Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper believes star winger Nikita Kucherov wants to remain a part of the Lightning this season despite news of his trade request Friday.
"Kuch is 100% a part of this team. He wants to be a part of this team for this season, and he is committed to be with the group that loves him and the group he loves," Cooper said before Saturday's game at the Nashville Predators, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Kucherov was in the lineup for the Lightning for Saturday's game.
An unrestricted free agent next summer, Kucherov informed the Lightning he would not sign another contract with them. He has played all 13 of his NHL seasons with Tampa Bay, winning the Stanley Cup twice and fueling a decade of dominance under Cooper.
Individually, Kucherov won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP twice, along with three scoring titles. He turns 34 next June.
Sources told ESPN that Kucherov had requested a trade from the Lightning, informing his teammates about his status before they touched down in Nashville. Kucherov has a limited no-trade clause, and he gave Tampa Bay a list of 10 teams to which he'd approve a trade.
"We are aware of the media reports regarding the future of Nikita Kucherov with the Lightning," general manager Julien BriseBois said in a statement released Friday night. "We unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita."
Cooper said the off-ice news hasn't changed things for Tampa Bay on the ice.
"I will sit here and tell you nothing has changed in what our goals are this year. Just, maybe, the context of how it is going to go about," Cooper said. "What happens after our season is over, that's Kuch's right and he has earned that right for whatever happens. For us, it probably made the team stronger."
Cooper cautioned that the Kucherov developments shouldn't lead to armchair psychology regarding him or his team.
"What I don't want to get skewed in all of this is if Kuch turns the puck over or the play does not go exactly his way and he shows frustration -- or, at some point, the coach who is coaching him is showing frustration with him or somebody else on the team -- then everybody says, 'Oh my God. He wants out.' That will not be the case," Cooper said.
"Jon Cooper will coach the team the way Jon Cooper has always coached the team, and Kuch is going to play like the superstar he is and the way he has for a decade and a half. That is how it is going to continue."
The Lightning entered Saturday with an 8-3-1 record and in the first wild-card spot in the East.