Tyler Seguin Talks Kucherov and the Lightning’s Salary Cap Controversy

The Tampa Bay Lightning have drawn the ire of many fans and even some media members with what many are considering to be “cheating” the salary cap, and now Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin is the latest to chime in.

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Before the start of the 2020-21 season, it was announced that Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov would miss the entire campaign due to hip surgery. At the time, not much was thought about it other than the fact it was a big blow to the team, however as time went on some began to question the entire situation.

After the trade deadline in which they were able to add David Savard, even more questions began to be raised. Due to the fact a maximum salary cap does not exist in the playoffs, many believed the Lightning were simply holding Kucherov out despite him being healthy so that they weren’t forced to chance their roster to fit him in. Considering the fact he hasn’t looked rusty at all with four points in two playoff games, it appears that the people questioning this whole situation may have been correct after all.

Recently, Seguin was asked his thoughts on the entire situation, and admitted he was close to doing the same thing but was forced to come back and play due to the Stars failing to have a clinched playoff spot like the Lightning did.

“It’s a salary-cap world,” Seguin said. “If I’m on Tampa, I’m stoked about it, so I can’t really chirp it too much.”

Despite those comments, however, the 29-year-old admitted that they are flirting with a line that’s right or wrong. Clearly, he is in the camp that believes Kucherov could have returned to the lineup sooner than he did, a theory in which more and more are beginning to think is true.

Technically Legal

While many don’t like it, the Lightning technically didn’t do anything wrong here. If anyone is to blame, it is the league for allowing a possible situation like this to even work out in the first place. In fact, the only reason situations like this likely don’t happen more often is because most teams are not good enough to just sit their best forward all year long and still be able to easily claim a playoff berth. It truly is a testament to just how dominant this Lightning squad is.

Though their current series against the Florida Panthers is far from over, they do hold a 2-0 lead and have looked dominant so far. While back to back Stanley Cup wins are extremely rare, this is a team that many believe could do just that due to how good their lineup is. If they were to win it all, it would certainly enrage some who feel they’ve cheated the system, but technically speaking they did not do anything wrong here.

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