Pierre LeBrun says it wouldn't shock him if the Canadiens were on Nikita Kucherov's trade list, and that's a name worth watching on Monday morning.
The Lightning star is 33 and in the final season of his contract. He is listed with no injury, and he has 18 points through 13 games.
The wrinkle is geography. Montreal and Tampa Bay share the Atlantic Division, and LeBrun reports there is zero chance the Lightning would ever send Kucherov to a divisional rival.
That should end the trade conversation for this season. Instead it points to July 1, which is where LeBrun says the Canadiens could be worth keeping in mind if Kucherov goes to market.
Kucherov is a UFA at expiry, and no extension has been signed. Those are the facts in front of us, and they make the summer far more interesting than the next few weeks.
Our earlier piece on LeBrun and the Canadiens' Kucherov trade chatter laid out the same divisional wall.
Montreal is not exactly shopping from a position of weakness either. The Canadiens are 9-3-2, fifth in the NHL, and won 5-4 against Pittsburgh on Saturday for their fifth straight victory.
Why a free agent Kucherov changes the Atlantic race
If Kucherov reaches the open market, the divisional restriction disappears. Tampa Bay could not stop a team from signing him in July the way it can block a trade.
That is a very different problem for the Lightning, who sit 8th in the league at 8-3-2 and are 6-0-0 at home. On the road they are 2-3-2, and they dropped a 5-4 shootout decision in Nashville on Saturday.
Kucherov has 4 goals and 14 assists this season, with a +5 rating. Over his NHL career he has 1141 points in 892 regular-season games, and that production does not come cheap.
| GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | |
| 2026-27 | 13 | 4 | 14 | 18 | +5 |
| Career | 892 | 404 | 737 | 1141 | +205 |
Martin St-Louis has a team with a +6 goal differential and a 8-1-1 record over its last 10. Kent Hughes would be adding a player who has 177 playoff points in 159 career games.
Pierre LeBrun's note, carried by NHL Rumour Report, was blunt about the limits of any deal before then.
LeBrun noted that Montreal could be on the list, but only if Kucherov hits the market.
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Our look at Kucherov's contract demands and the Lightning's offer shows how wide the gap was between the two sides.
The Canadiens host Winnipeg on Tuesday, and the Lightning welcome Detroit the same night. Tampa Bay's decision on Kucherov's future still hangs over every game until July 1.
Should the Canadiens chase Nikita Kucherov if he hits free agency on July 1?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Maple Leafs join the Simon Edvinsson chase as Detroit stalls
