Nikita Kucherov Will Miss Regular Season, Lightning Save $9.5M In Cap Space

With good news comes bad news, right?

Such was the case for the Tampa Bay Lightning when general manager Julien BriseBois revealed star forward Nikita Kucherov will miss the upcoming regular season due to a hip injury that requires surgery.

Of course, losing last year’s playoffs scoring leader is something no team wants to hear. However, Kucherov could be back for the NHL Playoffs beginning in May, so that’s certainly a positive.

One other silver lining is that Tampa Bay will save $9.5 million in cap space, meaning it won’t need to trade a player to get under the $81.5 million salary cap.

So, the Lightning avoid cap hell and have a chance to get back one of their top players in time for the playoffs, which they likely will make after the NHL realigned the divisions.