Opening night has arrived for the Tampa Bay Lightning. They'll take the ice with a major question remaining, particularly about their reigning Hart Memorial Trophy winner, Nikita Kucherov.
No deal for after this season is in place. All parties ensure they're dialed in for the season. There shouldn't be doubt about it if they are. However, that doesn't mean it's not on the back of everyone's mind.
While it's something that'll keep some fans nervous, a recent report should help ease those worries a bit. TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported that the odds of Kucherov leaving aren't just slim, but that he has no intention of going on the open market.
"But having poked around on this file on this day, I can tell you there doesn’t seem to be a red flag other than the fact he’s not signed. In other words, everyone involved is confident this will eventually lead to an extension," LeBrun said, via TSN.
Kucherov is coming into his last season making $9.5 million per season. It's arguably one of the biggest steals in the game, especially with how average annual values have skyrocketed over the last couple of offseasons.
But with the team-friendly deal coming to an end, it's time for him to get paid something closer to his current value. It could still be relatively team-friendly, and I think staying with the same team, along with his age, will help. But a price hike is coming.
The salary cap is set to increase to $113.5 million next season, an increase from $104 million. I'm not going to speculate on what Kucherov's contract could look like, but I'll say the Lightning have more flexibility than they have had with recent pending free agents. That goes a long way to making this stalemate a non-issue.
Following the 2023-24 season, a key offseason that saw Steven Stamkos depart for Nashville, the salary cap was finally coming off its COVID-19 freeze and only rose $5 million heading into the following season. They chose to pay Jake Guentzel instead and extend Victor Hedman.
Tougher decisions had to be made, as with other seasons immediately after the back-to-back Stanley Cup wins.
Decisions don't have to be as tough anymore. They didn't hesitate to add a big contract after losing Darren Raddysh to the Toronto Maple Leafs. John Carlson slid right in with a similar cap hit to what Raddysh had with the Maple Leafs.
That was a change that was due to the length of contracts - a length that made sense for the team. After a career season, Raddysh left for a long-term deal. Carlson is on the books for two seasons. That's the bulk of the story, and it's a refreshing change from the previous need to shave away key players to be cap-compliant.
Come next season, there will be $9 million more in cap space above that. Other big names are already locked down. There will be other contracts to figure out, but they have the space to worry about Kucherov and handle the rest later.
Keep in mind, too, it's also become a recurring story for the Lightning that someone is a pending free agent and an extension has to be figured out. The notable example last season was Ryan McDonagh.
There were question marks about his future, and before the new year, the deal was inked. The same is very likely during the Kucherov extension saga.
So, if you're nervous, inhale and exhale. It'll get done.
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