The Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov wrote his name in NHL history last night after registering his 80th assist of the season, becoming only the 4th player in NHL history to register three consecutive 80 assist seasons. He joins some elite company including Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey, and the Great One Wayne Gretzky, but in the modern era of the NHL, Kucherov could easily be considered the NHL’s best playmaker.
Along with this most recent record set by Kucherov, he also made history last season after becoming the first winger in NHL history to register 100 assists, and once again snuck his way into the history books with another extremely under the radar achievement. A lot of people don't realise how amazing exactly three 80 assist seasons is, and the company he has said it all. But with this recent record comes the question as to whether he is the best playmaker of the modern day?
As time has moved on in the NHL and the game of hockey, goal creation and playmaking has evolved massively, but one player who has taken the evolution in their stride more than others is Kucherov. Sure McDavid and MacKinnon are unfathomably good playmakers, but Kucherov now has the stats and the records to back it up. Regardless as to how good these players can be these days, Kucherov has been arguably the most consistent playmaker of this generation, and can easily be seen as the most creative player in the NHL.
People often don't use Kucherov’s name in discussions around the best players of the 2010s and 2020s, but he is easily one of the most underrated players in the NHL, and has sneakily found himself at the top of every ladder in almost every season he has played in. Moving his game along in sync with the quickly evolving speed of the game also outlines how impressive Kucherov’s achievements really are, and the respect he deserves as a player.
It is often his lack of personality and flash which costs Kucherov his place at the table in household GOAT discussions, but his sneaky good credentials, and value he has brought to the game over the last 10 years shows how important he is not only for the Lightning but for hockey as a game. Kucherov is in my opinion the smartest and most creative player in the NHL right now, and is so exceptionally good at the basic fundamentals of hockey, his ability really flies under every fan's radar.
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