Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov was rewarded for his hard work by being named an alternate captain for Sunday's win over the Washington Capitals.

He came through with a goal and assist in the 6-3 victory.

"Kuch has been around for a few years now. I'm sure, inside, he was excited about it," Lightning assistant coach Rob Zettler said after Monday’s practice, per John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times. "It means a lot, no matter how old you are. To have an 'A' on your jersey in the NHL or a 'C' on your jersey in the NHL is a big deal."

Kucherov is one of the NHL's best players when healthy. He's made three All-Star Game appearances and won the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP for the 2018-19 season. He also helped lead the Bolts to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2020 and 2021.

He has been off to a strong start in 2022-23, leading the team with 23 points in 15 games. His 16 assists put him tied for sixth in the NHL.

Injuries have been the only negative in his career to this point.

The 29-year-old Russian superstar missed the entire 2020-21 regular season while recovering from hip surgery before returning for the playoffs. He returned to injured reserve early this past season after suffering a lower-body injury that required a medical procedure.

Kucherov has worked his way back from each of these issues and is now playing as well as ever. The team has rewarded him with a leadership role 10 years into his career with the Lightning.

The NHL announced Saturday following an investigation that it has found no evidence to substantiate the anonymous sexual abuse and grooming allegations against Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ian Cole.

The NHL said in a press release:

"The investigation included two separate interviews with Mr. Cole as well as interviews with NHL club personnel and other individuals with potentially relevant information. Further, the investigation included a detailed review of on-line and social media, public data, and court records and law enforcement checks. In addition, despite attempts by the League to make contact with the anonymous source of the social media post, those efforts were unsuccessful.

"On the basis of the foregoing, the National Hockey League now considers this matter closed."

The NHL Players' Association also released a statement following the league's investigation:

The Lightning announced Oct. 9 that they had suspended Cole, pending the results of an investigation, following the allegations against him. The veteran defenseman has since been reinstated, per The Athletic's Joe Smith.

Cole also released a statement on Oct. 9 denying the allegations, adding that he was looking "forward to clearing my name and demonstrating to the NHL and the Tampa Bay Lightning that these allegations are unfounded."

On Oct. 7, an anonymous woman accused Cole of grooming and sexually abusing her over a four-year stretch that began while she was a minor in high school.

The woman accused Cole of pressuring her into having sex with him, adding that he knew she was still a minor at the time. In addition, she alleged Cole was having sexual relations with other high school-aged teenagers.

In addition, the woman alleged that Cole would "frequently pressure me to do things without consent" and that he manipulated and humiliated her and would frequently make misogynistic, derogatory comments toward her.

"Ian felt emboldened to emotionally and sexually abuse me and other women because the NHL fosters a culture of misogyny," the woman said in her statement. "The NHL needs to hold themselves and their players accountable for creating an enabling environment of misogynistic and predatory behavior."

Cole, who signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Lightning in July, missed the team's first two games of the season against the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets. It's unclear if he will suit up for the team's matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.

The St. Louis Blues selected the 33-year-old in the first round of the 2007 NHL draft. He made his NHL debut in 2010 and has also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild over his 12-year career.

The NHL reportedly interviewed Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ian Cole on Wednesday over allegations that he sexually abused and groomed an underage girl.

According to ESPN's Emily Kaplan, the interview occurred at the NHL's league office in New York City and lasted for about an hour.

A Twitter user going by the name of Emily Smith tweeted a statement last week in which she said Cole groomed her for four years beginning when she was in high school:

Smith said Cole was aware of her status as a minor when he pressured her into sex. She also said he used manipulation tactics in an effort to prevent her from speaking out.

According to Kaplan, the person who posted the statement had not come forward at the time of Cole's interview with the NHL. Kaplan added that sources told her "the league is unable to identify the creator of the account without subpoenaing Twitter or obtaining a court order."

Per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, Cole denied the allegations in a statement, saying: "I take the allegations made against me today in an anonymous tweet very seriously. I look forward to clearing my name and demonstrating to the NHL and the Tampa Bay Lightning that these allegations are unfounded."

Despite Cole's denial, the Lightning announced he was suspended indefinitely with pay, pending the results of an investigation.

Cole made his NHL debut in 2010 for the St. Louis Blues after the Blues selected him with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2007 NHL draft.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native went on to play in five seasons with the Blues and four seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has also played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes during a 12-year NHL career.

Cole won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017, and he has appeared in 670 career regular-season games.

The 33-year-old veteran signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Lightning during the offseason in hopes of filling the spot in the lineup vacated by Ryan McDonagh, who was traded to the Nashville Predators.

Cole was not in the lineup for Tampa's season-opening 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday. Kaplan reported the NHL Players Association is likely to file a grievance against the league if Cole remains out of the lineup "for an extended period" without evidence being found to prove the allegations against him.

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced Sunday that they have suspended defenseman Ian Cole, pending the results of an investigation into grooming and sexual assault allegations against him, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

The Lightning said in a statement:

"The Tampa Bay Lightning is aware of the allegations against player Ian Cole and are cooperating fully with the NHL on an investigation. Our organization takes these allegations very seriously. While we continue to gather more details, we have decided to suspend Ian Cole pending the results of an investigation. No members of the organization, including players, will comment further at this time."

Cole also released a statement on Sunday night, per Friedman:

"I take the allegations made against me today in an anonymous tweet very seriously. I completely deny these allegations and will fully cooperate with the NHL and the Tampa Bay Lightning, their officials and legal departments in the forthcoming investigation. I look forward to clearing my name and demonstrating to the NHL and the Tampa Bay Lightning that these allegations are unfounded. I will have no further comment until the NHL's investigation concludes."

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly also said Sunday that the league is aware of the allegations and is looking into it, per The Athletic's Katie Strang.

On Friday afternoon, a woman made a statement on Twitter accusing Cole of sexually assaulting and grooming her over a four-year stretch that began while she was a minor.

The woman said she met Cole while still in high school and that he pressured her into having sex with him. She alleges Cole knew she was a minor at the time and also claims she knew he was having sex with other high school-aged girls in their teens.

In addition, the woman said Cole would "frequently pressure me to do things without consent." She added that he manipulated and humiliated her, bragged about having sex with other women and "would make derogatory misogynistic comments."

"Anyone who truly knows Ian and the way he talks about women will not be surprised by any of this," the woman said in her statement.

One of Cole's former NHL teammates also allegedly told the woman that Cole bragged about having sex with her, sharing details that only the veteran defenseman would have known, she said in her statement.

"Ian felt emboldened to emotionally and sexually abuse me and other women because the NHL fosters a culture of misogyny," the woman said in her statement. "The NHL needs to hold themselves and their players accountable for creating an enabling environment of misogynistic and predatory behavior."

Cole signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Lightning in July after spending the 2021-22 season with the Carolina Hurricanes.

The 33-year-old was selected in the first round of the 2007 NHL draft by the St. Louis Blues. He made his NHL debut with the Blues in 2010 and has also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild.

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced Wednesday they have agreed to eight-year contract extensions with defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak and center Anthony Cirelli.

Sergachev penned a contract worth $8.5 million annually. The deal will make him the highest-paid defenseman on Tampa Bay's roster, putting him ahead of Victor Hedman.

Cirelli will collect $6.25 million annually, while Cernak will earn $5.2 million per season.

The Lightning won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021 and reached their third straight Stanley Cup Final in 2022. Their championship window is wide-open, and general manager Julien BriseBois is betting on the current core to continue to be effective.

Rewarding your best players sends a message to the entire roster. It represents a continued level of commitment from the front office and ownership.

BriseBois also avoids potential headaches next offseason. Sergachev, Cirelli and Cernak would've all been eligible for free agency in 2023.

The bill will come due sooner or later for Tampa Bay, though.

Already, re-signing Ondrej Palat might be out of the question. Next summer, Alex Killorn can hit the open market. Looking beyond that, Steven Stamkos is a free agent in 2024 with Hedman out of contract in 2025.

The Lightning can't keep everybody, so BriseBois will inevitably have more hard choices to make—assuming Palat is gone—in the future.

And it remains to be seen whether maintaining such a top-heavy roster will backfire down the line.