Nikita Kucherov continued his historic season, becoming just the fifth player ever to reach 100 assists in a season.
Kucherov picked up his 100th assist against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. The only other players in NHL history to reach 100 assists in a season are Wayne Gretzky (11 times), Mario Lemieux (1988-89), Bobby Orr (1970-71) and Connor McDavid, who hit the milestone on Monday.
100 ASSISTS FOR KUCH 🤩 pic.twitter.com/tY7UUV9XMr
— x – Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) April 18, 2024
Any time an NHL record has been reached by just five players in history and the four others are Gretzky, Orr, Lemieux and McDavid, it’s a pretty remarkable and historic feat. And it’s just another example of how special this season has been for Kucherov.
Kucherov’s assists have been game-changing for the Lightning. The winger has had a point on almost 51 percent of Tampa Bay’s goals this year, and his playmaking has been a driving force behind that. At five-on-five, he has been one of the premier puck-movers in the offensive zone. He is among the best in the league with his primary shot assists that directly set up his teammates’ shots. With Kucherov, the quality of his passing really matches up with the volume; he is one of the leaders this season in scoring chance assists, according to Corey Sznajder’s tracking at AllThreeZones.
According to The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyzsyzn’s model, primary helpers are worth 93 percent of a goal and secondary assists are 73 percent. So Kucherov’s 100 assists are comparable to about 84 goals, to put his scoring in perspective.
Kucherov, the 2018 Hart Trophy winner, is in a heated race with McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Auston Matthews for the award this year. The fact Kucherov has carried the Lightning this season has given him a strong case for it, as Kucherov’s 144 points this season are the second most recorded in a single season by a player born outside North America (the most is Jaromir Jag, 62-87-149).
“This is the best hockey I’ve ever seen anyone play under my watch,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said earlier this season. “And I’ve been very fortunate to coach some brilliant players.”
GO DEEPER
What’s the Hart Trophy case for MacKinnon, McDavid, Kucherov and Matthews?
Kucherov is a Hart Trophy contender for a reason. He’s played an even better, more complete season than his 2018 campaign that won him the award. The Lightning have been as vulnerable as they’ve been in their decade run depth-wise because of the salary cap, and Andrei Vasilevskiy missed the first couple months due to injury. As Cooper put it, Kucherov has carried them most nights. Without Kucherov, Tampa Bay would be struggling to be in a playoff spot.
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(Photo: Mark LoMoglio / NHLI via Getty Images)
