The Minnesota Wild blew a two-goal lead they held for most of the game in Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. But if there’s any consolation, they may have gotten a glimpse at their future.
Nikita Kucherov had two points on the power play, including the game-winner at 3:23 of the extra period to give the Lightning the win. But the reigning Hart Trophy winner’s future is unclear as he’s in the final year of his contract and asked for a trade on Oct. 30.
While it is a pipe dream scenario, some, such as The Athletic’s Joe Smith, have pondered if Kucherov could be a fallback plan if Quinn Hughes doesn’t re-sign and Kucherov hits free agency next summer. But as fun as it would be to think about Kucherov linking up with his fellow Russian Kirill Kaprizov, it may be a fantasy that’s too good to come true.
Kirill Kaprizov would love to play with Nikita Kucherov but Minnesota Wild face major obstacles
Adding Kucherov would be an obvious decision if you looked at the back of his trading card. One of the league’s premier offensive players, Kucherov has posted 100 points six times and led the NHL in points in three different seasons during his 13-year career. He’s a two-time Stanley Cup winner, a seven-time All-Star and won his second Hart Trophy last season, scoring 44 goals and finishing with 130 points.
In addition, Kucherov and Kaprizov have admiration for each other, which could make Minnesota an intriguing destination as he sorts out his rift with the Lightning front office.
“I would love to play with him,” Kaprizov said via Smith. “Just try to be open for him and he’ll find you. I’d love to play with him. Maybe. You never know.”
Smith also fanned the flames by citing Guerin’s aggressiveness to bring star players to Minnesota.
“Going after Kucherov makes an awful lot of sense,” Smith wrote. “They’ve gone after Brady Tkachuk and Dylan Larkin, both of whom included Minnesota among teams to which they’d be open to getting traded. …If Kucherov gets to free agency, the Wild should go big.”
If he becomes available, he would be a fine consolation prize for the Wild if Hughes decides to leave next summer. But the problem is actually getting him to Minnesota.
The first avenue would be a trade, but Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois initially stated the team has “unequivocally no intention of trading” Kucherov in the final year of his contract. Even if he became open to the idea, the Wild don’t have the assets to pull a deal off, as they’re finding out with their continued pursuit of a trade with the Detroit Red Wings for Larkin.
This makes the Wild’s most likely path to acquiring Kucherov signing him as a free agent next summer. But even that has some risk. In an era where the salary cap keeps going up, teams have little reason to get rid of their top players unless there is a good reason to walk away.
BriseBois has already been in this position before when Steven Stamkos hit free agency in July of 2024. A franchise fixture with the Lightning, BriseBois let Stamkos leave to sign with the Nashville Predators in free agency due to his contract demands and ability to keep cap space open to improve the team around him.
The Lightning used that money to sign a younger replacement in Jake Guentzel and Stamkos has been a solid but not great player in Nashville, collecting 79 goals and 138 points over the past two-plus seasons. By comparison, Guentzel has been better, scoring 89 goals and recording 186 points in the past two-plus seasons.
While Kucherov has more production, he’s in a similar spot to Stamkos. This is also amplified by the NHL’s new salary landscape and a report from The Athletic’s Chris Johnston (via Eric Stephens) that believes Kucherov “is seeking a six-year contract with a $20 million average annual value.”
With the Wild having to pay Jesper Wallstedt and Maxim Shabanov as restricted free agents and Jared Spurgeon, Blake Coleman and Ryan Hartman among their pending free agents, fitting in an aging Kucherov – who would be 40 at the end of a six-year contract – may not be as great of a move as it seems. But a lot of it could depend on how things go in Minnesota over the next few months.
Wild should steer clear of Nikita Kucherov even if Quinn Hughes doesn’t re-sign
The first domino that may need to fall is a decision from Hughes. While Hughes has teased that something may happen soon, he remains unsigned with no hint of an event that would convince him to put pen to paper.
Perhaps adding Larkin might be that move. If the Wild pulled a trade for Larkin and Hughes didn’t sign, however, pivoting to Kucherov would be a solid idea that gives Minnesota even more scoring punch from its forwards. But Larkin may not want to come here if Hughes leaves, creating another world of possibilities that Guerin probably doesn’t want to explore.
There’s also the salary and age factor. At 33, Kucherov could fall off at any moment. Unlike previous contracts to aging players, a $20 million AAV wouldn’t be movable, potentially saddling the Wild with an underachieving player compared to his salary.
That money could also cause a problem in the long term. While Matt Boldy and Brock Faber are on bargain contracts right now, the Wild will need to sign them to a bigger deal when their contracts expire, which could be difficult with a projected $37 million tied to two players. Although Hughes would likely get the same amount of money, it has been rumored he’s seeking a three-year deal, which would make that money available to sign both players when the bill comes due.
Of course, if the Wild can win a Cup with Kucherov before the age cliff comes, it would be a solid investment. But for now, Minnesota still needs to hope it can convince Hughes to sign and leave a Kucherov fantasy reserved for an NHL 27 franchise.
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