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Nikita Kucherov Was Almost Offer Sheeted by Lightning’s Biggest Rival
Nikita Kucherov is a Tampa Bay Lightning legend, but he was close to being offer sheeted by their bitter rival in 2016.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have been one of the most successful teams in the NHL over the last decade, and a lot of that can be attributed to Nikita Kucherov. While the Bolts have had a ridiculous amount of talent come through the organization during that time, none have been as impactful as Kucherov, who they somehow managed to snag in the second round (58th overall) of the 2011 draft.
With five 100-point seasons, three Art Ross trophies, two Stanley Cups, and a Hart trophy, it’s hard to imagine where Tampa Bay would be without him.
It turns out that it almost became a reality, as former Florida Panthers assistant general manager Steve Werier revealed they came very close to offer sheeting Kucherov during his stalemate with the Lightning when he was an RFA back in 2016.
“Yeah, so that was a fun one. Kucherov was a restricted free agent; he was offer sheet eligible, we were pretty confident, like everyone else, to sort of stick it to the in-state rival, who at the time had some pretty significant cap issues to deal with. It was a perfect storm, so to speak. I think it was about $7.14 million was the AAV, above which it was a first, second, and third-round pick as comp. So we were in the range of thinking that if we made an offer sheet, that might force Tampa’s hand… End of the day, we weren’t 100% certain that we could get the player,”
Kucherov wound up signing a three-year, $14.3 million extension with the Lightning just prior to the 2016-17 campaign, which was the start of his emergence into a true superstar.
Nikita Kucherov Was Also Close to Becoming an Oiler
As most fans know, this isn’t the only story about Kucherov nearly leaving Tampa Bay.
Jeff Marek also recently revealed that back in 2019, the Oilers and Lightning were having discussions about a blockbuster trade centered around Kucherov and Leon Draisaitl, in a deal that would have shaken the hockey world.
That, of course, didn’t come to fruition, though it just goes to show you that even the best players in the world’s situations aren’t always perfect.
No matter what, the Lightning have to be thankful that they didn’t give up on Kucherov after a slow start and playoff failures, because what came next were some of the best moments in franchise history.
Next: Changes Coming as McDavid and Oilers Search for Answers After Another Ugly Loss
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