Nikita Kucherov's trade request has one NHL GM saying the stars hold all the power, and the Lightning are now in the middle of it.
Kucherov is 33 and in the final season of a deal that carries a $9,500,000 cap hit, listed as a UFA at expiry. That timeline matters more than any quote.
He still has 15 points in 12 games this season, built on 4 goals and 11 assists. Whatever is driving this, it isn't a player who has stopped producing.
| GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | |
| 2026-27 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 15 | +2 |
| Career | 891 | 404 | 734 | 1138 | +202 |
The reaction from around the league is already forming. According to R i N K Y, one GM said you can see it happening in real time, adding that "This is a game for the star players."
He also pointed at two other names. "We see the situations with Larkin and Hellebuyck," the GM said, noting that they have longer-term contracts but "don't want to play for their teams."
Larkin's situation is the louder one. The Red Wings center is listed as day-to-day for a reason that is not injury related, with an expected absence until at least Saturday, and head coach Todd McLellan confirmed he would not play Thursday against Chicago, as Dylan Larkin's absence from the Red Wings lineup showed.
R i N K Y laid out the GM's view that the balance has shifted entirely toward the players.
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Why long contracts no longer protect NHL teams
Hellebuyck is the odd piece of that trio right now. The goalie suited up for the Devils on Friday night in Las Vegas and stopped 19 of 21 shots in a 5-2 win.
His contract runs through 2030-31. Larkin's runs through the same season. If the GM is right, term has stopped being protection for a club and has become something the player simply waits out.
That's a bad sign for every front office that has handed out eight-year money to a veteran. A signature used to mean a commitment from both sides.
Larkin's side is also tied to New Jersey, because Dylan Larkin's trade list and the Devils was already a story last week. He has 6 points in 10 games for Detroit this season, so he is not a player teams would be shopping cheaply.
The anonymous GM deserves some skepticism, because nobody puts a name on a comment like that. But the three players he cited are real, and the contracts he described are in the books.
The next marker is Kucherov's expiry after 2026-27. Tampa Bay has to decide how long it can carry a request like that before the market decides for it.
Do NHL star players now hold too much power over their teams?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Five teams will not be in on Nikita Kucherov trade, per report
