Please allow me this indulgence as we go through our Atlantic Division previews, which we hope have been informative with analysis and detail around key storylines for the upcoming season. Nikita Kucherov is the coolest player I’ve watched in-person and his creativity, inventiveness and a nearly unmatched ability to make the game look easy is why we fall in love with hockey in the first place. And if we need some analysis, there’s a pretty simple thesis to explore: Kucherov’s offensive explosion effectively masked that the Lightning were an inefficient offensive team that got outscored and out-possessed at 5-on-5, but when it come to actual goals, his 44-goal, 100-assist campaign effectively kept him team out of danger.

This is not necessarily what this piece is about, though. Look no further than Sportsnet’s title on the above highlight video: Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point: Sickest Plays of the 2023-24 NHL season. Sportsnet’s social strategy team knows that above all, the best way to analyze Kucherov is to simply marvel at his creativity, the unique stickhandling and passing angles he can find, in combination with Brayden Point, who is exceptional at navigating small spaces in the offensive third.

I covered the November 6 Lightning-Maple Leafs game for Yahoo Sports, where Kucherov looked downright unstoppable during the first period. It may be slightly difficult to convey what this goal looked like in real-time, the highlight doesn’t account for the audible ‘whoa’ emanating from Scotiabank Arena after Kucherov rocketed this one-timer for his second goal of the stanza. Kucherov’s feet aren’t even set when Victor Hedman fires the pass his way but it doesn’t matter, he just needs an inch of space and it’s a quality perhaps rivalled only by Connor Bedard. I filed a glowing report later that week about how Kucherov was the first-quarter MVP, how he’s playing better than ever — which feels warranted after reaching career-bests in all offensive categories, while highlighting his ability to get his shot off from anywhere.

It can be silly to draw real value out of All-Star Game events and to me anyways, Kucherov’s apathetic performance during the skills contests is no reflection of his talent. What does stand out from the weekend is how Kucherov was an easy first overall pick in the draft and it’s clear that his peers fear and respect him like few others in the league.

There are endlessly fascinating parts about Kucherov’s game but the majority of the NHL’s most electrifying players create a ton of damage off the rush — you think of Nathan MacKinnon or Connor McDavid or David Pastrnak punishing teams with tremendous acceleration, forcing defenders to panic while tracking back. Kucherov is almost atypical to this mold, especially for a player who plays high-volume minutes and demands the puck every shift, as his five rush attempts at 5-on-5 tied for 293rd in the NHL. And this isn’t a distinction of quality, per se: Kucherov is tied with Evgeni Malkin and Matthew Tkachuk among others, but that’s a function of being a power forward who powers their way to high-danger areas. In this regard, Kucherov weaves through the offensive zone so effortlessly, and it allows him to create constantly create magic out of seemingly nowhere.

A lot of the preview content we have examines defensive impact but once again, as an indulgence: we simply do not care that Kucherov is allergic to the defensive side of the game, when he’s an offensive marvel whose edge work allows him to shoot from seemingly off-balance positions, with endless confidence to find his teammates throughout the offensive third.

Kucherov may play for one of the Maple Leafs’ divisional rivals, but we simply do not care. He exemplifies the joy of watching hockey in the first place and may be required to pull out his full bag of tricks to elevate a Lightning team clearly on the down slope of the dynasty years.