This trade BREAKS the NHL...

Last Friday, Nikita Kucherov told the Lightning that he wants out. Tampa's answer came that same night. Quote, we unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita. And since he asked out, he's assisted five of Tampa's six goals. He says it was never about money. It was about poor communication and respect, as they only had two conversations about an extension in four months. So I want to know what it would cost to bring in Nikita Kucherov if Tampa does say yes to trading him. In this video we're going to talk about three teams, all Canadian teams because he hasn't said he isn't willing to go to Canada and those teams are going to be the Edmonton Oilers, the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. So it's gonna be a fun video. Let's start with why the price is so high for Nikita Kucherov because this just isn't a a good player. This is a top five player in the NHL that's available for a trade right now. In 24-25, Kucherov led the NHL with 121 points. Last season, he had 130 points, second only to Connor McDavid's 138. And this season, he has 20 points in 14 games. That's 1.43 points a game, better than 99 out of 100 players on points a game. To be fair, he isn't leading the league right now. Evan Bouchard has 28 points. Kucherov has 20. Keep that in mind because it's part of the price. So what are you actually buying? He produces four points for every 60 minutes he plays, and he plays about 21 minutes a night. He scores on the power play, too. 0.43 power play points a game in the 93rd percentile. And the one weakness is he gives it away. 1.93 giveaways a game, which is second percentile. That's the cost of a guy who has the puck on his stick that much. He makes $9.5 million a season, and that deal ends after this year. So every game from here is an audition for the next one. Whoever trades for him is buying one season, plus first shot at resigning him before July 1st. And he does have a modified no-trade clause, so he does have to say yes to wherever he does go, but it's not as strict as the Larkin or Hellebuck situation. I believe it's just a 10-team list that he has to give. Tampa's GM is adamant that he is going to say no in this trade, but if a team comes forward with a good deal that isn't just a handful of picks and is a player that can help them now, I think they'll say yes. So why would Tampa say yes? Because they're good right now. They're 9-3-2 with 20 points in 14 games, third in the Atlantic. And that's the argument for keeping him because contenders don't sell their best player in November. Here's Tampa's top line today, Gonzalez, Point, and Kucherov. Take him out, and Tampa needs a right wing on a line that already scores, which is why they want a player who can play right away. But he is a free agent in July, so him telling them that he's not going to sign back there is obviously the leverage that he does have in this, is that they don't want to give up a 130-point player in this league for nothing. They want to get something back in return for this. Elliott Friedman reported he told Tampa he won't resign, and LeBron reported that the request has teams lining up either before March 1st or July 1st. And New York Islanders beat writer Stefan Rosner said Tampa isn't looking to move him now, but that could change by the deadline. So the clock is simple here, either Tampa gets something for him by the deadline or they get nothing from him in July when he walks. That's why the price has to be big for Kucherov because he's a top five player in this league. Tampa's going to want a player that helps them now and compete now this season because they're having a good year. They're not just going to want a player and a future asset here, like they want something big. Let's talk about Toronto first, Kirill Marchenko, Ben Danford, and a first round pick for Nikita Kucherov. Marchenko makes $3.85 million this season, then $12.5 million a season from 27-28 through 32-33. He's hurt on injured reserve right now. Danford is a defensive prospect on a $936,000 deal a season for three years, and the first round pick would be 2027 first. Toronto holds from Colorado because its own 2027 first is tied up with Philadelphia. Here's the lineup after the trade. Kucherov and Nylander flank Austin Matthews. Easton Cowan moves up to center of the second line. That top line is a nightmare for a goalie, but the problem is it doesn't fit under the cap just yet. Behind them, nothing moves. Riley and Stetcher stay, the second pair, Stolarz stays in goal, and Danford was never in the top six on defense. Toronto would take on $9.5 million and send out $3.85 million. That's $5.65 million more, and Toronto has no cap space. Now, here's the twist. Sending Marchenko out obviously clears his $12.5 million extension that he just signed for next year, so that gives you room to offer a contract to Nikita Kucherov and an extension, But Toronto, it's exactly why... Maybe Tampa would think twice about this because they don't know maybe if Marchenko is worth that money or if they want him locked up long-term. But I think if you're obviously trading for Marchenko here, he's a guy you see with the future of your team as he's still fairly young in the NHL, in his young career. So Toronto gets the best top six out of the three teams we're going to talk about today and the one that's hardest to build because the cap has to be solved and it's either by including a cap piece back in this trade maybe it's Riley or Stetcher or someone like this to figure it out or you have to make a trade before this one to clear that space and obviously be able to allow to take Kucherov on fully. So it is a little bit of a couple of things that need I need to fall into place first, but... If they think they can get Kucherov, those are easy things to solve right away. Montreal's offer is Ivan Demidov, David Reinbacher, and a second-round pick. Think about what Tampa is really getting here. A young winger with 20 goals in 84 career games and a defenseman who's in the minors. Demidov makes $940,000 this season, the $9.15 million a season from 27-28 to 2034-35. That's a big commitment, and Tampa would be the one making it. And he's hurt. Demidov was out two to four weeks from October the 6th, and on November the 3rd, he's still in the walking boot. Reinbacher was the fifth pick in 2023, and he's in the minors sent to Laval on October 21st. Here's the Canadiens after the trade. Kucherov joins Caulfield and Suzuki on the top line, and Slavkovsky drops to the second line with Newhook and Kreider. And look at who's missing. Nobody, because Demidov is injured right now and not in the lineup. Reinbacher is in the AHL and not in the lineup, so this really doesn't affect them at all. They just get a new player added to their team right now. But the cap says no, Montreal takes on $9.5 million, it sends back $1.85 million, and has about $1.9 million in space, so it has to send back more salary, which I think would be easy if you get Kucherov to sign here. So obviously, you probably have to move out some guys like Josh Anderson, maybe even Zach Bolduc on bigger deals to make the cap work, but if you can get Kucherov, you can make the cap work around them pretty easily, and it'll come together quick. So that's Montreal. It's the cheapest deal in terms of players because you are betting on Demidov and Reinbacher having great careers, which I do believe that they will do. But it's more expensive in future cap for Tampa, obviously bringing on Demidov's 9.15 million. But... I think they're willing to trade for Demidov. They have a lot of faith in him. That really doesn't matter. What matters right now is not having the cap space. Like I said, that can come together really quick if you think you have a shot at Kucherov. You can trade these guys out, even include some into the deal, modify this deal where maybe it's Demidov and Anderson or Demidov, and, you know, one of these guys that will make the cap work. And then there's the Oilers, and this is the one I really like. They send out Evan Bouchard in the second round pick for Nikita Kucherov. Bouchard makes $10.5 million a season through 28-29, Edmonton sends out $10.5 million and takes in $9.5, so it saves $1 million, Tampa has $2.78 million in space to absorb it. One morning, our cap sheet has Edmonton at $103.7 million, and SportTrack has it at $104.4 million with no space and $2.6 million of dead money from Jack Campbell's buyout, either way, every dollar matters, and this deal saves the dollar. Tampa gets a defenseman who has 28 points this season, third on his own team, plus Edmonton's 20-27 second. Here's Edmonton after the trade. Kucherov goes on the top line with McDavid, and Leon Draisaitl centers the second. And that's before the goalie. Devin Leiby is on injured reserve right now, and Kucherov doesn't fix that, but if the starter is out, the plan is to break glass and call up someone, and that's a different trade. It cost them on the blue line though because Bouchard was Matthias Ekholm's line mate and one trade like this would obviously set off a chain reaction of lineup moves. There's one more thing, Edmonton's own 2027 first pick is with Chicago so the picks it can offer are 2027 second and it's first from 2028 on. That's why second round pick is the realistic piece here. But here's why I think it's the best fit. McDavid signed a two-year $25 million extension that runs to 2027-2028 and he took less than he could have to give Edmonton room. There's a window that's closing. McDavid right now has 40 points. Draisaitl has 29. And now you give them the guy who finished second in the league in points last year. You have probably the three best players in the world in your lineup. There is one last swing to take with McDavid winning a cup in Edmonton. And that swing is trading for Kucherov. And if you want more breakdowns on everything happening around the NHL, we're home for it here on YouTube. Thanks to everybody for hitting our goal of 20,000 subscribers. Really appreciate everybody. If you want to stay up to date, go ahead and below, hit that subscribe button around the road now for 21,000. So here's how I'd rank them. Toronto has the star power, but the cap says no as of right now. Montreal sends prospects, but the cap says no as well. And here's what makes Edmonton honest. It's the only deal where the price is the player that fans will actually miss. Bouchard has 28 points this season. That's what it takes to get a top five player to your organization. Edmonton is the only one that works on paper, and it's the only one where the player lands next to the best player in the world. The other side of the thing is, too, if Tampa says no to all these and they want to go try it with one last year with Kucherov and let him walk in July, every one of these teams going after him loses the opportunity to get them in their organization. And remember, the contract is the real question. Tampa is reportedly offered four years at $15 million a year, and he reportedly wants six years at $20 million. That's a $60 million gap, and it's secondhand, Chris Johnson. Whoever trades for him is going to have to take that risk and figure out what an extension would look like, and Edmonton is the best team to do that right now because McDavid took a little bit of a pay cut so they could build a roster around him at $12.5 million, and that roster is Nikita Kucherov. So my pick is Edmonton because obviously Edmonton wants to win in the Connor McDavid era. If they don't, that'll be the biggest blunder in the organization's history. And the way to go out there and almost guarantee a Stanley Cup win is getting a veteran like Nikita Kucherov who has been there and won it and one of the best players in the league. Remember, none of this has actually reported any trade offers or anything like that, but I definitely think that this is something that we could see, because Kucherov has not come out and said that he won't play in Canada, and I definitely think he'd be willing to come to an organization like Toronto Maple Leafs, the Montreal Canadiens, or the Edmonton Oilers, who haven't won a cup in a long time. And he'll be the one to help them do that. I think we would really like to see that from Nikita Kucherov. And obviously, we don't know if Tampa won't trade him at this point. But I'd say if a package like this comes across their desk, it's going to be hard for them to turn that down for sure. So which one is it for you? Toronto, Montreal, or Edmonton? Let me know down below in the comments. This has been another episode of the NHL Digest. If you enjoyed, leave a like, subscribe to the channel. As always, I'm your host, Casey. Keep your stick on the ice.