Leo Carlsson's cap hit changed Nikita Kucherov's talks

Nikita Kucherov's contract talks took a turn, and Leo Carlsson's AAV is at the center of it, according to Elliotte Friedman.

Jim Biringer passed along what Friedman said tonight on Headlines. It adds a contract layer to the story behind Nikita Kucherov's trade demand and contract ask.

The production is not the problem. Kucherov has 4 goals and 14 assists for 18 points in 13 games this season, and he sits at +5.

His current cap hit is $9,500,000, and the sheet shows no extension signed. That figure is what any new number gets measured against.

Biringer wrote that Kucherov wanted to be paid similar to Kirill Kaprizov and others, and that Carlsson's AAV changed everything along with how talks were progressing.

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Kaprizov carries a $17,000,000 cap hit through 2033-34, which is $7,500,000 above Kucherov's. Carlsson's Ducks deal sits at $18,000,000 through 2030-31, a full $1,000,000 above Kaprizov.

Carlsson's $18M cap hit moves the market for Kucherov

Carlsson has 159 career points in 214 games. Kucherov has 1141 in 892.

Put those next to each other and asking for Kaprizov money looks modest. The Anaheim number has reset the top of the market, and that is a real problem for a Lightning front office trying to hold a line.

It also complicates things for anyone circling back to the landing spots floated for Nikita Kucherov. A contender now has to answer a price question before it ever gets to the fit.

Kucherov's deal runs through 2026-27 and he is a UFA at expiry. With the AAV gap now on the record and talks reportedly stalled by it, the next move belongs to Tampa Bay.

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