Kucherov's agent calls reports on Lightning "garbage"

Nikita Kucherov's agent, Dan Milstein, just shot down reports that the Lightning star is unhappy with his teammates and the city of Tampa.

The "sources" claimed Kucherov's stance on the Lightning was poor beyond his issues with management. Milstein called that false, and he didn't soften it.

"Nikita loves his teammates and Tampa, where he won two Stanley Cups and three of his children were born," Milstein said. He added that Kucherov has a great relationship with Jon Cooper and wished he could have stayed.

Then came the part that matters most. According to Milstein, negotiations with management did not work out and Kucherov "will be moving on."

Milstein also had a pointed word for the origin of the rumors. He called the rest "garbage from journalists in Russia paid for clicks."

That lands one day before the Lightning host Detroit on Tuesday, and it follows a week of noise. Kucherov finally broke his silence on the trade request earlier today, and the story has been building since the weekend.

Tampa Bay lost 5-4 in a shootout in Nashville on Saturday night, and Kucherov still played through it. The Lightning sit 8th in the NHL at 8-3-2, and they are 6-0-0 at home, which is the one thing working in their favor this week.

What this means for the Lightning and the trade market

Kucherov has 18 points in 13 games this season, with 4 goals and 14 assists. He is 33 years old and has 1,141 points over his NHL career, so nobody inside the Lightning organization wants to see him go.

His contract is also the story here, because his deal runs through 2026-27 and he is set to be an unrestricted free agent at expiry. No extension has been signed, and Milstein's words suggest that is not changing.

That is a problem for Julien Brisebois. A player who has said publicly through his agent that he's leaving, and who is still producing at close to a point-and-a-half per night, is the kind of asset you move before the market closes on you. Waiting him out is the bad option.

The decision is not Kucherov's alone, and Tampa is still winning, which complicates any sell-off. But the longer this drags on, the more the leverage shifts to the teams calling Brisebois, and the Lightning have home games against Detroit on Tuesday to try to keep the locker room steady.

Also read on Markerzone.com:
Reputable source believes Nikita Kucherov's decision on which team he will join is already made: Maple Leafs