Nikita Kucherov is four points from taking over the Tampa Bay Lightning scoring record, and the chase resumes Tuesday night in Las Vegas with a visit to the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. The puck drops at 10:30 p.m. ET, with ESPN and SN+ carrying the game.
The milestone has been building since a small training-camp scene in 2013. Kucherov, then a 20-year-old second-round pick, and Vladislav Namestnikov found a way to remain on the ice after the rest of the Lightning group had been cleared out. Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat watched from behind the glass, and Johnson saw immediately that Kucherov was not merely another skilled young forward.
Four points from Stamkos
Steven Stamkos remains Tampa Bay’s franchise points leader for the moment, but Kucherov has made up ground at a rate few players in club history could match. Stamkos spent 16 seasons with the Lightning before joining the Nashville Predators, where he is now in his third year.
| Player | Points | Goals | Assists | Games | Points per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steven Stamkos | 1,137 | 555 | 582 | 1,082 | 1.05 |
| Nikita Kucherov | 1,134 | 404 | 730 | 887 | 1.28 |
Kucherov needs four points to move beyond Stamkos. His path from the No. 58 selection in the 2011 NHL Draft to the top of Tampa Bay’s ledger was not projected as a sure thing when he arrived at his first camp.
- Kucherov has won the Stanley Cup twice, in 2020 and 2021.
- He has collected seven major NHL awards: two Hart Trophies, two Ted Lindsay Awards and three Art Ross Trophies.
- His 730 assists account for much of his climb, reflecting the vision that has defined his game through Tampa Bay’s most successful era.
Stamkos said the record always appeared destined to change hands eventually. Had he remained in Tampa Bay, he felt it might have taken longer, but he believes Kucherov would still have reached the mark if the winger remains with the franchise for his entire career.
The details that showed up at camp
Johnson remembers Kucherov treating each repetition in those extra sessions with uncommon precision. The puck placement, stick position and protection work were not casual finishing drills. Kucherov was trying to execute them identically, rep after rep.
“Everything looked smooth, and it looked easy,” Johnson recalled of the young winger. “We knew he had skill, but seeing him up close was when it really hit you.”
That ability did not produce instant NHL stardom. As a rookie in 2013-14, Kucherov posted nine goals and nine assists in 52 games. Part of that season was spent with the Syracuse Crunch, where his offense came more freely: 13 goals and 11 assists in 17 American Hockey League outings.
The next season brought the combination that changed Tampa Bay’s attack. Kucherov joined Palat and Johnson on the line known as the Triplets, helping propel the Lightning to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final. Tampa Bay’s run ended against the Chicago Blackhawks, but Kucherov’s role as the line’s offensive engine had become clear.
Coach Jon Cooper, who has been Kucherov’s only NHL coach, said the winger’s rare quality is his capacity to process plays at a level above most players. The talent was always there, but he needed NHL experience to learn how to apply it against elite defenders such as Shea Weber and Duncan Keith.
Cooper compared that development to earning a driver’s license: passing the test is only the beginning; the real learning comes once the driver is on the road. Once Kucherov learned how to use his instincts and skill against the league’s best, Cooper said, his game reached another level.
Work after the whistle
The extra work that caught Johnson’s eye in 2013 remains part of Kucherov’s routine. His off-season ice sessions have become a sought-after invitation among teammates, and he is also known for firing hundreds of shots in his garage.
Ryan McDonagh said Kucherov organizes his own sessions on a separate sheet of ice and keeps the group selective. There is one basic requirement: players invited to take part must show up.
- Johnson said Kucherov regularly stayed out after practices to work through familiar foundations and new drills.
- One recurring power-play exercise centers on edgework and presenting the puck in particular positions.
- The drills can appear simple, Johnson said, but their value becomes clear in game situations.
- Kucherov expects training partners to execute at his level, an expectation Johnson described as difficult but energizing.
Stamkos said Kucherov’s standards can push an entire room. If someone is struggling with a pass or a play, Kucherov’s instinct is to wonder why that player is not spending as much time sharpening the skill. For Stamkos, watching that commitment was motivating, much as veteran Martin St. Louis once told him he drew energy from seeing younger players work.
The same approach has carried into the current Lightning group, with Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point, Jake Guentzel and others sharing ice with Kucherov after the formal work ends.
An elite mind still chasing more
Kucherov’s imagination with the puck has also drawn the attention of Wayne Gretzky. Cooper, who has discussed Kucherov with the NHL’s all-time points leader, said Gretzky recognizes similarities in how the Lightning winger sees plays develop.
Cooper said elite players carry burdens that are often overlooked because the results can seem effortless. Being the best, he noted, is not necessarily easier; the expectations and demands grow with the talent.
Even after Tampa Bay captured its second consecutive Cup in 2021, Stamkos saw Kucherov’s drive firsthand. In the early-morning hours of the celebration at Stamkos’ home, with the Stanley Cup there, Kucherov was talking about Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon and how he wanted to join their tier.
“He is never content,” Stamkos said. “That is the way he is wired — obsessed, in the right sense of the word.”
Now, the player who lingered on the ice as a 20-year-old prospect is close to owning the biggest individual number in Lightning history. Four points stand between Kucherov and Stamkos as Tampa Bay heads into its matchup with Vegas.
