Tampa Bay Lightning fans all around the Bolts Nation are ecstatic the team has secured forward Nikita Kucherov for the next three seasons.
The moment Tampa Bay Lightning fans have been anxiously awaiting has finally come to pass. Earlier this afternoon, Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman announced the team has re-signed their 2015-16 leading point-scorer, Nikita Kucherov, to a three-year contract.
It seems as if Yzerman may be vying for another General Manager of the Year nod. Yzerman was able to secure the Russian sniper for $4.766 million per season for the next three seasons. This is a pretty miraculous accomplishment for a player who could’ve easily commanded $6 million plus per season.
The good news is, this means the Tampa Bay Lightning will head into their home opener, which is scheduled for October 13th against the Detroit Red Wings, will their core intact. This will allow them to build on the chemistry they have built over the last couple of seasons and give the Bolts the best chance to succeed.
Tampa Bay Lightning
As you can imagine, fans all across the Bolts Nation are ecstatic over the news. Of course, with statistics like Kucherov’, you’d be crazy not to be excited.
Last season, Nikita Kucherov led the Tampa Bay Lightning in overall points, beating out players like captain Steven Stamkos and defenseman Victor Hedman, with 30 goals and 36 assists. This gave Kucherov a grand total of 66 points during the regular season.
The status quo remained the same in the postseason. Kucherov would once again lead the team in overall points with 11 goals and eight assists for a total of 19 points. Kucherov also led the Lightning in goals during the course of the postseason.
Once the news broke the Lightning had secured Nikita Kucherov for the next three seasons, it didn’t take long for fans to take to their various social media outlets to express their feelings on the matter. Here is a look at what some fans had to say about today’s fantastic developments.
On Kucherov... it's official: Steve Yzerman is a wizard.
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) October 11, 2016
Well glad to see Nikita Kucherov resigns ☺ with the @TBLightning
— Bowen Byram's #1 fan (@PWDAvalanche) October 11, 2016
Steve Yzerman is unreal. No clue how he got Kucherov to sign like that IMO
— Eich (@eichboy96) October 11, 2016
I know it's a bridge deal for Kucherov but 3 yrs $14M????? Yzerman is a wizard.
— alex hamilton (@SKRollins) October 11, 2016
YES... KUCHEROV RESIGNED WITH THE BOLTS @TBLightning next is hopefully Ben Bishop or Tyler Johnson
— 🏒⚾️MonkeyBoy12🏈🍣 (@Jo11yTro11ey) October 11, 2016
https://twitter.com/ChateauguayMan/status/785904306402762752
Yzerman for GM of the year. Great deal for Tampa on that Kucherov contract
— Matt (@villeneuvematt) October 11, 2016
My husband and his t-shirt are happy Kuch signed!! #Kucherov #TBLightning pic.twitter.com/JquTfhYceX
— Janelle Conlin (@jconli) October 11, 2016
In addition to the excitement of Kucherov remaining with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the next three seasons, many fans have also shown praise for Steve Yzerman and the masterful way he was able to complete the deal many thought would never come.
Who knows…maybe Yzerman does have some sort of wizarding powers. It would certainly explain how he was able to secure so many of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s core players to long-term deals.
Next: Tampa Bay Lightning To Retire Martin St. Louis’ Jersey
At the end of the day, we are happy the Tampa Bay Lightning were able to secure Nikita Kucherov for the next three seasons. Of course, the Bolts aren’t out of the woods just yet. If the team wants to keep Kucherov long-term, there will definitely have to be some movement prior to the conclusion of the 2018-19 season.