NHL Rumor Roundup: Could The Lightning Move Kucherov? Will The Stars Peddle Robertson?
For the fourth straight season, the Tampa Bay Lightning were eliminated from the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Falling in seven games to the Montreal Canadiens, the Bolts face what could be a critical off-season as their Stanley Cup window keeps closing.
ESPN.com's Kristen Shilton noted the Lightning have most of their core talent still under contract, with pending UFA Darren Raddysh to be re-signed or replaced.
However, stars such as Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Brayden Point, Jake Guentzel, and Andrei Vasilevskiy are now at least 30, prompting concern about how many good years they have left.
Lightning's Jon Cooper Gets Goalied In A Huge Game... Again
It happened with Team Canada at the Olympics, and it happened against the Canadiens in Sunday's Game 7. Even an excellent coach like the Lightning's Jon Cooper comes out on the short end at times.
In Dallas, Lia Assimakopoulos believes the biggest off-season question facing the Stars is whether they can re-sign winger Jason Robertson to a contract extension.
Robertson, 26, is an RFA with arbitration rights who is a year away from UFA eligibility unless the Stars can sign him to a long-term deal. He earned an average annual value of $7.75 million on his current contract.
Assimakopoulos observed that Robertson had a standout performance, tying Wyatt Johnston for the team lead in goals, with 45, and leading the Stars with 96 points. She doesn't see the Stars signing him for less than $12 million annually.
The Hockey News' Adam Proteau wondered whether Robertson could price himself out of Dallas. He noted the Stars have only $11.1 million in cap space for next season. Proteau believes GM Jim Nill must shed some salary to free up space to retain Robertson.
Mark Lazerus of The Athletic wondered if Nill might attempt to move a center such as Matt Duchene ($4 million AAV) or Roope Hintz ($8.45 million AAV) in a cost-cutting deal. It would address that cap crunch, but both carry full no-movement clauses and could be unwilling to waive them.
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This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 8:45 AM.