Lightning turn attention to Kucherov after Stamkos, Hedman extensions
Despite some heavy lifting, Steve Yzerman still has some serious work to do.
The Tampa Bay Lightning general manager drew rave reviews for re-signing franchise players in Steven Stamkos and defenseman Victor Hedman to long-term contract extensions on July 1.
At the same time, winger Nikita Kucherov has grown into a star in his own right, and remains without a new contract as a restricted free agent a few days after the opening of the NHL's free-agent signing period.
"We'll do our best to get (it) done as quickly as possible," Yzerman told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times on July 1. "It's a process, hopefully sooner than later. I'm confident in that at some point, we'll be able to reach an agreement."
The 23-year-old carried a cap hit of $894,166 over the past three seasons, and is due a large raise after averaging 29 goals and 65 points over the past two seasons.
Kucherov is clearly the type of player Yzerman values.
"He's an outstanding player, good in all aspects of the game," Yzerman said. Offensively, defensively, he's a scorer, he's a playmaker, really good defensively, a hard worker. He's still relatively young, three years of pro hockey, he's becoming a leader on our team. Really a go-to-guy for us. He can play in a lot of situations, do a lot of things on the ice.
"Nikita is going to continue to develop. He's determined to be an elite hockey player and a complete hockey player."
Kucherov's early career numbers mirror those posted by 21-year-old Filip Forsberg, who recently signed a six-year, $36-million extension with the Nashville Predators.
According to General Fanager, the Lightning have close to $13 million in available cap space, but with Alex Killorn, Vladislav Namestnikov and Nikita Nesterov also in need of new deals as fellow RFAs.
On top of that, a reconciliation between the club and Jonathan Drouin means he'll need a new contract in 2017, with a career season likely on deck.
In beating the Lightning in the Eastern Conference finals en route to a Stanley Cup championship, the Pittsburgh Penguins proved you need depth to succeed in today's NHL.
Having Stamkos and Hedman at the top is fine, but Yzerman needs to lock up the supporting cast, with Kucherov serving as the brightest Bolt of the bunch.