Maple Leafs officially respond to Nikita Kucherov's interest in the franchise

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov is reportedly interested in the Toronto Maple Leafs, and John Chayka has seemingly responded to the news.

Nikita Kucherov's trade request from the Tampa Bay Lightning is currently the biggest story in hockey, and folks are still trying to figure out what this means for the NHL going forward.

Amongst Leafs Nation, this has been fantastic news, as Kucherov has reportedly indicated that the Maple Leafs are a team he is interested in.

However, there has been one burning question: Is the interest mutual? John Chayka has yet to respond, but now, we have an update from Pierre LeBrun.

Maple Leafs inquire about Kucherov

During an appearance on TSN, LeBrun revealed that the Leafs are one of over 20 teams that are currently in the mix for Kucherov and are doing their due diligence.

It's important to note that LeBrun isn't so sure a trade is going to get done. Instead, he believes something could materialize on July 1 instead, which means the Leafs would be a free agency destination.

But there is a lot of time. Julien BriseBois has told the media and Kucherov to his face that his intention is not to trade him, so this smells more like a July 1 situation (free agency) than a March 1 situation (trade deadline).

In that context, Kucherov has a lot of time to do a deep dive on the list of teams he wants to come up with (short list).

-

For the Leafs, a big issue that needs to be figured out is whether or not they can make the cap space work for someone like Kucherov, especially with Auston Matthews needing a contract in 2028.

Kucherov is going to want between $18 and $20 million per season, which is simply too much money for the Maple Leafs to afford without shipping out a considerable number of players.

Quite simply, acquiring Kucherov is a pipe dream for the Maple Leafs, and it is hard to imagine a world in which that happens.

Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Jim Hiller delivers ominous Jack Roslovic update: "Something's going on"