).”
Cutting salary becomes more challenging with the amount of no-trade clauses the Lightning has given out. Kucherov has full no-trade, with no-move protection in the first four years of his deal and a modified no-trade the final four years where he would list 10 teams he’d go to. It’s similar to the no-trade Hedman has.
Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn also have no-trade clauses. Miller’s doesn’t kick in until after this season, same with Kucherov.
Advertisement
“From a team-perspective, we’d all love the ability to have no no-trade clauses to give us the (flexibility) to make changes to go along,” Yzerman said. “But these are parts of negotiating the entire contract.”
The Lightning don’t have many holes to fill on their roster the rest of the summer, with Adam Erne the only restricted free agent without a contract.
You’re looking at this depth chart:
Forwards
J.T. Miller – Steven Stamkos – Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat – Brayden Point – Tyler Johnson
Yanni Gourde – Anthony Cirelli – Alex Killorn
Adam Erne/Cory Conacher – Cedric Paquette – Ryan Callahan (starting season on injured reserve)
Defense
Victor Hedman – Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh – Anton Stralman
Braydon Coburn – Mikhail Sergachev
Slater Koekkoek – Jake Dotchin
With Callahan missing the first month due to offseason shoulder surgery, you could see a few prospects get a chance to crack the opening night roster (Mathieu Joseph and Alex Volkov leading the pack).
But having Kucherov signed is an important piece of the puzzle. The only player with more points than Kucherov the past two seasons is Connor McDavid. With salaries rising over $10 million a year — Tavares got $11 million AAV from Toronto — a $9.5 million average for a 100-point scorer is a good deal.
Yzerman said the goal is getting these contracts done early, for two purposes.
“From a player’s perspective, it eases their mind,” Yzerman said. “They can plan their future. From a team’s perspective, it helps us going forward, the cap number and commitments we have, so we can make other decisions accordingly.”
(Top photo credit: Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports)
