Florida Panthers comment on convenient timing of Nikita Kucherov's return

Hockey fans are finally being treated to a long-awaited Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup - the battle of Florida.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning have begun their title defense against their in-state rival Florida Panthers. So far, the series has gone Tampa's way as they return home to Amalie Arena enjoying a 2-0 series lead.

But it was the major boost that the Lightning received prior to the series that had everyone talking.

Superstar forward Nikita Kucherov, who had missed the entire 2020-21 regular season after undergoing hip surgery, returned in time for the series, and immediately made his presence known by scoring twice in Game 1.

Kucherov had been on LTIR all season, and of course, there is no salary cap during the playoffs. 

So do the Panthers themselves believe that there's something fishy going on? Apparently not. 

“No, I don’t feel there’s a circumvention,” Panthers GM Bill Zito told The Athletic. “It’s all within the rules. From our standpoint, everything is above board. He’s a good player, obviously. Julien’s a smart guy. There’s no issues with the integrity of this whatsoever.’’

Head coach Joel Quenneville said as much, saying that Tampa Bay is operating within the rules. 

“I’m not complaining,’’ Joel Quenneville said. “It’s the way it is. It’s one of the rules, you deal with it. He was a big part of their team last year and so not like he hasn’t been around them. So no complaints here.’’

So what the did the League itself have to say about the situation? 

“Yes, we did, as well as a number of additional cases involving the use of LTI,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. “We determined that the provision was invoked and applied in a consistent manner with the requirements of the CBA.’’

According to Kucherov's agent Dan Milstein, the Lightning would have been faced with the task of clearing cap space to accommodate the Russian star's return.

“Kuch is one of those guys, if he could have been playing in March, he would have been playing in March and it would have been Julien’s problem to clear the (cap) space for him,” said Milstein. “And rest assured, I would have been calling the NHLPA. I would have been fighting to get my client back on the ice earlier if I could.’’

“This is truly a miracle for him to come back this soon,’’ Milstein said. “To be honest with you, I think he started playing a little bit earlier than he should have. But that’s Kuch, you can’t hold this guy back.’’