Nikita Kucherov's Huge Contract Demands Leave Lightning A Tough Choice.

Russian superstar forward Nikita Kucherov is synonymous with his team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, having played all 879 of his regular season games for that franchise and winning both of his Stanley Cup rings with the Lightning as well.

That's why it's almost impossible to imagine a scenario in which the Lightning and Kucherov would go their separate ways.... almost.

On a recent podcast, National Hockey League insider Chris Johnston dropped a bombshell when he revealed the reported contract demands from Kucherov when it comes to his next contract. According to Johnston, Kucherov would be seeking to be among the very top earners in the entire NHL.

"It will be fascinating to see where it goes with Kucherov because I've heard some pretty big numbers that he was looking for," revealed Johnston on the Chris Johnston show.

Just how much? According to Johnston, Kucherov would be looking for a 6 year contract with an average annual value of $20 million per season. While Johnston made it clear he expects the two sides to find a way to work out a deal, it's clear he believes the possibility of Kucherov walking away as a free agent does exist.

"In this environment where the money is going crazy, it will just be interesting to see how that one ends up playing out," added Johnston.

I have no doubt that if Kucherov were to hit the open market there would be many, many teams willing to pay him an absurd amount of money, especially considering he has averaged over 130 points per season in each of the last 3 seasons.