Nikita Kucherov loss both a blessing and a curse for Tampa Bay Lightning

Losing Nikita Kucherov for the season is complicated for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

On what has been a bonkers news day in the National Hockey League, the Tampa Bay Lightning were dealt a crushing blow with Nikita Kucherov set to miss the entire 2020-21 regular season with a hip injury.

Per Tampa Bay General Manager Julien BriseBois, Kucherov will undergo surgery on his hip and won’t play at all during the regular season, although it is hoped that he will be available for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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In what has been a productive offseason for the Lightning who have kept the majority of their core together after finally winning the Stanley Cup in 2019-20, this is a body blow to their hopes of repeating in 2020-21.

After all, Kucherov belongs in the top five best players in the NHL right now and his importance to this Tampa Bay team and franchise cannot be understated.

He carved out a career-year for the ages in 2018-19 with 128 points (41 G, 87 A) in 82 regular season games, collecting the Hart Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award as a result of his heroics.

Granted, the winger went cold in the 2018-19 Stanley Cup Playoffs with just two points (2 A) in three games as the Lightning were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the First Round.

He rebounded in 2019-20 though, putting up 33 goals and 52 assists for 85 points in 68 games with the regular season shortened due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, while the 27-year-old came alive on the biggest stage with 34 points (7 G, 27 A) in 25 Playoff games as Tampa Bay finally put their postseason demons to rest by lifting the Stanley Cup.

Kucherov is just a special player and he boasts that unique ability to be able to change the momentum of a game with a single play, and he makes those around him instantly better.

However, while losing the Russian superstar for the entire regular season will hurt the Lightning, there is some upside to this crushing news if that is possible.

It is no secret that the Tampa Bay Lightning are in salary cap hell, with the franchise currently $6 million plus over the flat cap of $81.5 million having re-signed defensemen Erik Cernak and Jan Rutta and forwards Mathieu Joseph and Alexander Volkov in the last couple of days.

Most importantly, though, the Bolts still need to re-sign star RFA Anthony Cirelli who is rapidly developing into one of the best two-way centers in the entire NHL, even drawing early comparisons to Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron.

There is no doubt that Cirelli is already a key cog in this well-oiled Tampa Bay machine, so signing the 23-year-old to a new deal is of utmost importance.

Therefore, losing Kucherov for the entire 2020-21 regular season does throw up one positive in that the winger’s $9.5 million AAV can now be placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR).

As a result, Tampa Bay will be able to re-sign Cirelli and get cap compliant by Opening Night on Jan. 13, 2021 without having to move any other pieces if they don’t want to.

And, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Tampa Bay Lightning are now closing in on an extension with their prized asset with an announcement likely within the next couple of days.

So, while having to prepare for the 2020-21 regular season without an elite game-changer in Nikita Kucherov is a massive and significant blow to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s hopes of repeating as Stanley Cup Champions, they should get their star back for the postseason and they will now be able to extend another star in Anthony Cirelli who has the chance to lead this team for years to come.