Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman sent a shockwave across the hockey world last Friday after he revealed Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov has asked for a trade and would not be re-signing with the organization that drafted him in the second round all the way back in 2011.
Throughout 2026, we've seen several high profile names request to be traded. From Brady Tkachuk (traded to Florida from Ottawa) to Connor Hellebuyck (traded to New Jersey from Winnipeg), Dylan Larkin (suspended by team, won't play for Detroit again) and now, Nikita Kucherov, who became the all-time points leader in Tampa Bay Lightning history just days less than a week before asking to be dealt.
When speaking with reporters in Tampa Bay earlier this week, Kucherov said that his trade request came down to the lack of communication and respect he received from Lightning management, with the two sides having very minimal talks about a contract extension after he became eligible to sign one as of July 1st.
Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Julien BriseBois' statement on Friday night said that he has zero intentions of trading Nikita Kucherov and the 33-year-old winger mentioned to the media that his GM essentially told him he's free to walk right to unrestricted free agency next summer.
"It was never about the money for me. It was more about poor communication and respect. Over the last four months, we only have had two conversations, and (general manager Julien BriseBois) in the end made it clear that I’m free to walk on July 1." Kucherov said.
Whether or not the Lightning soften their stance on moving the two-time Stanley Cup champion remains to be seen, but regardless of that, the rumours of where Nikita Kucherov's next club could be have been a hot topic throughout the week, with the Montreal Canadiens even being mentioned as a potential landing spot.
Could the Montreal Canadiens Actually Land Nikita Kucherov?
One day after reporting on the trade request, Elliotte Friedman discussed the situation on the Saturday Headlines segment on Saturday Night Hockey. According to Friedman, he's heard the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs are two teams that Nikita Kucherov would consider being traded to.
"He has a ten-team trade list. I couldn't find out who was on it, but since this is a Canadian hockey show, I did want to ask. I do believe that if Tampa was going to trade him and Montreal & Toronto could come up with a package that Tampa would like, those are two teams among many he would consider." Friedman shared.
In addition to Friedman's report, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period mentioned on Tuesday's edition of The Fan Pregame that he believes the Montreal Canadiens are at the top of Nikita Kucherov's so-called desire list on where he's willing to be dealt to and play.
"I don't believe yet that an updated, most up-to-date list has been provided, so that adds even more speculation. That being said, I do know, or I do believe strongly, I don't know this definitively 100 percent, but I do believe that, Leafs fans might not want to hear this, Montreal is at the top of his desired list. I think Toronto is in there as well." Pagnotta said.
"I do believe Montreal is at the top of his 'desire' list."@TheFourthPeriod joined @jesse_fuchs and @jesserubinoff to discuss where Nikita Kucherov could eventually end up. pic.twitter.com/NmXF0tdYyG
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 4, 2026
It goes without saying that the Montreal Canadiens could really use a player like Nikita Kucherov, as could every other team in the National Hockey League. He's a game-breaker, a two-time Hart Trophy winner, three-time Art Ross Trophy winner, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, has reached the 100-point plateau six times and undoubtedly, is a future Hall of Famer.
For the Canadiens, there's two different scenarios at play here, especially if the Tampa Bay Lightning do end up changing their mind and open the door to moving Nikita Kucherov ahead of the trade deadline on Monday, March 1st. Of course, the first avenue for Kent Hughes to try and get his hands on Kucherov would be via trade, which would be costly. The second avenue would come on Canada Day, assuming he reaches the open market. That too will be costly, regardless of the fact that he turns 34 in June.
It's hard to know exactly what a trade package for Nikita Kucherov would need to include. Players like Nikita Kucherov aren't traded every day. However, it's safe to assume that the Tampa Bay Lightning would want multiple draft picks - including first rounders - as well as high-end prospects and roster players that can contribute at the NHL level this season.
The Montreal Canadiens have the draft picks and prospects to get a deal done. The team has their own first round pick in 2027, 2028, 2029 and beyond and a plethora of prospects that could intrigue the Lightning, from 2025-26 KHL Rookie of the Year Alexander Zharovsky to the current Hobey Baker favourite, Michael Hage.
Now this is where it gets a bit complex for the Tampa Bay Lightning because they are slowly exiting their contending window. They have aging stars in Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy, and trading Nikita Kucherov could essentially close that contending window for good. Would Julien BriseBois want an impactful roster player back in a Nikita Kucherov trade to keep their Stanley Cup hopes alive or would he want to start over, and go all-in on a futures package?
If I was in his shoes, I'd probably lean towards the latter, given that the Lightning probably won't be anywhere near a Stanley Cup contending team without Nikita Kucherov. Whether they trade Kucherov or let him leave as a free agent could cause a trickle down effect through the Lightning and will significantly alter the direction of the franchise.
With all due respect to the Lightning, their prospect pool is quite thin and I'm not saying they need to go into a full rebuild at this time, but they absolutely need to start thinking about the future and targeting younger players & prospects in a Nikita Kucherov trade, those that can help them once their contending window reopens, whether that be in three years, five years, etc.
That brings us to scenario number two - Nikita Kucherov hits the unrestricted free agent market on July 1st, 2027. Should that happen, the Montreal Canadiens will be in the thick of the Nikita Kucherov hunt, thanks to the contracts that the club currently has. According to PuckPedia, Kent Hughes will have $29.7 million in project cap space for the 2027-28 season, with six players currently on Montreal's roster set to be UFA's conclusion of the current campaign - Phillip Danault, Josh Anderson, Chris Kreider, Kirby Dach, Alexandre Carrier and Samuel Montembeault.
Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes would enough money to sign Nikita Kucherov, if he wanted to, with reports suggesting that the Maykop, Russia native is looking for $20 million annually on a six year deal, which would take him to the age of 40
Players like Nikita Kucherov don't become available very often and I fully expect that the Montreal Canadiens will try their hardest to bring the future Hockey Hall of Famer to La Belle Province to join one of the league's best top-six forward groups that includes Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov. The Canadiens have the money and the pieces needed to get either a trade, contract extension or both done to bring Nikita Kucherov to to the club. So yes, I would say there's a chance that Nikita Kucherov could be wearing the bleu, blanc & rouge at some point, whether that's later this season or next.