Nikita Kucherov wants out of Tampa Bay, and a CBS Sports list of five landing spots leaves the Bruins off it.
According to Sportsnet, the 33-year-old told the Lightning he won't sign an extension and has asked for a trade. CBS's Austin Nivison named Montreal, Minnesota, Carolina, Utah and Dallas as the best fits.
Boston isn't on it, even though the Bruins are 10-4-1 and lead the Atlantic after beating Chicago 5-4 in overtime last night. A mock trade sending Pavel Zacha and Mason Lohrei to Tampa has already made the rounds, so the name isn't foreign in this market.
Kucherov, meanwhile, keeps producing through the noise. He had three assists Saturday night in Tampa's 5-4 shootout loss at Nashville, and he has 18 points through 13 games this season.
He's in the final year of a contract that carries a $9.5 million cap hit. Nivison notes he has a 10-team trade list, which should leave Tampa Bay plenty of room to find a partner.
Montreal is the team Nivison calls the most natural fit, pointing to nearly $30 million in projected cap space next season and a coach in Martin St-Louis who once played with Kucherov. The Canadiens are second in the Atlantic and have won five straight.
Nivison imagines a power play with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov. Suzuki is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury and expected out until at least Nov. 18, and Demidov is listed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
Why a Kucherov deal in Montreal would hurt Boston most
Every other team on the list plays outside the Atlantic. Montreal sits one spot behind the Bruins, and a Hart Trophy winner added to a roster that has already gone 8-1-1 over its last 10 would tighten a division race Boston currently leads.
Leaving the Bruins off the list is a miss. Boston has scored 55 goals in 15 games, but adding a winger who posted 44 goals and 86 assists last season would give general manager Don Sweeney a different kind of ceiling.
Coach Marco Sturm didn't hide his reaction when asked about Kucherov's trade demand and Sturm's smile. Interest from the dressing room is one thing, and the price Tampa wants is another.
Minnesota, Utah and Dallas have their own reasons to call. The Wild would pair him with Kirill Kaprizov, and the Stars would have to decide what to do with Jason Robertson, who is on a one-year deal.
Boston hosts Vegas on Monday. Montreal follows Tuesday against Winnipeg, and every day Kucherov stays unsigned and unmoved, Sweeney's phone matters more.
