On the Tampa Bay Lightning and Nikita Kucherov …
Sonny Sachdeva of Sportsnet: Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov will be entering the final year of his three-year bridge deal that carries a $4.77 million salary cap hit.
Joe Smith of The Athletic reported that there haven’t been any talks between the Lightning and agent Dan Milstein about a possible extension this offseason, and Milstein doesn’t expect there to be any.
Milstein said that both sides are not in a rush to get a long-term extension done. Kucherov would be an RFA and not a UFA and he wants to stay with the Lightning.
“He wants to stay in Tampa,” Milstein told Smith. “He doesn’t want to go anywhere. Worst-case, it’s arbitration, they’re not going to lose him. Both sides want him to be in Tampa.”
Talks between Kucherov’s camp and the Lightning should happen during next season.
On the Tampa Bay Lightning and J.T. Miller …
Larry Brooks of the NY Post: Miller is pending restricted free agent, one-year away from being a UFA, will likely be looking for a five- or six-year contract extension this offseason with a salary cap hit around $5 to $5.4 million. Maybe GM Steve Yzerman could convince Miller to take less since there is no state tax in Florida.
On the New York Rangers …
Larry Brooks of the NY Post: If the Rangers have Neal Pionk, Kevin Shattenkirk and Tony DeAngelo as their top three right-handed defensemen next season, maybe they would look at pending UFA Roman Polak to fill some minutes.
On the New York Islanders …
Larry Brooks of the NY Post: The Post has learned that it was the Islanders ownership that made a deal with the Maple Leafs that allowed Lou Lamoriello to speak with John Tavares. It’s believed that neither team presidents, Garth Snow and Brendan Shanahan, knew about the agreement. Neither Snow nor head coach Doug Weight were kept in the loop regarding Lamoriello.