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How Lightning star Nikita Kucherov has looked on the ice since his trade request

If you took away the knowledge of the trade request, you'd think it was business as usual for the Lightning and Nikita Kucherov
ByHarrison Smajovits
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Nikita Kucherov is still looking like himself, even with the off-the-ice drama
Nikita Kucherov is still looking like himself, even with the off-the-ice drama | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In what can be called an unusual off-night, Nikita Kucherov couldn’t get his name on the scoresheet in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 4-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. It marked the second time in three games he didn’t register at least a point. 

That being said, he’s still performed very well overall, even since his trade request went public on Oct. 30. In the five games played since then, he’s had seven points. One of those is an overtime goal that helped the Lightning beat the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

It’s safe to say from the jump that any drama happening off the ice isn’t impacting his performance, at least not in a way that we can sniff it out. 

How he’s handled himself on the ice is helpful for both him and the Lightning, and it’s the case in a few ways. 

How an unfazed Kucherov impacts the future

Since the Lightning don’t currently intend to trade him, it could potentially mean that Kucherov is still capable of giving them one last chance at a run with him.

There have been critiques of his playoff performance in recent seasons, but overall, he’s averaged a point per game over his last three playoffs, and the team would still rather go into the playoffs with him than without him. 

For starters, he’s doing a nice job keeping the extension value as high as possible. Either way, he was in for a payday. He’s the reigning Hart Memorial Trophy winner, and he’s had at least 113 points in each of his last four seasons. He's currently on pace for 108.

With that said, any high note he can end this season on would help the overall value of his next contract, even if it only means a slight difference. There’s no reason to give another team any reason to try to dock the pay.

If the Lightning decide they'd rather trade him before March 1 instead of letting him walk on July 1, then perhaps this is also good for maximum trade value. Again, Kucherov should, in theory, bring in a haul regardless, but if he had fallen off a cliff after his trade request, there may have been concerns that don’t exist because he’s continued to give it his all. 

Nobody is losing because Kucherov keeps going out there. It could certainly be worse. Other trade-request situations this season certainly have been.

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