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Even these guys were impressed by Nikita Kucherov’s season

Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Patrick Kane and other star players share their thoughts on the NHL scoring leader.
 
Nikita Kucherov gets checks along the boards while working to control the puck against Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara during a game in March in Tampa. [DIRK SHADD | Times]
Nikita Kucherov gets checks along the boards while working to control the puck against Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara during a game in March in Tampa. [DIRK SHADD | Times]
Published April 9, 2019|Updated April 9, 2019

Nikita Kucherov’s numbers speak for themselves.

But that hasn’t stopped others around the league from sounding off about the Lightning right wing’s spectacular season.

Kucherov amassed 41 goals and 87 assists for 128 points while running away with the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer.

He produced the highest-scoring season for a Russian player. His 87 assists were most in a season since Joe Thornton’s 92 in 2006-07.

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Nick Cotsonika and his colleagues at NHL.com spoke to some of the league’s biggest stars to get their thoughts on Kucherov’s season.

Here is a sampling:

Patrick Kane, Blackhawks: “An amazing player, probably the biggest reason that team’s having so much success over there, the way everything goes through him. I think you can say, by far, the best player in the League this year.”

Connor McDavid, Oilers: “As a fellow offensive guy, I have a lot of respect for what he’s been doing. He’s playing good hockey.”

Sidney Crosby, Penguins: “It (128)'s a crazy number. It’s really impressive. It says a lot about how consistent he’s been and just at the rate he’s been able to produce. It’s pretty amazing.”

Nicklas Backstrom, Capitals: “He’s developed his shot. That’s the first thing I thought about this year. He’s just firing from that power-play point, and he’s got a great release. And obviously, we all know that he’s a great setup man. He’s got good patience and is a really fast guy. He’s a heck of a player. He’s probably been the best.”

Joe Thornton, Sharks: “Yeah, very impressive. I think, obviously, you’ve got to play on some good teams and play with really good players. I think he’d probably say the same. Your linemates are a big part of that, getting there, and a lot of things have to go right. You’ve got to stay healthy. But yeah, big kudos to him. It’s a big accomplishment.”

Read the full story here.