The 2026-27 NHL season is already bonkers. It all started in the offseason with Brady Tkachuk's trade to the Florida Panthers, which led to the news that both Connor Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin were asking for trades. However, the most shocking news came Friday night, when Elliotte Friedman sent out his trademark link-only X post saying Nikita Kucherov is now asking for a trade, via Sportsnet.
With Hellebuyck already traded to the East, we now await the shoe to drop with Kucherov, Larkin, and Simon Edvinsson. Boston Bruins fans hope a couple of those players make their way to the Western Conference to ease the gauntlet that is the Atlantic Division, as it's becoming less likely the Bruins will land any of them.
Best-case scenario for a Nikita Kucherov trade
Apart from the Bruins miraculously acquiring Kucherov, who is unlikely to have them on his 10-team no-trade list, the obvious best-case scenario is that the Tampa Bay Lightning will now be much weaker with the reigning Hart Trophy winner off their team. They'll land a haul in the trade, but they may have no way to win it in the interim.
The Lightning were going to be one of the Bruins' main competitors in the division, and while it's unlikely that they'll completely fall off without their MVP, their chances of making the postseason would be lower. If there's a seven-or-eight-team race to claim five playoff spots in the Atlantic, a Kucherov-less Lightning will have lower odds.
Worst-case scenario for a Nikita Kucherov trade
There is no way that Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois would trade Kucherov inside the division, is there? As soon as the trade demand happened, the internet exploded with theories of whether Kucherov could make his way to the Montreal Canadiens, with the Lightning then using the return to acquire Larkin, who they have been in the market for.
It would be the worst-case scenario for every team in the Atlantic Division. Larkin wouldn't replace Kucherov's production in Tampa, but he would be a great addition, and Kucherov in Montreal could be the piece that puts their top-six over the top. Ivan Demidov returning from injury with Kucherov as his opposite winger would obviously be trouble.
The league is in quite the upheaval right now, and with all the trades that are going to be thrown around, it'll suck for the Bruins to be on the sidelines. However, this feels like a scenario where a team or two will walk away worse after all the bidding wars, which makes me feel comfortable with Boston sitting this out and letting the chips fall.
Maybe the right move is for all these trade chips to end up outside the Atlantic while the division's current top team stays put with the roster that got them there.
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