The Flyers will not be in on Nikita Kucherov, according to Mike Bartner, who names four other teams that are out as well.
Bartner reported Saturday, per sources, that the Canucks, Flames, Jets, Flyers and Blue Jackets will not pursue the Tampa Bay Lightning winger. Nothing in that report says why, and none of the five clubs has said anything on the record.
For Philadelphia, the timing is awkward. The Flyers lost 5-2 at Washington on Wednesday, their third straight defeat, and they host Utah on Sunday.
Kucherov, 33, has 15 points in 12 games this season, with 4 goals and 11 assists. Four of those assists have come on the power play, and he also has a power-play goal.
Career-wise, he has 1,138 points in 891 regular-season games, plus 177 points in 159 playoff games. Those are the numbers of a player who changes a lineup on his own.
The Flyers are 3-8-4, 30th in the NHL, with 29 goals scored and 51 allowed. A team in that spot that doesn't even pick up the phone for a scorer of this caliber is making a statement about how it sees this season and its timeline. Maybe that's a sound read of a 33-year-old rental. It still leaves a lineup that has scored 29 times in 15 games with no obvious fix.
Money likely plays into it. Kucherov carries a $9,500,000 cap hit through 2026-27, he is a UFA at expiry, and the sheet shows no extension signed.
Who is left if five teams stay out on Kucherov?
The other names on the list are not in great shape either. Vancouver is 32nd at 3-11-1 and has lost 8 of its last 10. Columbus is 5-6-0 and 28th in the league.
Calgary is the one outlier. The Flames beat Seattle 6-2 last night, with Matthew Coronato posting a goal and three assists. That is a team that can score, which may explain why it is staying put.
Bartner noted that these five clubs, Flyers included, are not part of the Kucherov picture.
The Jets are the only team on the list that the sheet tells us nothing about, so there is no standings context to weigh their reported decision against.
The Canucks host Toronto and the Blue Jackets visit Dallas later today, while the Flames head to Colorado. The Flyers get their next look at the standings on Sunday against Utah, still waiting on a win after three straight losses.
