Another fascinating situation is developing in the NHL. On Friday night, it was reported that superstar Nikita Kucherov wants out of Tampa Bay.
The Tampa Bay Lightning seem reluctant to want to make any major move. It's hard to trade the former MVP. However, sometimes, you have to take into consideration the future of your franchise.
Not trading Kucherov is asking for major trouble
Right now, the negotiations between Kucherov and the Lightning aren't going well. Supposedly, the most the Lightning have offered in AAV is about 15 million. It wouldn't be unreasonable for Kucherov, despite being 33, to ask for an AAV closer to the max.
He is an impending free agent, and an unrestricted free agent at that after this season. That's why he demanded a trade: the negotiations haven't gone well. The Lightning have already said that they aren't interested in trading the former Hart Memorial Trophy winner. While that is reasonable at the moment, it will get increasingly more risky.
If the Lightning can't get him to sign there and they once again fall short in the postseason, then Tampa Bay is wasting a massive opportunity. Trade him now, and you can get a lot of assets in return. Plenty of teams will be interested in a guy who provides well over 100 points a season. Tampa Bay can get picks, young players, and assets to help its future.
Keep him, and the Lightning could lose Kucherov... And for literally nothing. The hope is that the negotiations go better, but the Lightning and Kucherov are far apart. For the Utah Mammoth, this is an interesting situation to monitor.
Of all NHL teams, the Mammoth could make the most sense. They have salary room, a ton of youth and assets, and could use a player of that caliber. Depending on whether or not Utah is interested in Dylan Larkin, well, Utah may have a new target.
Add us as a preferred source on Google