Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov had another excellent regular-season in 2024-25. In 78 games, he posted 37 goals, 84 assists, and an NHL-leading 121 points. With this, he captured his second consecutive Art Ross Trophy and third of his entire career.
It is no secret that Kucherov has been an incredible hockey player for several years. Due to this, he should hit a massive new milestone next season, assuming he stays healthy.
After his monster 2024-25 season, Kucherov is now just six points away from hitting the 1,000-point mark of his NHL career. When noting that he has only played 803 career NHL games, it is incredibly impressive that he is so close to point No. 1,000.
Once Kucherov reaches 1,000 points, he will become just the second player in Lightning history to do so. The only other player to hit the 1,000-point mark as a Bolt was Steven Stamkos. No. 91 finished his Lightning tenure with 555 goals and 1,137 points in 1,082 contests. Thus, it is going to be a massive deal once Kucherov gets his 1,000th point.
Nevertheless, all eyes should be on Kucherov at the start of next season with him being so close to this major career milestone.
2 Lightning Pending Free Agents Team Must Re-Sign
The Tampa Bay Lightning have multiple pending free agents heading into the off-season. When looking at them, it is clear that the Lightning have two players with expired contracts who they should work hard to re-sign. Let's discuss each of them now.
Gage Goncalves
Gage Goncalves was a nice story for the Lightning this season. After several strong seasons in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch, Goncalves took that next step in his development and cemented himself a spot on Tampa Bay's roster in the process. In 60 regular-season games with Tampa this campaign, he had eight goals, 20 points, and a plus-7 rating. He also recorded one goal and four points in five playoff games.
Goncalves is a young forward who the Lightning should certainly be looking to re-sign this summer. The pending restricted free agent is becoming a key part of their roster, and his next contract should reflect that.
Yanni Gourde
Keeping Yanni Gourde around should be another top priority for the Lightning this off-season. The 33-year-old forward can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, but the Lightning should work hard to not let that happen. He fit right back in after the Lightning brought him back from the Seattle Kraken at the trade deadline and strengthened their forward group.
Gourde played in 21 games with the Lightning following the trade, recording 14 points, 50 hits, and a plus-4 rating. He is the kind of player the Lightning missed when he was gone, so they cannot afford to lose him again.
