NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Sometimes silence speaks volumes, especially with a Lightning organization that is a vault when it comes to divulging information.

And then sometimes, without notice, a grenade is thrown into the locker room and everyone is suddenly looking for the shrapnel that’s surely about to come.

But with respect to Nikita Kucherov’s future with the Lightning, when two sides want something so badly but can’t find the room to budge, maybe things had to get worse before they can get better.

Over the years, the Lightning have been one of the best teams at blocking out noise, at flipping distractions into something that can galvanize them. They’re a close group. They’ve been through wars together, won a lot and suffered their share of losses along the way.

On Friday, Kucherov — one of hockey’s biggest stars — told the Lightning he didn’t plan on re-signing and was requesting a trade. The team hasn’t been able to agree on an extension to keep him in Tampa Bay beyond this season. But general manager Julien BriseBois responded a few hours later, saying that the Lightning “unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita.”

That set the hockey world ablaze, and everyone started putting every Kucherov’s action under a microscope. Why didn’t he show more emotion Thursday night when the home crowd gave him a standing ovation as he was celebrated as the team’s all-time scoring leader? From here on out — at least until there’s a resolution — his body language will be dissected and every turnover will be broken down deeper.

We crave the drama, and it’s the same cinema that plays out real time on fields and ice sheets everywhere that is a big reason we love sports.

But sometimes, it’s just not that deep.

It’s just about business.

Kucherov put on the only NHL uniform he’s ever known Saturday for a Halloween matinee in Nashville with the same goal he’s had since he first wore the bolt on his chest — to do everything he can to help the Lightning win games. He walked into Bridgestone Arena next to his friend Brandon Hagel and conducted the same pregame warmup routine, taking one-timer feeds from Hagel before skating off.

In today’s NHL, disgruntled players can talk and pout their way out of town. They won’t show up, the team will suspend them, hit them in the pocketbook and then hope for an eventual resolution. But Kucherov was back on the ice a day after his trade request and received words of tremendous support from his head coach.

“I will sit here and tell you nothing has changed in what our goals are this year; just, maybe, the context of how it is going to go about,” Jon Cooper said. “Kuch is 100 percent a part of this team. He wants to be a part of this team for this season, and he is committed to be with the group that loves him and the group he loves.

“For us, it probably made the team stronger.”

Back to business.

The fact of the matter is the sides are still far apart on an extension. The Lightning’s last offer came at an average annual value of $15 million for four years. Kucherov’s camp is looking for a six-year deal with an AAV of $20 million.

It’s a big gap, and it’s probably going to take both sides budging to keep Kucherov in Tampa. But by no means is the Lightning’s top player packing his bags. He still would like to be here, and the team needs him to stay.

Friday’s news looks like a tactic to get the Lightning to budge. It’s a high-stakes game of chicken being played out in real time.

BriseBois is a shrewd negotiator. He let Steven Stamkos, one of the most beloved players in Tampa Bay sports history, walk. The message then was clear: No one player is bigger than the team and, more importantly, its goal of staying a contender for years to come. If BriseBois’ offer is falling short, it’s not because the Lightning don’t want to give the money to Kucherov. It’s because it’s earmarked elsewhere. They have several raises to give in the offseason, and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is eligible for an extension next summer.

Meanwhile, the Lightning entered Saturday’s game at Nashville with an 8-3-1 record. They have a great team, with Kucherov as the offensive centerpiece. It’s a group of been-there, done-that veterans and young, NHL-ready talent pushing for ice time that they haven’t quite had before.

It’s hard enough to win in the NHL without distractions. It’s even more difficult when everyone’s not rowing in the same direction. But the Lightning are determined — at least for now — to not let this derail their greater goal, because every player and coach in the room who has been in a contract negotiation before understands that sometimes it’s just business.

And that’s not to say that Kucherov will remain in a Lightning uniform next year. That’s still up to him, agent Dan Milstein and BriseBois. And we’ll soon find out how much they all want Kucherov to stay.

Cooper said no one in the Lightning room will buy into the drama.

“What I don’t want to get skewed in all of this,” the coach said, “is if Kuch turns the puck over or the play does not go exactly his way and he shows frustration, or at some point the coach who is coaching him is showing frustration with him or somebody else on the team, and then everybody says, ‘Oh my God. He wants out.’

“That will not be the case. Jon Cooper will coach the team the way Jon Cooper has always coached the team, and Kuch is going to play like the superstar he is and the way he has for a decade and a half, and that is how it is going to continue. All the rest of it is outside noise. And for Kuch internally, what happens after our season is over, that’s Kuch’s and he has earned that right for whatever happens.”

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