The Real Reason Behind Nikita Kucherov's Trade Demand?

The trade request from reigning Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov shocked the hockey world on Friday, with one of the biggest stars in the game now almost certain to be on the move in the very near future. While it's clear that Kucherov wants out, there's been very little in the way of explaining why a man who has only ever played for one franchise, is that franchise's all-time leading scorer, and has hoisted multiple Stanley Cups with that franchise, suddenly wants a change of scenery.

There's been no new reporting pointing to any potential motivating factor, but earlier this summer one National Hockey League insider dropped a nugget of information that could explain everything about what went wrong here. Back in September during an episode of the Chris Johnston show, NHL insider Chris Johnston reported some pretty hefty contract demands were being made by Kucherov and his camp.

"I heard some pretty big numbers that he was looking for, something like $20 million dollar range on like a six-year deal," said Johnston on the podcast.

The $20 million dollar range has thus far been reserved for the NHL's truly elite players, like Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, but there's no question that Kucherov is also in that category. I suspect the problems for the Lightning stem from Kucherov's age, with the 33 year old considerably older from a hockey perspective than the 28 year old Makar. The Lightning are likely dubious about committing that much money to a player that would be 39 at the end of that contract, even if he is their all-time franchise leader in points.

That could also prove to be an issue for any teams looking to acquire Kucherov in a trade, with the Russian forward likely to demand a hefty payday regardless of where he ends up next by season.