It's one thing to suggest that a guy like Nikita Kucherov may have crossed the line when he made some negative comments about his own teammates, but that becomes a little harder when another voice on the team echoes his sentiments.
In an interview with Russian website Sports Express, Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was asked about the highly controversial comments from Kuchereov. Here is both the question translated from the original article as well as his answer.
Question: Kucherov has also said that some of the guys on the team aren’t really working.
Vasilevskiy: I didn’t read. I know that the guys are talking about it. I’ll say this: no one likes the truth. If someone suddenly says it out loud, reproaches begin. “Look at him,” they say, “Look how conceited he has become.” I don’t want to discuss what Nikita said. But once again, no one likes the truth.
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It certainly sounds like Vasilevskiy felt that Kucherov's comments were on point when they were described to him, and that says a great deal about the current status of the Tampa Bay Lightning locker room.
Kucherov is coming off an incredible season, and Vasilevskiy is now the team's true number one goaltender, so you can bet that their voices carry a lot of weight in that dressing room as well.
