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Tampa Bay Places Budaj On IR, Recalls Domingue

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The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without their backup goalie for a little while as the team placed Peter Budaj on injured reserve Saturday, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. The veteran goaltender started Friday and played well, stopping 29 of 33 shots, but needed to be helped off the ice after sustaining an apparent leg injury and was replaced by starter Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Despite playing well Friday behind a struggling defense, the 35-year-old Budaj’s overall numbers have been disappointing. In seven appearances, he has a 3.80 GAA and a .878 save percentage. No one is quite sure how long Budaj will be out, but the veteran was reportedly already walking on his own after the game Friday, according to Smith. He will have to miss the team’s next three games, but could be back on the roster for the Jan. 6 game against the Ottawa Senators.

Louis Domingue has been recalled from the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL to replace him.  Domingue started the year as the backup in Arizona, but struggled with a 4.33 GAA and a .856 save percentage in seven appearances and then was swapped to Tampa Bay for goaltender Michael Leighton and journeyman Tye McGinn. The 25-year-old was sent to Syracuse in hopes of finding his game, which he did. He has a 2.39 GAA in 13 games for the Crunch with a .911 save percentage.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Tampa Bay Lightning

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With the holiday season in full swing, PHR will look at what teams are thankful for so far this year. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We take a look at what’s gone well in the first few months and what could improve as the season rolls on. So far we’ve covered the following teams:

Atlantic: BOS, BUF, DET, FLA, TOR, MTL, OTT
Metropolitan: CAR, CBJ, NJD, NYI, NYR, PHI, PIT, WSH
Central: CHI, COL, DAL, MIN, NSH, STL, WPG
Pacific: ANA, ARZ, CGY, EDM, LAK, SJS, VAN, VGK

What are the Tampa Bay Lightning most thankful for?

What a difference a year makes. One year ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning failed to reach the playoffs and now the Lightning (aside from perhaps the Vegas Golden Knights) are one of the most talked about teams in the NHL. Their 26-7-2 record is tops in the NHL and with 54 points, they are six points ahead of any other team in the league. The team is ranked first in goal scoring as they average 3.79 goals per game, .29 higher than any other team. The Lightning rank first in power play effeciency, scoring on 28.1 percent of opportunities. They rank fourth in the NHL in goals against, averaging a stingy 2.52 goals. They also rank third in goaltending save percentage at .921. What’s not to be thankful for?

Who are the Lightning most thankful for?

There are too many directions the team could go from the play of Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos (ranked first and second in NHL scoring, respectively) to the impressive play of rookie Mikhail Sergachev, who the team acquired in the offseason. However, perhaps the most impressive is the performance of goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, the team’s goaltender who, at age 23, has changed his label from up-and-coming goaltender to NHL star. The netminder took over the full-time job last year after the Lightning traded away Ben Bishop. He posted a respectable 2.61 GAA in 50 games with a .917 save percentage in 2016-17. However, in 29 games this year, Vasilevskiy has posted a 2.13 GAA and a .932 save percentage. He has 23 wins this year in those 29 games. He had 23 wins all of last season. Throw in four shutouts and he has become one of the best goaltenders in the league.

What would the Lightning be even more thankful for?

There isn’t a lot that Tampa Bay needs, but the team’s continued health and potential return of team veteran and leader Ryan Callahan might be nice. The team has had few major injuries to deal with this season after having several a year ago. Callahan, who crashed into the boards hard in a Dec. 14 game and suffered an upper-body injury, is expected to be out for at least a month and is a major injury to the team. While Callahan’s numbers aren’t that impressive (one goal, five assists in 29 games), Callahan is a key member of the team’s penalty killing unit (which gave up three power play goals to the Vegas Golden Knights earlier last week). The team would love to get Callahan back as soon as possible as his leadership abilities are also sorely missed.

What should be on the Lightnings’ Holiday Wish List?

Again, Tampa Bay doesn’t need much, but while the team has successfully integrated several young players into their everyday lineup from Sergachev, to Yanni Gourde to Jake Dotchin this year, can they continue that trend? General manager Steve Yzerman has already said that the team could easily make some upgrades and several of them will come from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, including Cory Conacher, Adam Erne, Anthony Cirelli and Alex Volkov, who are all thriving there. Conacher has taken Callahan’s spot and some of the others are likely call ups as the season continues. If the team can find a way to get production out of these youngsters, their depth might be the best in the league.

2017 Year In Review: February

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2017 has been quite a busy year in the hockey world.  There have been several big trades, the first expansion team in over 15 years, and much more.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis. We already looked back at January yesterday.

Blues Fire Ken Hitchcock: After a slow start to the season (24-21) and his contract being up anyway at the end of the year, the St. Louis Blues decided to rid themselves of Hitchcock after six years with the franchise. Hitchcock had won 248 games with the Blues and took the team to the playoffs in each of the five years he coached the team, but only reached the conference finals once, in the 2015-16 season. He was immediately replaced by now-current head coach Mike Yeo, who was an assistant coach and was being groomed to replace Hitchcock after the veteran coaches’ deal expired. The move seemed to work as the team went 22-8-2 under Yeo and the team eventually lost in the second-round of the playoffs.

Robbi Fabbri’s Lower-Body Injury Begins His Demise: St. Louis Blues’ Robby Fabbri suffered what was described as a lower-body injury on Feb. 3 after sustaining a hit from Pittsburgh’s Carter Rowney, just three days after the team’s coaching change, and the young, talented stud prospect hasn’t played a game since. Two days later, he was listed as out for the season with a torn ACL, requiring surgery. Life only got worse for the Blues and Fabbri during training camp when he re-aggravated his knee and it was announced that he will miss all of the 2017-18 season as well to undergo a second surgery. The promising prospect will have missed more than a year and a half due to his knee injury as players with multiple knee injuries often have trouble returning to form.

Julien Fired By Bruins, Hired By Montreal: The Boston Bruins let go of head coach Claude Julien after 10 years with the franchise as the team was struggling with a 26-23-8 record on the season and didn’t look to be going anywhere in the playoff race. He had won 393 games with Boston in that span and was replaced by assistant and now-head coach Bruce Cassidy, who took Boston to the playoffs. However, just one week after being fired, Julien found employment again after the Montreal Canadiens fired Michel Therrien during his second-tenure with the team. Therrien had been coaching the team for five years (eight total), but Montreal was looking for a change after the team lost 10 of its previous 13 games and found Julien’s availability too good to pass up. Ironically, it was the second time that Julien replaced Therrien as the Canadiens’ head coach. He took over for him back in 2002 as well.

Lightning Trade Bishop To Los Angeles Kings: With the expectation that young prospect goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy would become the team’s future in the net, the Tampa Bay Lightning shipped veteran goaltender Ben Bishop off to the Los Angeles Kings for Peter Budaj, defensive prospect Erik Cernak, and and a 2017 seventh-round pick. A second pick was conditional on the Kings making the playoffs, which they didn’t. Bishop, who had been stellar for Tampa Bay in his tenure there, was just average with Tampa Bay last year with a 2.55 GAA in 32 games. He put up similar numbers with Los Angeles but only won two games for the franchise. Bishop was nothing more than a rental as he would be a free agent at the end of the season. The trade was especially confusing since the team had just gotten starter goaltender Jonathan Quick back from injury the day before the trade after he had missed all but one game due to injury. The trade was panned as many believed that the Kings needed a scorer, not more goalie support.

Blues Send Shattenkirk To Washington Capitals: While there were many interesting deals made at the trade deadline, none was more intriguing that the rumors that surrounded defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and his expiring contract. It was strange to see a playoff caliber team that was playing well under Yeo, to trade their top defenseman, but the team didn’t want to lose the veteran for nothing. Instead, the team traded Shattenkirk to the dominant Washington Capitals in their quest for a Stanley Cup (didn’t happen) as they got back prospect Zachary Sanford, veteran Brad Malone, a first-round pick in 2017 (which they packaged to Philadelphia for Brayden Schenn) and a second-round pick in 2019. Shattenkirk joined a dominant group of defenders in Washington, but struggled along with the rest of the team in the playoffs before the team was bounced by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Poll: Who Is The (Second) Best Team In The East?

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The 2017-18 NHL season has not gone to plan. Ask any prognosticator from the preseason where their projected standings compare to those today and you’ll get grim looks and uninterested shrugs. The Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild and Montreal Canadiens are all far underachieving, while Vegas, Detroit, Winnipeg, Los Angeles and New Jersey are all showing that they shouldn’t be counted out so soon.

Tampa Bay of course, leads the entire league with 32 points and a whopping +28 goal differential through 20 games. Their dominance this year has led to just three regulation losses, and two early favorites for the Hart Trophy (three, if you think Andrei Vasilevskiy has a shot). Right now most would call them the class of the Eastern Conference, and who would disagree? With the best line in hockey, a stud defenseman entering his prime and an up-and-coming Vezina candidate they’re poised to compete for the Stanley Cup for at least the next few years.

But who does that leave in the second slot? Several teams have claims to stake on the silver podium, but each have their warts. Toronto had a struggling goaltender through the first month of the season, while Columbus can’t get their powerplay working properly. The Penguins have been blown out several times while the Devils have won just three of their last nine games.

Vote below on who you think is the second best team in the east, and make sure to leave a comment if you disagree with the original premise of Tampa Bay as the class of the conference. We’ve included all of the teams within 10 points of the Lightning.

Who is the (second) best team in the East?
Toronto Maple Leafs (14-8-0, 28 pts) 30.33% (353 votes)
Pittsburgh Penguins (11-8-3, 25 pts) 18.21% (212 votes)
Columbus Blue Jackets (13-7-1, 27 pts) 18.04% (210 votes)
New York Islanders (11-7-2, 24 pts) 9.28% (108 votes)
New Jersey Devils (12-5-3, 27 pts) 9.02% (105 votes)
New York Rangers (10-9-2 22 pts) 6.79% (79 votes)
Washinton Capitals (11-10-1, 23 pts) 2.23% (26 votes)
Detroit Red Wings (10-8-3, 23 pts) 2.15% (25 votes)
Carolina Hurricanes (9-6-4, 22 pts) 1.55% (18 votes)
Ottawa Senators (8-5-6, 22 pts) 1.37% (16 votes)
Other (leave in comments) 1.03% (12 votes)
Total Votes: 1,164

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

Eastern Notes: Cole, Vrana, Djoos, Lightning

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Tight up against the salary cap for the next few years, Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription required) answers a number of mailbag questions about the Pittsburgh Penguins present and future. Among the tidbits of information is the scribe’s opinion that the team is likely to allow defenseman Ian Cole to depart via free agency this offseason.

Yohe writes that Cole, who is one of the team’s better defenseman is more likely of all their unrestricted free agents next year to be wearing a different sweater in the 2018-19 season. As Pittsburgh is already loaded with four defensemen making at least $4MM per year next season, Cole would likely be the odd man out for the Penguins, especially since there will likely be many teams offering big money to the blueliner. The  27-year-old has been a solid defender and likely could play a major position on another team’s top-four if given the opportunity.

  • NBC Sports Tarik El-Bashir writes that Washington Capitals wing Jakub Vrana, who was a healthy scratch for the first time this year on Thursday, will return to the lineup today against the Minnesota Wild on the Capitals third line. He had just two points (both goals) in his previous 13 games. “I’m putting him back where he was … and I want to see him play really well tonight,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said.
  • El-Bashir adds that Washington Capitals defenseman Christian Djoos, who suffered an upper-body injury Tuesday against the Nashville Predators and missed Thursday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, did not skate today. “I don’t know exactly when he’s going to skate yet,” Trotz said. “He’s still day-to-day with the trainers. Once they tell me he can skate, he’ll be out there.”
  • Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times writes that with the Tampa Bay Lightning off to their best start in team history as they lead the league with a 15-2-2 record and 32 points, the team has a number of players who are also leading the NHL, including Nikita Kucherov, who leads the NHL in goals scored with 17; Steven Stamkos, who leads the league in assists with 25 and points with 35; and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy leads the NHL in wins with 14.

2017-18 Primer: Tampa Bay Lightning

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With the NHL season now just a month away, it’s time to look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come.  Today, we focus on the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Last Season: 42-30-10 record (94 points), fifth in Atlantic Division (missed the playoffs)

Remaining Cap Space: $3.25MM per CapFriendly

Key Newcomers: D Dan Girardi (free agency, NY Rangers)m F Chris Kunitz (free agency, Pittsburgh), D Mikhail Sergachev (trade with Montreal)

Key Departures: F Jonathan Drouin (trade with Montreal), D Jason Garrison (expansion), F Joel Vermin (free agency, Lausanne, Swiss NLA), D Luke Witkowski (free agency, Detroit)

[Related: Lightning Depth Chart From Roster Resource]

Player To Watch: G Andrei Vasilevskiy – For the past few years, Vasilevskiy had been referred to as Tampa’s goalie of the future.  With Ben Bishop now out of the picture, he’s now their goalie of the present.  Can he step up and take over that number one role?

Mar 9, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) against the Minnesota Wild during the second period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY SportsWith Bishop missing a good chunk of time last season due to an injury as well as the eventual trade to the Kings, the Lightning got a good look at what the 23-year-old could do and the results were mixed.  Vasilevskiy struggled considerably in his first stint as the starter in December and January with Bishop injured but once the trade occurred, he fared much better down the stretch and the team is undoubtedly hoping that finish is a sign of things to come.

The pressure is certainly going to be on and Tampa’s depth at that position isn’t what it was.  Peter Budaj is coming off of a nice resurgent season but he’s best suited as a backup while journeyman veteran Michael Leighton was brought in to replace Kristers Gudlevskis.  That’s not a great safety net to have behind a relatively unproven starter.

Key Storyline: Tampa Bay’s defense corps last season was led by Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman but the supporting cast had a lot of question marks.  Although the team moved out a couple of big salaries in Drouin (who signed for $5.5MM with Montreal after the trade) and Garrison, those were more to free up cap space over bringing in more proven players on the back end (with the exception of Girardi who is coming off a tough season himself).  Sergachev could push for a roster spot but even if he makes it, it’s unlikely he’d play a key role right away.

Is that group going to be good enough, especially with one of the younger starting goaltenders in the league playing behind them?  There’s no denying that the Bolts should have plenty of firepower, particularly with Steven Stamkos returning (and a healthy Ryan Callahan won’t hurt either) but aside from Hedman and Stralman, their talent level beyond their top-two isn’t great.  If they struggle early on, it wouldn’t be surprising if GM Steve Yzerman looks to bring in another proven veteran at some point.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Expansion Primer: Tampa Bay Lightning

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We’re continuing to break down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, coming up next week: which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.

Steve Yzerman fired the first shot in the pre-expansion draft trade market by acquiring  Mikhail Sergachev from Montreal for Jonathan Drouin, a move that gave the Lightning flexibility both with the cap and their expansion protection list. It also filled a need with the Bolts on defense. With that in mind, it makes Yzerman and the Lightning’s decisions slightly easier as to who to protect and who to expose. But there are still some tough choices to make.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards: Steven Stamkos (NMC), Ryan Callahan (NMC), Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, Vladislav Namestnikov, J.T. Brown, Erik Condra, Cedric Paquette, Ondrej Palat (RFA), Tyler Johnson 

Defensemen: Victor Hedman (NMC), Jason Garrison, Anton Stralman, Braydon Coburn, Andrej Sustr (RFA), Slater Koekkoek, Jake Dotchin

Goaltender: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Kristers Gudlevskis (RFA)

Notable Exemptions

Mikhail Sergachev, Brett Howden

Key Decisions

Unloading Drouin certainly helped from a financial and expansion list aspect.  This makes it somewhat easier for forwards to put on the protected list.

Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn are both choices that benefitted from Drouin being moved. Killorn netted 19 goals while Palat will continue to get better. Stamkos and Callahan both have NMCs. Despite fighting injury and not matching his production from 2014-15, Johnson is too good of a talent to leave exposed.

It’s on defense where tougher decisions need to be made, and it will come down to three players. Hedman and Stralman will both be protected, Hedman because he has a no-movement clause and Stralman is key to the Lightning blueline. Jason Garrison and Braydon Coburn are both carrying heavier hits for the cap and will most likely be left alone when they’re exposed. Garrison could hypothetically be taken with his deal ending at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season, but the $4.6MM hit would probably scare Vegas away.

May 24, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center <a rel=That leaves three choices to protect: Andrej Sustr, Jake Dotchin, and Slater Koekkoek. Sustr is a restricted free agent and won’t be able to command much in the way of money after having a down year. That doesn’t make him exempt from being exposed. If anything, seeing his numbers drop with a number of other options pounding on the door for the big club could make him the odd man out. However, he’s still an economical option and any leverage he had took a hit with the acquisition of Sergachev, who if scouting is correct, should find time on the Tampa blueline next season. But the problem with protecting Sustr is that Tampa would risk losing two young, and talented defensemen for nothing. In the same breath, would the Bolts want to possibly lose a steady defenseman who is only 26?

That leads to Dotchin and Koekkoek. Dotchin just turned 23, and registered 11 points in 35 games this season. The problem is, as Lightning blog Raw Charge pointed out, his sample size was limited compared to Koekkoek while being paired with Hedman. The 23-year-old Koekkoek logged 41 games over the past two seasons,  but played strong for AHL affiliate Syracuse during the Calder Cup playoffs. Picking between them is essentially splitting hairs. Koekkoek  appears to have the higher ceiling, and plays a cleaner game than Dotchin. Though they play different games, Yzerman might prefer a more disciplined, puck moving defenseman when choosing who to protect. At the same time, Dotchin plays a physical game, and can move the puck as well. He’s not afraid to muck it up, and provides a presence that protects his teammates on the ice–while still contributing on the score sheet. As Tampa Bay Times beat writer Joe Smith wrote, Dotchin has stood out to management, especially in the NHL and AHL during Syracuse’s Calder Cup Final run.

With two younger defensive prospects and after having a less than stellar season, predict Sustr to be exposed and Koekkoek protected. Don’t be surprised, as many others have written, if Yzerman pulls something off to keep all of his young defensemen so Dotchin remains in the fold.

Projected Protection List

F – Steven Stamkos (NMC)
F – Ryan Callahan (NMC)
F – Tyler Johnson (RFA)
F – Nikita Kucherov
F – Vladislav Namestnikov
F – Alex Killorn
F – Ondrej Palat (RFA)

D – Victor Hedman (NMC)
D – Anton Stralman
D –Slater Koekkoek (RFA)

G – Andrei Vasilevskiy

Vasilevskiy is truly the only option to protect as 24-year-old netminder Kristers Gudlevskis is unlikely to be taken with other options presumably available from other teams. Of the decisions, it seems to be the least of Tampa’s worries.

The Lightning, despite missing the playoffs and sustaining injuries to one key player after another, still have a strong lineup that will absolutely compete next season. Peddling Drouin off certainly helped matters, but the third player to protect defensively is a tough decision to make. At the end of the day, though, Yzerman has shown skills deft enough to take a challenging situation and somehow make it work out. Don’t be surprised if he finds a way to do it again.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Steve Yzerman Explains Ben Bishop Trade

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Yesterday a shockwave went through the NHL world when the Tampa Bay Lightning decided to trade pending free agent netminder Ben Bishop to the Los Angeles Kings. Almost no one understood it at the time, as the Kings had just gotten Jonathan Quick back from injured reserve and looked set in net. Lightning GM Steve Yzerman met with the media today and explained a few things about the trade and where his franchise goes from here (video link via TSN).

I did talk to a team in the league about [Bishop] prior to the draft last year, but for whatever reason that didn’t come to fruition.

The biggest reason to make the move now, ultimately is that we’re concerned with the salary cap for next year. With what we have in some performance bonuses for our younger players we felt we’re going to be squeezed next year with the cap. We felt the need to do this right now to give ourselves as much cap space [as possible] for next year.

It’s true, the Lightning do have bonuses that will kick in this season and should they not have the cap room to pay them, would be penalized next season. By trading Bishop they have opened up a good amount in order to not have any carry over to next year, when they’ll have to re-sign Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson among others.

While it had been speculated that as many as five teams could have had interest in Bishop to help them down the stretch and into the playoffs, Yzerman relates that the appetite wasn’t quite so ravenous around the league.

When I decided to get the deal done yesterday, that was the deal that made the most sense and to be honest with you was the only option I had. My options were to make this deal with LA or to sit tight and go through with the season.

If that’s true and there was no interest from anywhere else in the league, then Yzerman did well to clear the cap space and at least receive a prospect in the form of Erik Cernak. While Bishop would have undoubtedly helped the Lightning in their playoff push—one that he assures is still the goal of the team this season—the cost of the bonus penalties on the squad going forward would have been far greater than his impact. In getting Budaj in return, he at least addressed the issue of insurance for a Andrei Vasilevskiy injury should the team make it to the post-season.

Yzerman also spoke about Steven Stamkos and his potential return this year. Stamkos has been out November 15th and has recently begun skating again on his own. Yzerman admits that it’s not a guarantee, but that he’s progressing well. A healthy Stamkos would definitely give the team a boost as they sit just six points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Lightning Trade Ben Bishop To Kings

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Superstar goalie and impending free agent Ben Bishop has been traded by the Tampa Lightning to the Los Angeles Kings. TSN’s Bob McKenzie was the first to break the news. The return for Tampa is confirmed to be 2016-17 surprise Peter Budaj, 2015 second-round defenseman Erik Cernak, a 2017 seventh-round pick, and another conditional 2017 pick. Details of the conditional pick are complicated, but in essence there is no pick if the Kings miss the playoffs and can go as high as a second-rounder depending on L.A.’s postseason success and Bishop’s play.

If this trade confuses you, you’re not alone, as it is officially the biggest surprise of the 2017 NHL Trade Deadline to date and will be tough to beat. The Kings just got back starter Jonathan Quick last night, after he had missed all but one game this season with injury. This is the same Quick that led the team to Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014 and has a career 2.26 goals against average, a Conn Smythe, a Jennings, and an All-Star appearance. In his return, Quick allowed just  one goal on 33 shots against the rival Anaheim Ducks and looked like he was fully healthy and ready to lead the Kings back into a playoff spot. So is Bishop an insurance policy for the stretch run? It’s possible. Bishop is an impending unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and would be, without question, the top goaltender on the open market. As far as deadline deals go, the Kings did not give up that much either. As good as Budaj has been, the 34-year-old was not in L.A.’s long-term plans. Cernak is a solid defensive prospect, playing for the OHL’s Erie Otters, who has a smart, responsible defensive style, but Cernak also lacks much offensive punch and was the King’s third or fourth-best defensive prospect at best.

The truly strange situation is that the Kings are currently fifth in the Pacific Division and sitting outside of a playoff spot and if they are going to get in, need scoring and not better goaltending. Budaj has been stellar and Quick is finally healthy. So why give up anything for Bishop when you may not even make the playoffs. It seems like Los Angeles could possibly have future plans for Bishop then. So does that mean Quick is on the trade block? Bishop’s career numbers are slightly superior to Quick’s, but Quick is the established goalie in Los Angeles and is signed long-term with a decent $5.8MM cap hit until 2022-23. Bishop would more than likely command a greater salary than that on the open market. So what’s the next move for GM Dean Lombardi and the L.A. Kings.

Meanwhile, the Lightning have received a solid backup to Andrei Vasilevskiy for the remainder of the season and possibly beyond, a young defenseman (which they are in need of), and some picks for a player they were willing to let walk in free agency. While many will debate this trade from the Kings side for the next month plus, GM Steve Yzerman can rest easy that he got something for nothing at this deadline in a time where Tampa Bay needs any good news they can get.

Ben Bishop Indicates He’s Open To A Trade

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Between losing playing time to Andrei Vasilevskiy, the Lighting struggling, and being in the final year of a contract, Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop has indicated he may be open to a trade should he be approached by general manager Steve Yzerman.

The catalyst would be more playing time, but according to Bishop, he’s not actively looking to leave the Lightning. For the veteran goalie, it’s about having an opportunity to play regularly. Yzerman is open to doing whatever is best for the team, as evidenced by his comments on the “Lightning Morning Skate Show.” Yzerman had this to say:

“If I could do something that helped our team make a trade that identified a need for us — not just for this year, but going forward — I would do that, and haven’t been able to do that to this point, and that’s been going on, really, since the [NHL Draft] last year.”

It’s an interesting turn in events, since Bishop was already a target to be traded before the season even began. But Bishop struggled out of the gate, and the Lightning are not quite the team everyone expected them to be. Flailing at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Lightning may be more of sellers with the future in mind instead of peddling Bishop away for more depth in anticipation of a long playoff run. Affording Bishop the chance to have more playing time elsewhere certainly makes him more open to a trade, since Bishop has a limited no trade clause.

What could Bishop fetch should a trade commence? Our very own Mike Furlano had a detailed write up earlier this week. It appears, between the Bolts and Bishop agreeing that a trade could be good for everyone, that something could happen sooner rather than later.

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