Kucherov says trade request to Lightning about poor communication, respect

Nov 2, 2026, 4:03 PM ET|Comments (0)

from NHL.com,

Nikita Kucherov explained Monday why he told the Tampa Bay Lightning he would not re-sign and asked them for a trade.

“It was never about the money for me,” he said. “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.”

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