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Free Agent Focus: Tampa Bay Lightning

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Free agency is now just a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Lightning.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Steven Stamkos – An unrestricted free agent for the second time in his career, the Lightning should be able to find a way to keep their captain this offseason. Earlier in the year, Stamkos was publicly upset with Tampa Bay’s management due to not having an extension before the start of the 2023-24 NHL season, but those tempers should have cooled. At 34 years old, Stamkos should still command a multi-year contract from the Lightning (or any team), which should lower his yearly AAV for the cap-strapped organization. Stamkos is a veteran of 1082 regular season games with two Stanley Cup rings under his belt and is coming off the seventh 40-goal season of his career. If he were to entertain the idea of leaving Tampa Bay this summer, plenty of teams would come calling.

F Anthony Duclair – After coming to the organization at the trade deadline from the San Jose Sharks, Duclair quickly became one of the better trade pickups this season. His trade value increased slightly in his last 10 games in the Bay Area, scoring seven goals and 10 points leading up to the trade with the Lightning. After being acquired by the organization, Duclair became a solid offensive contributor, scoring eight goals and 15 points in only 17 games in Tampa Bay. Although he carries plenty of value as a complimentary offensive piece, Duclair may be unable to extend his stay with the Lightning unless he takes a slight pay cut on his recent $3MM salary.

D Matt Dumba – Much like Duclair, Dumba was also acquired at the trade deadline, this time from the Arizona Coyotes. Unfortunately, with another change of scenery failing to bring out anything in his game, it appears the Lightning and Dumba will not continue their relationship. After being acquired from the Coyotes, Dumba suited up in 18 games for Tampa Bay, only tallying two assists while averaging 18:39 of ice time per night. On the open market, Dumba should be able to fetch a guaranteed contract from a team desperate for defensive depth, but it will not be anywhere close to his $3.9MM AAV after a tough 2023-24 season.

Other UFAs: F Tyler Motte, F Austin Watson, D Calvin de Haan, D Haydn Fleury, G Jonas Johansson

Projected Cap Space

This is where things have been tricky in Tampa Bay for the last several years. The team was already a little tight on cap flexibility heading into the offseason and then acquired defenseman Ryan McDonagh and his $6.75MM AAV from the Nashville Predators with no money going the other way. Thanks to the trade for McDonagh, the Lightning will have a little over $5MM to work with unless another move is made to free up space. Since the trade for McDonagh, and the team’s noted desire to keep Stamkos, trade rumors have circled over the past few days around Tanner Jeannot and his $2.665MM salary for the 2024-25 NHL season, although nothing is concrete at this point. Ultimately, Stamkos could surprise us all and take a well-below-market contract to keep the team competitive through his twilight years in the NHL, but that seems unlikely at this point. However, if the Lightning do end up freeing some cap space this summer, they have players to move without completely shaking the integrity of the lineup.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Kings Place Kim Nousiainen On Unconditional Waivers

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May 30: Nousiainen passed through waivers unclaimed and can have his deal terminated by the Kings, per CapFriendly.

May 29: Thinning out their contractual commitments for the 2024-25 NHL season, the Los Angeles Kings have placed defenseman Kim Nousiainen on unconditional waivers for contract termination, according to a team announcement. In all likelihood, Nousiainen will test his luck next season overseas in his native Finland.

Originally drafted with the 119th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Kings, Nousiainen has only spent the last three years playing for the organization. Nousiainen made the jump to North America after signing his entry-level contract with Los Angeles on Marco 30, 2022.

A moderately capable two-way defenseman in the Finnish Liiga, Nousiainen saw his offense completely crater during his tenure with the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League. In 97 games spent with the Kings’ highest affiliate, Nousiainen only mustered two goals and 17 points in total, including two points in eight postseason contests.

Now that the remaining year on his entry-level contract is set to be terminated, Nousiainen will likely opt to rejoin KalPa of the Finnish Liiga — an organization he has spent nearly all of his professional career with. Across four years in Finland’s highest professional league, Nousiaien is already a veteran of 146 games, scoring 19 goals and 60 points overall.

Coaching Notes: Sharks Head Coach, Wiseman, Kings Assistant, Greco

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As the last non-playoff team to have a vacancy at the head coaching position, the San Jose Sharks are expected to conclude the search this week. According to David Pagnotta of TheFourthPeriod, the Sharks have interviewed Marco Sturm, Ryan Warsofsky, Jeff Blashill, Todd McLellan, and Dean Evason.

Of the five who have confirmed to have been interviewed by San Jose, Pagnotta lists Sturm, Warsofsky, and Blashill as the favorites up to this point. Warsofsky, currently serving as an assistant coach for the Sharks, will likely become a head coach at the NHL level in the next couple of years if he is not awarded the position in San Jose.

The Sharks appear to be taking their time in hiring a new head coach, as the decision will have an important impact on a foundational part of the rebuild. At the start of next season, San Jose is expected to have one of the most exciting young 1-2 combos at the center position, recently bringing in forward Will Smith on an entry-level contract, and expected to draft standout prospect Macklin Celebrini with the first overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft.

Other coaching notes:

  • Sticking in San Jose, the Sharks have permitted assistant coach Brian Wiseman to speak with other teams about a possible change of scenery. Wiseman was a long-time assistant coach with the University of Michigan of the NCAA before finally making his debut in the NHL as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oilers during the 2019-20 season. Enjoying a solid run with Edmonton, Wiseman moved to San Jose after reaching the Western Conference Finals with the Oilers in the prior year.
  • Earlier today, John Hoven of Mayors Manor looked at five candidates most suitable for the vacant assistant coach position with the Los Angeles Kings. Of the five, Lane Lambert appears to be the most qualified, as he recently held the position of head coach of the New York Islanders for nearly two years. Before his time with the Islanders, Lambert spent over a decade as an assistant coach with the Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals.
  • After losing Mitch Korn to the Predators organization earlier today, the Islanders will still have some stability in their goaltending development. Beat writer Stefen Rosner reported today that though Korn has decided to leave the organization, goaltending coach Piero Greco is expected to continue in his current role. Greco has held the position since the 2018-19 NHL position and has helped with the play of goaltenders such as Robin Lehner, Ilya Sorokin, and Semyon Varlamov throughout his tenure.

Blues Sign Juraj Pekarcik To Entry-Level Contract

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Only playing one more season in junior after his draft year, Juraj Pekarcik has signed his entry-level contract with the St. Louis Blues according to a team announcement. Believing he could play professionally last year, the Blues organization thought it was best for Pekarcik’s development to have the young forward play junior hockey for one year in North America.  According to CapFriendly, the deal carries European Assignment Clause, a cap hit of $870K, and an AAV of $950K.

In his draft year, Pekarcik played in 30 games for HK Nitra of the Tipos Extraliga, tallying only three assists in total. However, outside the box score, Pekarcik showed a solid sense of hockey IQ, and a keen ability to play away from the puck.

Liking what they saw, St. Louis selected Pekarcik with the 76th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft and quickly loaned the young prospect to the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League. Becoming one of the premier playmakers in the league, the young Slovakian finished the year with nine goals and 59 points in 43 games, leading his team in assists. Pekarcik continued his production in the 2024 Clark Cup playoffs, scoring three goals and 10 points in 11 games before the Saints were finally eliminated in the Finals by the Fargo Force.

Although the Blues could use some young depth up front, it is more than likely that Pekarcik will start next year on the team’s AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. Since signing on as St. Louis’ highest affiliate before the start of the 2020-21 AHL season, the Thunderbirds have been steadily declining over the last three seasons, having missed the playoffs this past year.

NHL Utah Announces Offseason Plans

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Speaking with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, NHL Utah General Manager, Bill Armstrong delves into his thought process heading into the offseason (Subscription Required). Heading into Year 4 of a rebuild that began with the Arizona Coyotes, Armstrong is again looking to supplement the organization’s young core.

Last summer, Armstrong strictly kept to short-term deals, bringing in Alexander Kerfoot, Jason Zucker, Matt Dumba, Nick Bjugstad, and Travis Dermott to no longer than a two-year contract. Judging from his interview with LeBrun, it appears that Armstrong is taking a conservative approach to this year’s free agency when he said, “Just because you have all that cap money doesn’t mean you have to make bad decisions and fill up your cap and all of sudden five years from now when you need the space, you don’t have it. So it’s really important, good decisions, healthy decisions, that can help this group grow and improve the team without sacrificing the future“.

However, with $40MM in cap space thanks to the contract of Jakub Voracek and Bryan Little coming to an end, NHL Utah may be shopping at the higher end of the free agent market this offseason — even if it is on short-term deals. Although they have not been linked to Utah meaningfully, Steven Stamkos, Tyler Toffoli, and Jonathan Marchessault all represent quality options that may be interested in a two- to three-year deal.

Armstrong is also expected to weaponize his cap space via the trade market this summer, telling Lebrun, “We can help them and give them a pick in return, much like we’ve done in the past. There’s going to be a lot of things that come our way because of the simple fact that we can take cap dollars“. Similarly to last offseason, Armstrong was able to flip a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft to secure the signing rights of defenseman Sean Durzi from the Los Angeles Kings.

As with any offseason, there are once again going to be cap-strapped teams looking to deal the signing rights of certain players; something Utah will be able to capitalize on. With 13 picks heading into this year’s NHL Draft, Utah may opt to deal from this collection to acquire an NHL-proven player in return.

Coaching Notes: Carle, Pandolfo, Yeo, Snowden

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Before the New Jersey Devils officially hired Sheldon Keefe as their next head coach, the organization looked into some rookie options. Earlier today, Greg Wyshynski of ESPN reported that New Jersey had also interviewed David Carle of the University of Denver and Jay Pandolfo of Boston University.

Given this report, it is more than likely the Devils were looking for coaches who have excelled with young talents, no matter the amount of previous NHL coaching experience. Both coaches have collegiate and international experience leading some of the best programs in the United States.

Carle, who has spent the last six years as head coach of the Pioneers, has already collected two National Championships and an IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal. The 34-year-old Carle is one of the best coaching prospects in the game after experiencing so much success in only half a decade manning the bench.

After retiring from the NHL after the 2012-13 season, Pandolfo has served in numerous professional roles, ranging from scouting to developing. Taking over as the head coach of the Terriers last year, Pandolfo has led the famous program to 36 wins in only 48 regular season games, as well as two appearances in the Frozen Four.

Other coaching notes:

  • The Vancouver Canucks have mutually parted ways with assistant coach Mike Yeo according to a team announcement. The news comes as a bit of a shock as Yeo oversaw the transformation of a Canucks’ penalty kill unit that dramatically improved one of the league’s worst penalty kill in just one year. Nevertheless, Vancouver may be allowing Yeo to pursue other options as he looks to find a head coaching role in the NHL once again.
  • At the AHL level, Anthony Di Marco of TheFourthPeriod reports that John Snowden has been heavily linked to the head coaching vacancy of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Snowden, currently serving as an assistant coach for the interstate Lehigh Valley Phantoms, has a connection to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ current General Manager, Kyle Dubas. Before his stint with the Phantoms, Snowden was an assistant coach for the Toronto Marlies during the last two years of Dubas’ tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

Anders Lee Wins 2024 King Clancy Memorial Trophy

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As the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs continue, more and more award winners from the 2023-24 NHL season are announced. Today, the league announced that this year’s winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, an award given to the player that “best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community” would be given to New York Islanders captain Anders Lee.

Lee is no stranger to making noteworthy humanitarian contributions in his community, as much of his time off the ice has been spent fighting against cancer. In 2017, Lee created a bond with Islanders fan Fenov Pierre-Louis, who unfortunately lost their battle with cancer in the same year.

Since Pierre-Louis’ passing in 2017, Lee has set up the ’Fenov Scholars Scholarship’, annually awarded to a handful of high school students who have aided a peer in their fight against cancer. Outside of the scholarship, Lee regularly hosts cancer victims at Islanders’ home games by giving them tickets, and gifts, and participating in a meet and greet after the game.

In honor of the award, the National Hockey League will award Lee a donation of $25K, and subsequently to the charity of his choice. The league will also gift a $20K donation to the Islanders, helping create a special activity for the humanitarian cause of Lee’s choosing.

Florida Panthers Make Lineup Changes

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With warm-ups about to start for an all-important Game 4 between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, the Panthers will have a different look in their bottom six. According to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, Florida is expected to hold Nick Cousins and Ryan Lomberg out of the lineup, while Kyle Okposo and Steven Lorentz will replace them.

As one of the biggest agitators in the Panthers’ lineup, Cousins has continued to do what he’s known for during the postseason even after seeing his ice time cut precipitously. Relied upon by Florida as a physically involved player, Cousins has only administered three hits during the Eastern Conference Finals after totaling 14 in the team’s series against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins.

Similarly to Cousins, Lomberg has been a very physical player for the Panthers all season long on the team’s fourth line but has not been able to feature in many postseason appearances up to this point. Even though Florida has already played in 14 games this postseason, Lomberg has suited up in only five, registering zero points while posting a -2 rating. However, Lomberg’s absence was not due to poor play as he suffered an upper-body injury in the team’s Round One series against the Lightning.

Okposo will return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the last four games with his most recent contest coming in Game 6 of Round Two against the Bruins. Acquired as a veteran forward to insert into the team’s bottom line, Okposo has already registered two assists in this year’s playoffs, providing more offensive punch than the other options.

On the other hand, Lorentz had primarily been relied upon as a depth piece for the Panthers this season in case of injury. Nevertheless, Lorentz has already equaled his production over 38 games in the regular season, scoring one goal and three points in only nine postseason games.

Although these lineup changes are centered around Florida’s fourth line, it appears that head coach Paul Maurice has his eye set on generating more offense from his forward core. After a casual victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Panthers were only two shots away from having a commanding three-game lead. Keeping this in mind, Maurice may hope one of these players could become a difference-maker in Game 4.

Tampa Bay Lightning Will Not Extend Matt Dumba

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For the second straight offseason defenseman Matt Dumba will hit unrestricted free agency as his current organization will not submit an extension offer. Earlier today, David Pagnotta of TheFourthPeriod reported that the Tampa Bay Lightning will let Dumba walk to free agency; especially after re-acquiring Ryan McDonagh from the Nashville Predators.

Last summer, Dumba became an unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career after seeing his five-year, $30MM contract with the Minnesota Wild conclude. In the year that Dumba originally signed his extension with the Wild organization, he was in the midst of a 14-goal, 50-point campaign but, was unable to replicate his performance over the contract extension.

Seeing his stock drop precipitously in his last few years in Minnesota, Dumba settled for a one-year, $3.9MM contract with the Arizona Coyotes on August 6 last year. With better access to powerplay time, and immediately becoming one of the team’s best defensemen on paper, Dumba’s contract with the Coyotes was perceived to be an easy gamble on Dumba’s part.

Unfortunately for Dumba, his play in Arizona did not work out as the player had hoped, and he quickly fell down the depth chart with his poor play. Unable to generate any offense from the back end, Dumba scored four goals and 10 points in 58 games while posting a -13 rating after averaging just over 20 minutes of ice time per game.

Dumba was eventually traded to the Lightning organization for a fifth-round draft selection in the 2027 NHL Draft shortly before the deadline. Brought in primarily as additional depth due to the season-long injury of Mikhail Sergachev, Dumba would only tally two assists in 18 games for Tampa Bay.

Heading into this summer, Dumba should not expect to earn anywhere close to his nearly $4MM salary from the 2023-24 regular season. Much like his decision to sign with the Coyotes last year, Dumba will almost certainly have to look for an organization dramatically thin on defensive depth; this time on a much lower salary.

Pacific Notes: Marchessault, Smith, Oilers

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Heading into the offseason, the Vegas Golden Knights have just shy of $900K in cap space with notable players such as Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson headed for unrestricted free agency in just over four weeks. Unfortunately for Vegas, even if the organization were to free up cap space on the trade market, they would likely be unable to open up enough flexibility to keep both players.

Between the two, Stephenson is not expected to sign for as rich of a contract as Marchessault on the open market, which could entice the Golden Knights to pursue his services instead. Keeping that in mind, Mark Anderson of the Associated Press reported today that Marchessault has still not been approached by Vegas’ front office about a contract extension.

It may be a tough pill for both player and team as Marchessault recently completed the highest goal-scoring season of his career. As one of the original ’misfits’ still on the Golden Knights, Marchessault has been adamant about finishing his career in Nevada. However, due to the financial constraints the team imposed upon itself at this past year’s trade deadline, Marchessault is expected to be wearing another team’s jersey by the start of next season.

Other Pacific notes:

  • Already showing tremendous humility as a young NHL prospect, Will Smith of the San Jose Sharks organization is not expecting to be gifted a spot in the NHL out of the gates. Although his entry-level contract should be made official today, Smith told Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now that he is more than willing to join the organization’s AHL affiliate if the Sharks think it is best for his development. Nevertheless, the former fourth overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft should immediately jump into San Jose’s top six if he can make the roster after scoring 25 goals and 71 points in 41 games for Boston College last year.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have extended their ECHL affiliate with the Fort Wayne Komets according to an announcement from the organization. The partnership between the two teams began just before the 2022-23 season, and Assistant General Manager Keith Gretzky was quoted as saying, “Our players have also relished their time in the city of Fort Wayne. They have received first-class treatment during their time there and we truly believe that the Komets and their fans make them the premier organization in the ECHL“. In the two years as Edmonton’s ECHL affiliate, the Komets have won 69 games in total, qualifying for the Kelly Cup playoffs during the 2022-23 ECHL season.

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