Tampa Bay Lightning All-Time Goal Scorer No. 4: Nikita Kucherov
- 2013- Present
- 276 career goals
- 41 goals in 2018-19
Note more for his playmaking than his goal-scoring, Nikkita Kucherov could probably have 50 more goals in his career if, in the words of Phil Esposito, he would just “shoot the puck.”
He’s talented enough that he can score even when he doesn’t shoot.
As it is, Kucherov has wristed home 276 goals during this time with the Lightning. Since 2015, he has only scored less than 30 goals once, and that was in 2021-22, when he missed time due to injury.
Of course, he would also be over 300 career goals already had he not missed the regular season in 2021, but sat out so the Tampa Bay Lightning could manipulate the salary cap (at least that’s what rival fanbases have told us).
He has a career shooting percentage of 14.5% and, at 30 years old, still has plenty of time to catch the man who is number three on the list.