After a dominant, career-best campaign that saw him amass 39 goals and his first 100-point effort, Nikita Kucherov has cemented himself as the future of the Tampa Bay Lightning. But it seems general manager Steve Yzerman and the Lightning faithful will have to wait longer than this summer to see the star winger locked up long-term.
Kucherov — who’s heading into the final year of a three-year bridge deal paying him $4.77 million per season — will hit restricted free agency after next season, meaning he’s available to sign an extension this summer on July 1. However, according to Joe Smith of The Athletic, there haven’t yet been any talks of a potential extension this summer, and Kucherov’s agent Dan Milstein doesn’t expect any to occur.
Milstein stressed that Kucherov wants to remain in Tampa Bay, though, but neither side is rushed to make a long-term deal given the fact that the 25-year-old is set to be an RFA as opposed to a UFA.
“He wants to stay in Tampa,” Milstein told Smith. “He doesn’t want to go anywhere. Worst-case, it’s arbitration, they’re not going to lose him. Both sides want him to be in Tampa.”
Should Kucherov’s contract situation take time, Yzerman will be well-prepared. The Lightning GM allowed captain Steven Stamkos’ own contract negotiations to go right down to the wire in 2016, before inking the centreman to an eight-year deal two days before he was set to become a UFA.
With contract talks likely set to start during the 2018-19 campaign, according to Smith, Kucherov and his fellow Lightning players will now shift their attention to preparing for next season after falling in Game 7 to the Capitals in the Conference Final.
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