Michael Stuart: The National Hockey League Needs More Nikita Kucherov

Could have been more tactful about it and still conveyed the same info. I thought Vasilevskiy should have won the Vezina as well, but referring to him as some guy is pretty dismissive.

agreed. love it

Loved the whole interview. I didn’t realize he had this side of him. I’m sure the beers were a factor!

Completely agree. Kuch is a stud and a gem. That was hilarious.

Classless

Someone should have asked him about milking his hip recovery for exactly the entire season while he felt like talking sh1t

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I loved Tampas game and how they played, full credit for the win, but I found him to be a boar. Referring to Fleury as he did and his general demeanor was pretty low level.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bEUaeG4wH4

Cocaine will make a man forget convention and social graces.

I loved the presser.

It was refreshing to hear an NHLer be real with his answers. Most of the time we get these insipid questions from interviewers about how you feel about this or that and the player replies dutifully with a cliche. One can call him out about the remark directed toward Fleury but they’re hockey players and not that thin-skinned. They saw way worse things when they talk trash on the ice.

100% awesome.

For people who pretentiously wag their finger with the expectation of a "classier" post-Cup interview, go dedicate your life to hockey and win a Stanley Cup, and you can be as tactful as you like. Kucherov more than earned the chance to speak his mind, and what did he actually do? Stood up for his friend and teammate who he felt hasn't been given his due recognition, and spoke out against a fanbase that went into riot mode for winning a single hockey game after going down 3-0 in the Finals.

"Their final was last series"... brilliant.

Definitely need more guys to come back for the playoffs to put their salary cap team 18 million over. Nothing like a $100 million team winning the cup during an $80 million salary cap year.

Loved it, a player who's not afraid to show his true emotions. It's not like he's the only player out there who doesn't like other cities or fanbases, he's just one of the few who spoke his mind because he has the talent and awards to back it up. There also seems to be a bit of a backstory here because it's not like he's trash talking every team out there and the Lightning have some bitter rivalries against other teams. Who knows, hopefully someone does a deep dive.

With all of that being said, I'm obviously going to hate it if he does it against the Leafs but that's what makes being a fan fun.

What's "ignorant, cheating cokehead" in Russian? Asking for MAF.

Nice to see someone show personality. Most players sit there like day old robots “obviously, yeah, we wanted to come out strong, pucks to the net, glad to get it done”

Pretty footballish if you ask me.

If some people didn’t get offended it wouldn’t have been entertaining.

I just think the salary cap needs to go up to 98 million for everyone

I don't know why people keep saying the Lightning were $18 million over the cap. That is fake news. Kucherov's salary is $9.5 million and he had hip surgery. If you want to say that even injured players count against the cap then you are going to kill the game.

Did he have the sniffles or was something else a factor? Snow wasn't in the forecast on July 7th was it? I take no offense by what he said or his jab at the privileged Habs fans! Much better than Conner McDavid!! That dude has to be the most boring star any league has ever had.

Kucherov came off like an arrogant blow hard coke head in that interview. Insulting hockey fans for celebrating their team’s victory? We need more of that? This guy needs to shut his mouth and enjoy his 2 fake Stanley Cups with humility. Oh yeah. I said it. Everyone knows these 2 Cups are fake. The fans, the players, everyone. With the much shorter regular seasons, the rearranged Conferences and Divisions, and the flagrant manipulation of the salary cap rules by Tampa to come into the playoffs at 18 mill over the cap……The Lightning’s 2 Corona Cups will forever have an asterisk next to them in the minds of anyone who knows anything about hockey. They didn’t earn them the way every other team in history earned them. Not even close. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it. Even Kucherov knows it.
- danimal6777

Spoken like a fan of a team that sucks and has no hope of winning in the near future.

I don't know why people keep saying the Lightning were $18 million over the cap. That is fake news. Kucherov's salary is $9.5 million and he had hip surgery. If you want to say that even injured players count against the cap then you are going to kill the game.
- dctill

because he was healthy enough to play waaaaay before the regular season ended

My team has won 4 cups in my lifetime, and they did it the fair and square way. Legitimately. And the man who built this current Tampa team is now building our team, so I’m sure there are more Stanley Cups on the way for our storied franchise. Now go celebrate your fake Corona Cup.
- danimal6777

Shut the (frank) up. You sound like an idiot.

because he was healthy enough to play waaaaay before the regular season ended
- jimbro83

Lol no.

Wow amazingly butt hurt. Try some KY on your dried out dildo next time.

Lol no.
- Feds91Stammer

Actually yes. You’d have to be the dumbest moron to think that someone who missed an entire season because of surgery comes back into a lineup and he’s already guns blazing on his first game when all other players around the league needs to be sent down for conditioning stints or takes about 10-15 games before getting their groove back on and I’m not talking about 3rd liners but stars as well like Crosby, Malkin and others.