Nikita Kucherov Claps Back at Dougie Hamilton Over Salary Cap Comments

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov is leading the NHL in Stanley Cup Playoff scoring after not playing a single game in the regular season. While Tampa Bay will tell you he was recovering from hip surgery, which isn't false, others including Dougie Hamilton of the eliminated Carolina Hurricanes will say he was held out until the playoffs so their management team could circumvent the cap.

The Lightning are playing this postseason roughly $18 million over the cap which is something Hamilton ensured to point out in his exit interview with the media and now Kucherov is clapping back:

I didn't make the rules with the cap. It's not me. I didn't do anything on purpose. I had to do the surgery. I had to go through the whole five months of rehabilitation, and when the time came and I was ready to play, I was playing.

The Bolts were able to play Kucherov's $9.5 million on LTIR, where it doesn't count against the cap. If they weren't able to do so, the team would of had to lose some talented forwards to trade including Alex Killorn and Tyler Johnson. Thankfully to them, the LTIR saved their bacon and now they can run through the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a roster that's $17.3 million over the salary cap - per CapFriendly.  

Does Dougie Hamilton have a right to be pissed?

Photo credit:Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports