Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov is expected to miss eight-to-10 weeks after undergoing surgery on a lower-body injury.
Kucherov, 28, has been out since suffering the injury after a minor collision with Garnet Hathaway of the Washington Capitals during a game on Oct. 16.
Kucherov missed the 2020-21 regular season after having hip surgery in December, but was able to return for the playoffs. The Russian led the league in postseason scoring with eight goals and 24 assists for 32 points over 23 games as the Bolts won their second straight Stanley Cup.
Nikita Kucherov career stats
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- |
| 2009-10 | CSKA Red Army Jr. | Rus-MHL | 53 | 29 | 25 | 54 | 40 | 23 |
| 2010-11 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | -3 |
| 2010-11 | CSKA Red Army Jr. | Rus-MHL | 41 | 27 | 31 | 58 | 81 | 42 |
| 2011-12 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 18 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | -1 |
| 2011-12 | CSKA Red Army Jr. | Rus-MHL | 23 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 40 | 16 |
| 2012-13 | Quebec Remparts | QMJHL | 6 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2 | -1 |
| 2012-13 | Rouyn-Noranda Huskies | QMJHL | 27 | 26 | 27 | 53 | 12 | 18 |
| 2013-14 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 17 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 10 | 1 |
| 2013-14 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 52 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 14 | 3 |
| 2014-15 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 82 | 29 | 36 | 65 | 37 | 38 |
| 2015-16 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 77 | 30 | 36 | 66 | 30 | 9 |
| 2016-17 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 74 | 40 | 45 | 85 | 38 | 13 |
| 2017-18 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 80 | 39 | 61 | 100 | 42 | 15 |
| 2018-19 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 82 | 41 | 87 | 128 | 62 | 24 |
| 2019-20 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 68 | 33 | 52 | 85 | 38 | 26 |
| 2020-21 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2021-22 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| NHL Totals | 518 | 222 | 329 | 551 | 261 |
