Lightning Re-Sign Nikita Nesterov

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that they have re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Nikita Nesterov to a one year, $725K contract.  The deal actually represents a small pay cut for Nesterov, who made just under $800K last year although he was previously on a two-way deal while this is a one-way pact.

Last season, Nesterov played in 57 games with Tampa Bay, recording three goals and six assists while averaging 14:53 of ice time per game.  He also got into nine postseason contests, picking up a single assist but saw his ice time drop nearly three minutes down to 11:59 per night.

[Related: Lightning Depth Chart]

Nesterov was the Lightning’s fifth round pick (148th overall) back in 2011.  In 84 career NHL games, all with the Bolts, he has five goals and 11 assists.

The 23 year old was named to Team Russia at the World Cup of Hockey and got into Russia’s semi-final game against Canada, recording a single shot on goal in 6:47 of ice time as their seventh defenseman.

With the signing, the Lightning have just over $5.5MM in remaining cap space according to Cap Friendly.  Of course, the team still needs to re-sign fellow RFA and leading scorer Nikita Kucherov, who remains one of 11 remaining restricted free agents.