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Nikita Kucherov

Position	Right Wing	Current Team	Tampa Bay Lightning
Shoots	Left	Current Contract	8 years
Height	6'0"	Expires	2026-27
Weight (lbs)	173	Expiry Age (Jun 30)	34
Age	32 (June 17, 1993)	Expiry Status	UFA
Drafted	2011, Round 2, Overall 58 (TBL)

Date	Team	Transaction
Jul 10, 2018	Tampa Bay Lightning	Signed 8 years @ $9.500M AAV starting in 2019-20
Oct 11, 2016	Tampa Bay Lightning	Signed 3 years @ $4.767M AAV starting in 2016-17
Sep 11, 2012	Tampa Bay Lightning	Signed to an entry level contract.

Status History Coming Soon

2025-26 Player Card

URL: https://www.thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20252026/nikita-kucherov-8476453.png

2024-25 Player Card

URL: https://www.thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20242025/nikita-kucherov-8476453.png

2023-24 Player Card

URL: https://www.thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20232024/nikita-kucherov-8476453.png

About Player Cards

Player cards present an infographic of a players performance. In this case it shows the player performance over a 3 season span. Each square is separated into three separate sub-boxes with the two smaller boxes on top representing the past two seasons and the larger box on the bottom representing the current or most recent season. This allows the reader to guage how consistent a player has been, and if early in the season it can help identify whether a players performance may be impacted by small sample size and subject to regression or is consistent with recent past performance.

Notes and Definitions

The numbers represent percentiles so the higher the better.
Percentiles are determined by comparing Forwards to Forwards and Defensemen to Defensemen.
Bursts/mi are calculated from NHL Edge Data are are speed bursts above 20mpg per mile skated. The NHL doesn't adjust for ice time so the players that skate more will naturally have more bursts over 20, or at least more opportunity to have more. The NHL also does not provide ice time in the context of NHL Edge Statistics, however, it does provide distance skated. By adjusting for distance skated it will have a similar effect to adjusting for ice time but also adjust for situationional effect. For example, Players don't typically skate as much on the PK, mostly within the defensive zone, so don't get significant opportunity in that ice time to get speed bursts above 20mph. Adjusting with miles skates would account for this better than adjusting with ice time.
Sh%AE is Shooting Percentage above Expected (Sh% - xSh%) and is an indicator of how good a shooter is at converting chances into goals.
Relative statistics are On Ice - Off Ice statistics and can be an indicator of whether the player makes his teammates better or worse.
All data is 5v5 except Shooting Hardest and Average, Skating Top Speed and Bursts/mi which are all situations, ES Average which is even strength (NHL doesn't give a specific definition).

Data Sources

Salary data is from TheStanleyCap.com
Shooting and Skating (except Sh%AE) are from NHL Edge
Other statistics are from Puckalytics.com and derived from data from NHL.com

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5v5 Individual Stats

Season	Team(s)	GP	TOI	G/60	A/60	Pts/60	xG/60	GAE/60	Sh%	xSh%	Sh%AE	%SA Rush	%SA Reb.
2015-16	TBL	77	1042:20	0.86	0.92	1.78	0.74	0.12	11.54	9.87	1.67	7.10	8.74
2016-17	TBL	74	1080:15	1.00	1.33	2.33	0.81	0.19	12.95	10.52	2.43	7.73	5.67
2017-18	TBL	80	1215:37	1.33	1.53	2.86	0.84	0.49	15.17	9.57	5.60	5.24	4.49
2018-19	TBL	82	1210:28	1.14	2.13	3.27	0.71	0.43	14.11	8.77	5.34	3.40	3.40
2019-20	TBL	68	936:55	1.22	1.73	2.95	0.82	0.40	13.29	8.93	4.35	4.04	4.55
2021-22	TBL	47	695:33	1.21	1.81	3.02	0.77	0.44	13.86	8.82	5.04	1.49	2.99
2022-23	TBL	82	1225:29	0.73	1.76	2.50	0.78	-0.04	9.74	10.31	-0.57	2.98	4.68
2023-24	TBL	81	1300:08	0.97	2.08	3.05	0.81	0.15	10.66	8.96	1.70	4.75	4.41
2024-25	TBL	78	1251:38	1.15	1.77	2.92	0.78	0.38	13.48	9.09	4.40	1.93	5.02
2025-26	TBL	9	134:08	0.00	1.79	1.79	1.00	-1.00	0.00	11.19	-11.19	0.00	2.63

5v5 On Ice Stats

Season	Team(s)	GP	TOI	SAF/60	GF/60	xGF/60	SAA/60	GA/60	xGA/60	GF%	xGF%	xGF Rel	xGA Rel	xGF% Rel
2015-16	TBL	77	1042:20	44.21	2.65	2.71	39.20	1.90	2.27	58.23	54.43	0.37	0.08	2.76
2016-17	TBL	74	1080:15	45.32	3.05	2.83	38.32	2.11	2.38	59.14	54.31	0.62	0.01	6.05
2017-18	TBL	80	1215:37	49.85	3.55	2.98	44.77	2.62	2.67	57.60	52.69	0.41	0.35	0.21
2018-19	TBL	82	1210:28	49.32	3.92	2.99	44.21	2.68	2.71	59.40	52.48	0.45	0.36	0.50
2019-20	TBL	68	936:55	47.77	3.65	2.88	40.54	2.11	2.25	63.33	56.14	0.56	0.05	4.79
2021-22	TBL	47	695:33	45.98	4.31	3.07	44.77	3.45	2.92	55.56	51.27	0.57	0.53	0.08
2022-23	TBL	82	1225:29	48.86	3.53	3.29	42.64	2.89	2.81	54.96	53.92	0.76	0.35	3.14
2023-24	TBL	81	1300:08	48.23	3.69	3.05	42.09	3.46	2.59	51.61	54.10	0.93	0.38	5.14
2024-25	TBL	78	1251:38	47.70	3.93	2.91	43.53	2.30	2.54	63.08	53.41	0.69	0.32	3.42
2025-26	TBL	9	134:08	49.65	2.24	2.91	42.94	4.47	2.08	33.33	58.30	0.50	0.31	0.68

NHL Edge Stats

		Skating				Shooting					Zone Time
Season	GP	Top Speed	Bursts>20/mi	Avg. Speed	ES Avg. Speed	Top Speed	Avg. Speed	%Long Range	%Mid Range	%High Danger	ES DZ%	ES NZ%	ES OZ%
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Legend

Percentile 0-25

Percentile 25-50

Percentile 50-75

Percentile 75-100

Forwards are compared with forwards and Defensemen are are compared with Defensemen.

5v5 Lines

Season

Season	Teammate	Teammate	Team	TOI	GF/60	GA/60	GF%	xGF/60	xGA/60	xGF%	xGF Rel	xGA Rel	xGF% Rel
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Glossary

Type	Statistic	Definition
Individual	G/60	Goals Against per 60 minutes.
Individual	A/60	Assists per 60 minutes.
Individual	Pts/60	Points per 60 minutes.
Individual	xG/60	Expected Goals per 60 minutes.
Individual	GAE/60	Goals Above Expected (G/60 - xG/60).
Individual	Sh%	Shooting Percentage.
Individual	xSh%	Expected Shooting Percentage.
Individual	Sh%AE	Shooting percentage above expected (Sh% - xSh%).
Individual	%SA Rush	Percentage of shot attempts determined to be on the rush.
Individual	%SA Reb.	Percentage of shot attempts determined to be from rebounds.
On Ice	SAF/60	Shot Attempts For per 60 minutes.
On Ice	GF/60	Goals For per 60 minutes.
On Ice	xGF/60	Expected Goals For per 60 minutes.
On Ice	SAA/60	Shot Attempts Against per 60 minutes (lower is better).
On Ice	GA/60	Goals Against per 60 minutes (lower is better).
On Ice	xGA/60	Expected Goals Against per 60 minutes (lower is better).
On Ice	GF%	Goals For Percentage = Goals For / (Goals For + Goals Against)
On Ice	xGF%	Expected Goals For Percentage = Expected Goals For / (Expected Goals For + Expected Goals Against)
On Ice	xGF Rel	xGF/60 when On Ice - xGF/60 when not On Ice.
On Ice	xGA Rel	xGA/60 when On Ice - xGA/60 when not On Ice (lower is better).
On Ice	xGF% Rel	xGF% when On Ice - xGF% when not On Ice.

Individual and On-Ice stats from Puckalytics.com (starting in 2015-16). NHL Edge Stats from edge.nhl.com (starting in 2021-22). Edge statistic definitions can be found at the Edge Stats Glossary.

News and Opinions

Zemgus Girgensons scores twice in Lightning’s 5-2 win over Predators at Raw Charge (Wed Oct 29, 2025)
Lightning make it a two-win weekend as they down Vegas in overtime, 2-1 at Raw Charge (Sun Oct 26, 2025)
VGK Analysis: Golden Knights Steal Point; Lightning Strike in OT at Vegas Hockey Now (Sun Oct 26, 2025)
Lightning Take Down Golden Knights, Pick Up First OT Win at The Hockey Writers (Sun Oct 26, 2025)
Top-5 : les Red Wings effacent un déficit de quatre buts et l’emportent at Dans Les Coulisses (Sun Oct 26, 2025)
Kucherov tops 1,000 points with 2 assists in win at ESPN (Sat Oct 25, 2025)
Nikita Kucherov Scores 1000th Career Point vs. Ducks at The Hockey Writers (Sat Oct 25, 2025)
A special moment for a Legend: Kucherov joins elite company at Bolts by the Bay (Sat Oct 25, 2025)
Top 10 Russians in the NHL Today at The Hockey Writers (Sun Oct 19, 2025)
Lightning drop “disappointing” opener to Senators, 5-3 at Raw Charge (Thu Oct 9, 2025)
Expert picks for the 2025-26 NHL season: Stanley Cup, division winners, awards at ESPN (Tue Oct 7, 2025)
Ivan Demidov : les gars se préparent déjà à l’affronter comme s’il était Nikita Kucherov at Dans Les Coulisses (Sat Sep 27, 2025)
Four-team mock draft strategy: When to draft Tkachuk, Kucherov and others at ESPN (Mon Sep 22, 2025)
The Lightning and the very good-but-not-so-great-when-it-mattered power play at Raw Charge (Thu Sep 18, 2025)
Ivan Demidov : Un niveau d’habiletés supérieur à Nikita Kucherov (selon Jean-Sébastien Dea) at Dans Les Coulisses (Tue Sep 16, 2025)
« Quatre joueurs actifs de la LNH ont comparé Ivan Demidov à Nikita Kucherov » at Dans Les Coulisses (Mon Sep 15, 2025)
Nikita Kucherov leads winger ratings in NHL 26 at ESPN (Fri Aug 29, 2025)
A way too early look at the future of Nikita Kucherov in Tampa Bay at Bolts by the Bay (Tue Jul 1, 2025)
2025 Ted Lindsay Award: NHL players decide Kucherov is better than MacKinnon, Makar at Mile High Sticking (Thu Jun 5, 2025)
Nikita Kucherov claims the Ted Lindsay Award at Bolts by the Bay (Wed Jun 4, 2025)
Can Nikita Kucherov maintain his incredible point production? at Bolts by the Bay (Sat May 31, 2025)
Kucherov looking to add to his trophy case at Bolts by the Bay (Fri May 16, 2025)
NYR/TBL 4/7 Review: Lightning Crashes; Rangers’ Tragic Number Falls to Five, Big Name Bolts Dominate; Blueshirts’ FAT CATS Go Into Fetal Position, “Volleyball-Gate,” The Numbers Game, Special (Ed) Teams, Dolan Needs To Make a Decision Right Now, Vasilevskiy Proves He’s The Best Russian Goalie Today, Jonathan Quick Named “Mr. Ranger;” Voting Open on This Year’s Frank Boucher Trophy Winner, Bring on The Rosen/JD Reunion, M$GN & More at Blue Collar Blue Shirts (Tue Apr 8, 2025)
Nikita Kucherov earns First Bolt of the Month of 2025 at Bolts by the Bay (Mon Feb 10, 2025)
Looking back at the top 5 Tampa Bay Lightning games from 2024 at Bolts by the Bay (Fri Jan 3, 2025)
Nikita Kucherov makes it two in a row with 2nd consecutive Bolt of the Month at Bolts by the Bay (Mon Dec 16, 2024)
Lightning fall 2-1 in Edmonton despite a great performance by Andrei Vasilevskiy at Bolts by the Bay (Wed Dec 11, 2024)

Current Contract

Standard Contract (RFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Clause	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2019-20	26		$9,500,000	$9,500,000	-	$11,000,000	$1,000,000	$12,000,000	$12,000,000	RFA-arb
2020-21	27	NMC	$9,500,000	$9,500,000	-	$5,000,000	$4,000,000	$9,000,000	$9,000,000	UFA
2021-22	28	NMC	$9,500,000	$9,500,000	-	$8,500,000	$3,500,000	$12,000,000	$12,000,000	UFA
2022-23	29	NMC	$9,500,000	$9,500,000	-	$5,000,000	$4,000,000	$9,000,000	$9,000,000	UFA
2023-24	30	NMC	$9,500,000	$9,500,000	-	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	$10,000,000	$10,000,000	UFA
2024-25	31	M-NTC	$9,500,000	$9,500,000	-	$4,000,000	$5,000,000	$9,000,000	$9,000,000	UFA
2025-26	32	M-NTC	$9,500,000	$9,500,000	-	$3,000,000	$5,000,000	$8,000,000	$8,000,000	UFA
2026-27	33	M-NTC	$9,500,000	$9,500,000	-	$3,000,000	$4,000,000	$7,000,000	$7,000,000	UFA
Total					-	$44,500,000	$31,500,000	$76,000,000	$76,000,000

Signed: July 10, 2018

Team: Tampa Bay Lightning

GM: Steve Yzerman

Exp. Status: UFA

Cap %: 11.66

Clause: In 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27 player submits a list of 10 teams he will accept a trade to.

Previous Contracts (show) (hide)

Standard Contract (RFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2016-17	23	$4,766,667	$4,766,667	-	-	$4,250,000	$4,250,000	$4,250,000	RFA
2017-18	24	$4,766,667	$4,766,667	-	-	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	RFA-arb
2018-19	25	$4,766,667	$4,766,667	-	-	$5,550,000	$5,550,000	$5,550,000	RFA-arb
Total				-	-	$14,300,000	$14,300,000	$14,300,000

Signed: Oct 11, 2016

Team: Tampa Bay Lightning

GM: Steve Yzerman

Exp. Status: RFA-arb

Cap %: 6.53

Entry Level Contract ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2012-13	19	$742,500	$925,000	-	$92,500	-	$92,500	-	ELC
2013-14	20	$711,667	$894,167	$232,500	$92,500	$600,000	$692,500	$70,000	ELC
2014-15	21	$711,667	$894,167	$182,500	$92,500	$650,000	$742,500	$70,000	ELC
2015-16	22	$711,667	$894,167	$132,500	-	$700,000	$700,000	$70,000	ELC
Total				$547,500	$277,500	$1,950,000	$2,227,500	$210,000

Signed: Sep 11, 2012

Team: Tampa Bay Lightning

GM: Steve Yzerman

Exp. Status: RFA

Note: This entry level contract slid one season as player did not meet the games played threshold to start the contract.

Career Statistics

			Regular Season									Playoffs
Season	League	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Shots	Sh%	TOI/G	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Shots	Sh%	TOI/G
2009-10	Russia-Jr.	CSKA Jr.	53	29	25	54		40				5		2	2		2
2010-11	Rus-KHL	CSKA	8	0	2	2
2010-11	WJ18-A	Russia	7	11	10	21	+10	6
2010-11	Russia-Jr.	CSKA Jr.	41	27	31	58		81				10	5	8	13		16
2011-12	KHL	CSKA	18	1	4	5		4
2011-12	WJC-A	Russia	7	2	5	7	+4	2
2011-12	Russia-Jr.	CSKA Jr.	23	24	19	43		40				7	3	1	4
2012-13	WJC-A	Russia	7	5	3	8	+4	4
2012-13	QMJHL	Quebec	6	3	7	10	-1	2	20	1,500.0
2012-13	QMJHL	Rouyn-Noranda	27	26	27	53	+18	12	106	2,453.0		14	9	15	24	+8	10	48	1,875.0
2013-14	AHL	Syracuse	17	13	11	24	+1	10	50	2,600.0
2013-14	NHL	Tampa Bay Lightning	52	9	9	18	+3	14	102	8.8	13:07	2	1		1			3	33.3	11:37
2014-15	NHL	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	29	36	65	+38	37	191	15.2	14:57	26	10	12	22	+7	14	57	17.5	16:59
2015-16	NHL	Tampa Bay Lightning	77	30	36	66	+9	30	209	14.4	18:13	17	11	8	19	+13	8	51	21.6	20:09
2016-17	NHL	Tampa Bay Lightning	74	40	45	85	+13	38	246	16.3	19:26
2016-17	WC	Russia	10	7	8	15	+7	8
2016-17	WCup	Russia	4	2	1	3	+1
2016-17	EHT	Russia	2	0	0	0
2017-18	NHL	Tampa Bay Lightning	80	39	61	100	+15	42	279	14.0	19:49	17	7	10	17	-6	10	61	11.5	17:55
2018-19	WC	Russia	10	6	10	16	+11	4
2018-19	EHT	Russia	3	1	0	1	-1	6
2018-19	NHL	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	41	87	128	+24	62	246	16.7	19:58	3		2	2	-4	19	9	0.0	21:51
2019-20	NHL	Tampa Bay Lightning	68	33	52	85	+26	38	210	15.7	18:52	25	7	27	34	+15	22	92	7.6	21:40
2020-21	NHL	Tampa Bay Lightning										23	8	24	32	+6	14	62	12.9	18:18
2021-22	NHL	Tampa Bay Lightning	47	25	44	69	+1	22	156	16.0	19:59	23	8	19	27	+7	14	77	10.4	20:44
2022-23	NHL	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	30	83	113	-2	36	271	11.1	20:08	6	1	5	6		11	21	4.8	20:16
2023-24	NHL	Tampa Bay Lightning	81	44	100	144	+8	22	306	14.4	21:40	5		7	7	-1	2	9	0.0	21:26
2024-25	NHL	Tampa Bay Lightning	78	37	84	121	+22	45	265	14.0	21:11	5		4	4		2	7	0.0	22:59
2025-26	NHL	Tampa Bay Lightning	9	4	6	10	-6	2	28	14.3	21:02
NHL Career			812	361	643	1004	+151	388	2509	14.4	19:01	152	53	118	171	+37	116	449	11.8	19:29