With the holiday season afoot, former Florida Panthers assistant general manager Steve Werier was looking back on what could have been. Namely, he reflected on the team’s attempt to sign Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov to an offer sheet in 2016 on The PuckPedia Hockey Show. Werier said that Florida was hoping to take advantage of Tampa Bay’s cap strains at the time, and would have had to give up a first, second, and third-round pick in the resulting deal.
Plans ultimately fell through, and Kucherov signed a three-year, $14.3MM bridge contract with Tampa Bay. The deal proved to offer the best of both worlds, providing a 23-year-old Kucherov a chance to jump into the top echelon of NHL scorers while Tampa Bay retained enough cap space to keep Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat, and Alex Killorn in the fold. Kucherov certainly did take off, recording 85, 100, and 128 points over the three years of his bridge deal respectively. He has stayed special in five seasons since, routinely exceeding point-per-game scoring in the regular-and-post-seasons and reaching a career-high 144 points in the 2023-24 season.
It would be hard to picture Kucherov – a 12-year veteran in Tampa Bay – in any other jersey. But Florida could have offered him a similar platform to thrive. Werier emphasized that the team wanted to make sure they had Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad locked up to support Kucherov, if he came in. Florida was also carrying Vincent Trocheck, Jonathan Marchessault, and Jaromir Jagr at the time. They’ve swapped those three out for Jonathan Huberdeau, then Matthew Tkachuk, and Sam Reinhart in the years since. That firepower has proven enough to earn Florida two Stanley Cup championships, the same number that Kucherov has won in Tampa Bay.
A deal never came together, and both Florida-based clubs found their way to stardom nonetheless. But how an in-state offer sheet could have impacted the two sides will be a fun thought for the rest of the holiday week. Kucherov is among the best forwards in the NHL, and one of the greatest Russians to ever play. Any effort to bring him into the fold is notable, even if it ultimately fell through.
But, They didn’t, And, It was almost a decade ago, Slow news day.
It’s at least interesting to read. I’m glad there’s something to read on a slow news day. It’s American thanksgiving at least be thankful.
Wilf, although there is nothing to substantiate this, I have heard that the editors periodically add some slow news, hoping to provide you an opportunity to keep up.
Slow roasted
This is a fascinating what if scenario, why would you prefer to get nothing on a slow news day?
I’m just saying that even the individuals that give us all the news we read, And enjoy deserve a day or two off as well, They don’t need to entertain us every single day, So I find this sort of story Irrelevant, And patronizing.
What a name :D
@Wilf Is there anything anytime anywhere you dont feel agitated by?
And I agree with that @dhiak but since they chose to do it I am grateful to have learned a very interesting nugget that I never would have known. Thanks PHR!!
I heard about this piece of information elsewhere and while interesting but honestly, it’s news that’s almost 10 years ago. It doesn’t matter now. It’s no different than the potential trade between Tampa-Edmonton that would have included Nikita Kucherov and Leon Draisaitl back in 2017 or 2018 whenever it was supposed to be. However, as we all know these scenarios didn’t happen and are ancient history now. They’re moot story points today and hold no relevance.
All that for something you claim doesn’t matter and has no relevance?
Didn’t know there was a limit in comment length. I guess you think you’re a comment board dictator. But then again, you just complain, just to complain so I probably shouldn’t be surprised.
I like stories
Here’s an idea for the occasional slow news day: the Hockey Psychology channel on YT, but viewed through Invidious for privacy. This guy does his uploads in rapid-fire style, with good commentary. You may not always agree with his opinions, but I think it’s worth a watch. This is the link: link to inv.nadeko.net
The YT link: link to youtube.com