Nikita Kucherov has never been one to pad an answer. Asked at Lightning media day on Wednesday how hockey has changed over the years, the Tampa Bay star gave a response that spread across the sport within hours.
âÂÂThe game is faster, but very dumb. Low IQ,â Kucherov told reporters.
Reporter Jay Recher followed up, asking in what way. Kucherov did not expand much. âÂÂThe hockey way,â he replied.
He did offer one small concession elsewhere in the exchange, noting that plenty of players still have very high IQ and are fun to watch, before circling back to his broader point about the rest of the league.
The remark carried weight because of who made it. Kucherov has built a career on reading plays a beat before everyone else, and his production has never depended on being the fastest man on the ice. He is coming off a 130-point season in 76 games, with 44 goals and 86 assists, and he led the entire league at plus-43. He also won his second Ted Lindsay Award and his second consecutive Art Ross Trophy, giving him three career scoring titles.
Kucherov has the standing to make the argument. The 33-year-old is coming off a 130-point season in 76 games, with 44 goals and 86 assists, and he led the league at plus-43. He won his second Ted Lindsay Award and his second straight Art Ross Trophy, and he has now led the NHL in scoring three times. He reached 1,000 career points last October in his 809th game, the third-fastest among active players behind only Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby.
His reputation for terse media availability is well established, and this is hardly the first time a short answer from him has traveled. At $9.5 million per season, he remains one of the better values in the league, and many observers still place him in the top five players in hockey.
Tampa Bay went 50-26-6 last season, finishing second in the Atlantic and third in the Eastern Conference. Whether Kucherov's diagnosis of the league holds up is a separate question, but he will have 82 games to keep making his case.