Nikita Kucherov
#86 · Right wing · Tampa Bay Lightning
Born Jun 17, 1993 in Maykop, RUS (age 33) · 5'11", 172 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 58th overall in 2011 by TBL (round 2)
Trophy case
Career
Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.
Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | Shots | Hits | P/GP | Cap hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | TBL | 52 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 3 | 14 | 102 | 15 | 0.35 | $712K |
| 2014-15 | TBL | 82 | 29 | 36 | 65 | 38 | 37 | 191 | 65 | 0.79 | $712K |
| 2015-16 | TBL | 77 | 30 | 36 | 66 | 9 | 30 | 209 | 61 | 0.86 | $712K |
| 2016-17 | TBL | 74 | 40 | 45 | 85 | 13 | 38 | 246 | 30 | 1.15 | $4.767M |
| 2017-18 | TBL | 80 | 39 | 61 | 100 | 15 | 42 | 279 | 31 | 1.25 | $4.767M |
| 2018-19 | TBL | 82 | 41 | 87 | 128 | 24 | 62 | 246 | 44 | 1.56 | $4.767M |
| 2019-20 | TBL | 68 | 33 | 52 | 85 | 26 | 38 | 210 | 37 | 1.25 | $9.5M |
| 2021-22 | TBL | 47 | 25 | 44 | 69 | 1 | 22 | 156 | 32 | 1.47 | $9.5M |
| 2022-23 | TBL | 82 | 30 | 83 | 113 | -2 | 36 | 271 | 61 | 1.38 | $9.5M |
| 2023-24 | TBL | 81 | 44 | 100 | 144 | 8 | 22 | 306 | 45 | 1.78 | $9.5M |
| 2024-25 | TBL | 78 | 37 | 84 | 121 | 22 | 45 | 265 | 23 | 1.55 | $9.5M |
| 2025-26 | TBL | 77 | 44 | 86 | 130 | 43 | 50 | 231 | 36 | 1.69 | $9.5M |
| 2026-27 | TBL | 5 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1.60 | $9.5M |
| 13 seasons | Career | 885 | 402 | 730 | 1132 | 204 | 436 | 2719 | 480 | 1.28 |
Playoffs
Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | Shots | Hits | P/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | TBL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0.50 |
| 2014-15 | TBL | 26 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 7 | 14 | 57 | 39 | 0.85 |
| 2015-16 | TBL | 17 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 51 | 22 | 1.12 |
| 2017-18 | TBL | 17 | 7 | 10 | 17 | -6 | 10 | 61 | 14 | 1.00 |
| 2018-19 | TBL | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -4 | 19 | 9 | 3 | 0.67 |
| 2019-20 | TBL | 22 | 6 | 26 | 32 | 17 | 18 | 82 | 37 | 1.45 |
| 2020-21 | TBL | 23 | 8 | 24 | 32 | 6 | 14 | 62 | 18 | 1.39 |
| 2021-22 | TBL | 23 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 7 | 14 | 77 | 24 | 1.17 |
| 2022-23 | TBL | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 21 | 11 | 1.00 |
| 2023-24 | TBL | 5 | 0 | 7 | 7 | -1 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 1.40 |
| 2024-25 | TBL | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 0.80 |
| 2025-26 | TBL | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 31 | 5 | 0.86 |
| 12 seasons | Playoffs | 156 | 53 | 122 | 175 | 41 | 122 | 470 | 192 | 1.12 |
2020-21 season totals
This player has no games in this season.
Contract
His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up.
The contract
Signed by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jul 10, 2018, as an extension of the contract he was on: 8 years and $76M, beginning in 2019-20. It runs through 2026-27, with 6 seasons left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.
| Season | Cap hit | Base salary | Signing bonus | Performance bonuses | Paid in all | Clause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | $9.5M | $1M | $11M | $12M | ||
| 2020-21 | $9.5M | $4M | $5M | $9M | NMC | |
| 2021-22 | $9.5M | $3.5M | $8.5M | $12M | NMC | |
| 2022-23 | $9.5M | $4M | $5M | $9M | NMC | |
| 2023-24 | $9.5M | $5M | $5M | $10M | NMC | |
| 2024-25 | $9.5M | $5M | $4M | $9M | M-NTC | |
| 2025-26 | $9.5M | $5M | $3M | $8M | M-NTC | |
| 2026-27 | $9.5M | $4M | $3M | $7M | M-NTC |
Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.
Contracts he has signed
| Signed | Signed by | Kind | Seasons | Years | In all | Cap hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 10, 2018 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Extension | 2019-20 to 2026-27 | 8 | $76M | $9.5M |
| Oct 11, 2016 | Tampa Bay Lightning | New contract | 2016-17 to 2018-19 | 3 | $14.3M | $4.767M |
| Sep 11, 2012 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Entry-level | 2013-14 to 2015-16 signed for 2012-13, slid | 3 | $2.775M | $712K |
Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2020-21 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.
2020-21 playoff analytics
Rating
The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. A playoff run is too short to rank anyone on. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.
On the ice
What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean
Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 147 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.
Who he played with
| Forward line | GP | Time | CF% | xGF% | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ondrej Palat · Nikita Kucherov · Brayden Point | 23 | 264:48 | 52.9 | 55.5 | 14-9 |
| Ondrej Palat · Nikita Kucherov · Yanni Gourde | 9 | 5:30 | 44.4 | 56.3 | 0-0 |
| Nikita Kucherov · Barclay Goodrow · Yanni Gourde | 8 | 5:19 | 50.0 | 47.8 | 0-0 |
| Nikita Kucherov · Barclay Goodrow · Brayden Point | 8 | 4:24 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0-0 |
The lines he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's lines that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.
Chances and finishing
Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.
Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 78 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest in these playoffs.
His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.
Where he shot from
Every attempt he took in these playoffs, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.