What will Nikita Kucherov’s extension look like?

While NHL’s unrestricted free agency window opens on Wednesday, it also marks the start of the period in which players with just one year left on their current contracts are eligible for extensions.

While the crop of free agents available Wednesday may be an underwhelming list, that is not the case for the 2027-UFAs-to-be.

That list includes the consensus two best defensemen in the world in Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes, as well as reigning Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov, who could ink a new extension with the Tampa Bay Lightning as soon as Wednesday.

On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed what the contours of a new deal for Kucherov could look like as he ages into his mid-30s while still playing like a Hart Trophy favorite every year.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Another name that’s fascinating, Hutts, is Nikita Kucherov. I don’t know if this is one that gets done this summer. 33 years old, coming off a $9.5 million AAV, so he’s made north of $80 million already in his career, but at 33, that means the extension kicks in when he’s 34. Does Tampa go with the full seven-year term on this guy? What’s the AAV on a seven-year term for Nikita Kucherov? Because he could look at what Kirill [Kaprizov] got in Minnesota and absolutely say, ‘I am worth that right now,’ and with the cap shooting up, I don’t know if Tampa Bay is a strong argument to not give him something close to that if he wants it, because the other flip side is Julian BriseBois might sit there and go like, ‘Nikita, if I give you $17 million, we’re hamstrung in what we can do elsewhere, especially in the next couple years.’

Carter Hutton: For me with Kucherov, it feels very odd to even think about him not being in the Tampa Bay Lightning jersey, and I do think he can take the term and he can get a number that’s still high enough to keep him at his security at 33, right, and it’s spread out as the cap goes up where it’s not gonna debilitate them. So I do believe that Kucherov will stay in Tampa and take a number that isn’t absolutely absurd, and… he’s gonna make enough money. He’s living in a good place, I think that just solidifies his legacy as well, which is important.

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