Don’t expect a Kucherov trade at the deadline … unless the Lightning bottom out

It’s been less than a week since Nikita Kucherov requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Fans and pundits have debated where the reigning Hart Trophy winner could be moved to, or what type of return he would bring the Lightning, but some wonder if Tampa Bay will even trade the winger before his contract expires this summer.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton are joined by The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta to discuss the Kucherov rumors and if the Lightning would be better off keeping the three-time Art Ross Trophy winner for the rest of the season.

Tyler Yaremchuk: How confident are you that Kucherov will be with a different club by the trade deadline?

David Pagnotta: I’m not. I’d be surprised, quite frankly.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Ohhhh!

David Pagnotta: A lot of it depends on Tampa’s performance. If things go south, if guys get injured, if they’re on the outside of the playoffs looking in and it’s looking bleak, then you look at trading him.

If you’re going to be this contender and you look at all the odds, I mean, they’re No. 4 or 5 in terms of Stanley Cup favorites … what would you trade him for? Go get another Stanley Cup and if he walks, he walks. But at least you won a Stanley Cup out of it, or at least you made the attempt.

I just don’t see a scenario where it makes sense for the Lightning to do it. They’re in the thick of things, so trading Kucherov makes no sense. If you’re a Cup contender, you’re not giving up significant assets on your current roster because you want to build off it. It’s similar to the Minnesota Wild’s thinking with Dylan Larkin. “I’ll give you some assets to make the money work, but I’m not giving you my top guys because it’s a lateral move. It doesn’t make sense.”

With Kucherov, if any team is a Cup contender, it’s going to be primarily a futures-driven deal because you want to chase a Cup. You’re hoping that last year’s MVP will put you over the top. So why would you move out any of your key pieces off the roster?

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…