There might not be a NHL player more hated than Nikita Kucherov right now. First it was his epic tirade against Montreal Canadiens fans — and Marc-Andre Fleury — in his postgame press conference after the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup.
Now, Kucherov has gone full heel in the best way possible. On Sunday, Kucherov posted a picture of himself out on a boat holding both the Stanley Cup and the Lombardi Trophy gifted to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier in the year. While a neat picture on its own, it’s the shirt Kucherov is wearing that has produced the most waves out of hockey fans.
The shirt reads “18M over the cap” with a picture of Kucherov drinking a beer at his postgame presser.
Talk about expert level trolling by Kucherov here. Famously in the regular season, Kucherov spent the entire year on injured reserve while recovering from surgery but came back in the playoffs to net 32 points in 23 postseason games. Once Kucherov came back in the playoffs, the Lightning went over the salary cap by $18 million, causing many hockey fans to cry cap circumvention.
Now, Kucherov is flipping the script and proudly flaunting his team’s incredibly legal and smart — yet a smidge dishonest — roster maneuvers for the world to see.
I, personally, love Kucherov embracing his villain status since winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. The hockey world needs its heroes and villains, and Kucherov is playing his part to perfection.
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