Lightning coach sheds new light on Nikita Kucherov trade drama with caution

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said star right winger Nikita Kucherov wants to stay in Tampa Bay — at least for this season — despite the bombshell trade request on Friday.Cooper said Saturday that Kucherov is “committed ” to the current group, but the coach did not say anything about future seasons.“Kuch is 100 percent a part of this team.He wants to be a part of this team for this season, and he is committed to be with the group that loves him and the group he loves,” said Cooper told reporters Saturday’s matchup against the Predators.Kucherov, an unrestricted free agent next summer, was in the lineup for the Lightning on Saturday.

The 2025-26 Hart Trophy winner entered the game in Nashville with 15 points (good for second on the Lightning), four goals and 11 assists in 12 games.The two-time Hart winner has spent all 13 of his NHL seasons with Tampa Bay, winning the Stanley Cup twice and contributing to a decade of dominance under Cooper.Kucherov, 33, initially told the Lightning — which surfaced Friday night — that he would not sign another contract with them.The three-time scoring champion will turn 34 at the start of next season.

He also has a limited no-trade clause, and he gave Tampa Bay a list of teams he’d approve being moved to.“We are aware of the media reports regarding the future of Nikita Kucherov with the Lightning,” general manager Julien BriseBois said in a statement released Friday night.“We unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita.”Even with the back-and-forth off the ice, Cooper sees no changes in game for Tampa Bay.“I will sit here and tell you nothing has changed in what our goals are this year.

Just, maybe, the context of how it is going to go about,” Cooper said.“What happens after our season is over, that’s Kuch’s right and he has earned that right for whatever happens.

For us, it probably made the team stronger.”Kucherov, in the final year of his $76 million contract, leads the way amon...