Louis Domingue

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Tampa Bay Lightning

September 29, 2019 at 12:30 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2019-20 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Current Cap Hit: $79,773,331 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Mikhail Sergachev (one year, $894K)
F Alexander Volkov (one year, $864K)
F Mitchell Stephens (one year, $833K)
F Anthony Cirelli (one year, $728K)
F Mathieu Joseph (one year, $728K)
D Erik Cernak (one year, $698K)

Potential Bonuses

Sergachev: $850K
Cirelli: $183K
Joseph: $183K
Cernak: $148K

The Tampa Bay Lightning have done exceedingly well with their young players as they always seem to have key contributors filling out their roster who are on low-cost salaries. Unfortunately for the team all of those entry-level contracts will be expiring after this season. However, for a team that is fighting for a Stanley Cup title, the Lightning should be happy to have several of these players around for this year.

At the top of the list is Sergachev, who came over in the Jonathan Drouin trade a couple of seasons ago. Sergachev has improved greatly, but is still battling for a top-four role, one which he may win this season as he continues to develop his skills. The 21-year-old already has 15 goals and 72 points over two seasons, but spent most of his time last year as a third-line option for Tampa Bay. The team hopes he can win a spot on the first line and earn some power play time to allow his offensive skills to kick in for the Lightning. Another strong season could force Tampa Bay to pay up significantly for him. The team also got some impressive play from Cernak last season who came up and found a permanent home with his physical play.

Cirelli and Joseph have made an impact for Tampa Bay as well. After an solid stint back in 2017-18, Cirelli had a breakout season, scoring 19 goals and 39 points last season and could take another step up this season with J.T. Miller gone. Joseph surprised quite a few when he made the team last year out of training camp, posting 13 goals and 26 points in a third-line role most of the time. The opportunities may continue to increase for the 22-year-old who has showed a hard-working mentality as well as solid skill.

Both Stephens and Volkov are in their last year of their entry-level contract, but both could see time up with the Lightning at some point this season.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

G Mike Condon ($2.4MM, UFA — buried at $1.33MM)
D Kevin Shattenkirk ($1.75MM, UFA)
D Jan Rutta ($1.3MM, UFA)
G Louis Domingue ($1.15MM, UFA) — buried at $75K)
F Pat Maroon ($900K, UFA)
F Danick Martel ($700K, RFA)
D Luke Schenn ($700K, UFA)

In their pursuit of a Stanley Cup, the team went out and acquired some veteran players to help the team for this year. They signed Shattenkirk immediately after being bought out from the New York Rangers to give the team a key veteran after they lost Anton Stralman and Dan Girardi in the offseason. The team hopes Shattenkirk can find his game and stay healthy this year and be able to provide quality minutes. They also hope Schenn can provide solid depth and physicality at the bottom of their lineup. On offense, the team also went out and signed Maroon to add some grit to their fourth line after the team lost Ryan Callahan to injury. Callahan was very productive in his time with the Lightning, but injuries derailed his last couple of years.

To unload the final year of Callahan’s contract, the Lightning traded him to Ottawa and were forced to accept Condon, who the team has already buried in the minors to give the team more cap flexibility. Domingue has been buried in the AHL as well.

Two Years Remaining

D Braydon Coburn ($1.7MM, UFA)
F Cedric Paquette ($1.65MM, UFA)
G Curtis McElhinney ($1.3MM, UFA)
D Luke Witkowski ($700K, UFA)

Despite a solid backup in Domingue, the Lightning surprised quite a few people when they inked McElhinney to a two-year deal, plucking him away from a number of interested teams. The 36-year-old veteran had an impressive season after being claimed by Carolina at the beginning of last season. McElhinney appeared in 33 games, picking up 20 wins with a 2.58 GAA and a .912 save percentage. The hope is the veteran will provide some extra insurance and maybe take some of the workload off the starter this season.

The team also has high hopes that bringing back Coburn as well as a gritty multi-versatile player like Witkowski will give Tampa Bay some much needed depth on their blueline.

Three Years Remaining

F Brayden Point ($6.75MM, RFA)
F Ondrej Palat ($5.3MM, UFA)

The Lightning has done exactly what it wants to do with Point, which was get him signed to a three-year bridge deal, something the team does with all its players before locking them up to long-term deals. Now the team has three more years to evaluate him before they have to lock him up to a long-term deal. The deal is actually quite reasonable, considering how much the center has excelled in each of his three seasons. Point’s rookie season was solid with 18 goals, but that number increased to a 32-goal campaign in 2017-18 and he followed that up with a 41-goal, 92-point season last year, making him one of the top young forwards in the game. Regardless, the team was able to sign him for a reasonable cost, giving the Lightning another strong presence at a discounted rate.

On the other hand, Palat may be the opposite of Point. Having struggled with injuries the past couple of seasons, the 28-year-old has appeared in just 120 out of 164 games over the past two seasons and scored a disappointing eight goals in 64 games last year as he’s slipped to a third-line role after a promising 23-goal rookie season back in 2013-14. Since then he’s scored in the teens, but has seen those numbers dip even further with his injury history. Unfortunately, at $5.3MM, the team hopes he can get healthy and rebound as he would be a hard player to find a trade partner for.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Nikita Kucherov ($9.5MM through 2026-27)
F Steven Stamkos ($8.5MM through 2023-24)
D Victor Hedman ($7.88MM through 2024-25)
D Ryan McDonagh ($6.75MM through 2025-26)
F Yanni Gourde ($5.17MM through 2024-25)
F Tyler Johnson ($5MM through 2023-24)
F Alex Killorn ($4.45MM through 2022-23)
G Andrei Vasilevskiy ($3.5MM in 2019-20; $9.5MM through 2027-28)

The team has done a phenomenal job of signing their top talent. Kucherov is arguably one of the top three players in the league and is now just starting his eight-year contract at a reasonable $9.5MM. The 26-year-old scored 41 goals and 128 points to win the Hart Memorial Trophy, Art Ross Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award and should be one of the greats for the Lightning for a long time. Stamkos also continues to put up big numbers for someone whose $8.5MM deal looks pretty good. He potted 45 goals last season and a career-high 98 points, which gives Tampa Bay an impressive one-two punch, which doesn’t even include Point.

The Lightning also has quite a bit tied up into their top two defensemen in Hedman and McDonagh. Hedman is one of the top defensemen in the league, only a year removed from winning the Norris Trophy in 2017-18. He posted an impressive 12 goals and 54 points last season and remains in his prime. It’s too early to see how he will fare as he gets older as his contract will run through his age-34 season. But by the time Hedman truly slows down, there shouldn’t be that much time remaining on his deal. As for McDonagh, the team’s second-best defenseman still posted solid numbers, nine goals and 46 points. However, he is two years older than Hedman and has a seventh year remaining on his contract, meaning he’ll be 37 in his final season, which suggests that his contract could become an issue even in just a few years.

As for Gourde, Johnson and Killorn, the team hopes that with the salary cap likely rising over the next few years, those role players’ deals will still look good, if not very good as they age. All have become solid contributors as middle-six players and hopefully will give the team good value over the next four or five years.

Buyouts

D Matt Carle (1.83MM in 2019-20)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Point
Worst Value: Palat

Looking Ahead

The job that Steve Yzerman has done to get the franchise to this point, which might be one of the most impressive organizations that have been built, is impressive and the hope that Julien BriseBois will continue that success in Tampa Bay. The team had an amazing regular season a year ago, but a quick exit in the playoffs left many to wonder whether the team is as good as many think. However, BriseBois has done a good job bringing in some more veterans as well as some grit in hopes that this offensive team doesn’t get pushed around too much this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Backes, Domingue, Malgin

September 21, 2019 at 8:56 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 3 Comments

The Boston Bruins are relatively set at the forward position. In fact, there is only one rotation spot that isn’t already set and that’s the third-line right wing position. However, one veteran isn’t guaranteed a job, according to The Athletic’s Joe McDonald (subscription required). David Backes will have to win the job if he wants to stay in the league.

The 35-year-old struggled badly last season with just seven goals and 20 points in 70 games and even saw himself used as a healthy scratch during several games during the Bruins Stanley Cup playoff run. He has two years remaining at $6MM per season, however, that will not be enough to guarantee a spot. However, Backes has spent the summer re-training his body to make sure he stays in the Bruins rotation. While in the past, Backes has played in just three preseason games to gear up for the regular season, he may have to play more this year as he fights for his job.

“In the past I’ve had a more secure role and spot and used (preseason) games as a warmup and had a target date of (opening night) to build up to that,” said Backes. “This year is more of staring down the face of my first preseason game and I need to be going all out and prove myself every shift. Ideally, it’s three games but that’s not in my control and when I’m out there I need to do my best.”

After clearing waivers today, Puckpedia reports that the Tampa Bay Lightning can now send goaltender Louis Domingue to the Syracuse Crunch and can bury his salary in the AHL. With that move, his buried cap hit will just be $75K and the team will save $1.08MM on their salary cap. The Lightning are now projected to have $9.2MM in cap space available with 21 players under contract with one more player remaining to sign — restricted free agent Brayden Point.
The Athletic’s George Richards reports that he believes that Florida Panthers forward Denis Malgin is likely to make the team as would have to clear waivers in order to be sent to the Springfield Thunderbirds in the AHL. Malgin has averaged approximately 49 games over the past three seasons, but hasn’t made major offensive contributions to the team. He scored just seven goals last year. However, throw in that Malgin is on a one-way deal and would still make $750K regardless of where he plays, the 22-year-old might be better served staying with Florida.

Waivers: 09/20/19

September 20, 2019 at 11:41 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

The waiver period for the 2019-20 season opened today, and teams all around the league started clearing spots on their rosters. These players are all on waivers:

Dallas Stars

F Michael Mersch
D Reece Scarlett

Edmonton Oilers

F Josh Currie
F Joseph Gambardella
F Brad Malone
D Keegan Lowe

Florida Panthers

F Joel Lowry
F Paul Thompson
F Kevin Roy
D Tommy Cross

New York Rangers

F Matt Beleskey

St. Louis Blues

F Jordan Nolan
F Mike Vecchione
F Nick Lappin
D Joey Laleggia
D Jake Dotchin

Tampa Bay Lightning

G Louis Domingue
G Mike Condon

Vancouver Canucks

F Justin Bailey

Vegas Golden Knights

F Tyrell Goulbourne
D Brett Lernout
D Jaycob Megna

Tampa Bay Planning To Waive Domingue, Condon

September 20, 2019 at 10:27 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 10 Comments

September 20: Waivers open for the 2019-20 season today, and according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports Domingue will be on them.

September 12: When the Tampa Bay Lightning signed Curtis McElhinney to a two-year, $2.6MM contract at the start of free agency, eyebrows were raised all around the league. The Lightning already had Louis Domingue in the organization and had given him a similar contract just a year prior. Domingue had played in 26 games for the Lightning in 2018-19 and had a 21-5 record, clearly good enough to keep the team afloat while Andrei Vasilevskiy dealt with injury. Still, they had brought in McElhinney to give them even more depth. When they then traded Ryan Callahan to the Ottawa Senators and took on Mike Condon’s contract which still had $2.4MM on it, even more questions popped up. How many goaltenders were the Lightning going to start the season with?

Today, GM Julien BriseBois explained what the plan is to team reporter Caley Chelios. The Lightning will keep Condon and Domingue in a “controlled environment” throughout training camp to avoid injury, before placing them on waivers later this month and assigning them to the minor leagues. Moving both goaltenders to the minors would shave $1.075MM off of each cap hit, saving the Lightning some extremely valuable space. The two would then only total $1.4MM against the cap, giving BriseBois some extra room to sign Brayden Point and stay under the cap by the time the season begins.

That is, unless another team decides to claim or trade for them. Domingue is the much more likely candidate given his lower salary and recent success, and that was evident today. BriseBois told Chelios that a team even called this morning about the 27-year old goaltender, indicating some interest. Over a 122-game NHL career, Domingue has recorded a .907 save percentage but showed last season that he could at least hold down the job for a short stretch and keep a good team on the winning path.

Condon meanwhile played his way out of a job with the Senators and struggled all season with injury. He played in just three games last season including one at the AHL level and hasn’t been an effective NHL option since 2016-17. The 29-year old is likely too expensive for a waiver claim even if he is healthy, and it’s hard to see a team taking on his contract unless the Lightning include another asset.

Lightning Notes: Point, Domingue, Vasilevskiy

July 30, 2019 at 7:57 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

While the top of the RFA market is basically at a crawl right now, Lightning GM Julien BriseBois told NHL.com’s Corey Long that he’s optimistic that he’ll be able to get center Brayden Point signed by training camp. Today’s trade of Ryan Callahan to Ottawa certainly gives them some extra flexibility to work with if they decide to try to work out a long-term deal. However, recent history has suggested that Tampa Bay may be inclined to pursue a bridge contract; BriseBois was quick to point out that anyone that did so received a long-term deal afterwards. Knowing that they’ll be adding Andrei Vasilevskiy’s long-term extension to the books in 2020-21, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Lightning push for a bridge pact with Point to allow them to try to keep as much of the core together as possible over the next couple of seasons.

Atlantic Notes: Backes, Montembeault, Domingue, Alzner

July 21, 2019 at 1:29 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 8 Comments

The discussion of whether the Boston Bruins could get out from under the contract of veteran center David Backes has been ongoing for some time. It’s been determined that Backes, who has seen his numbers drop significantly in the last year while the team still owes him two more years at $6MM AAV, would be almost impossible to move, especially after the Toronto Maple Leafs unloaded Patrick Marleau and his one-year at $6.25MM to Carolina and was forced to include a first-round pick.

However, NBC Sports Boston Joe Haggerty re-analyzes the situation after the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers completed a swap of what many thought to be untradeable contracts. The problem once again for Boston is that trading Backes for another bad contract doesn’t help the Bruins as Backes only has two years left on his deal, while most of the other bad contracts have quite a bit more time remaining. Vancouver’s Loui Eriksson has the exact same contract and might even provide a slight more offense than Backes can, but any kind of one-on-one deal would require Boston to take an extra year of his contract as Eriksson still has three years remaining at that salary, hardly solving the team’s problem.

Unless the can find an unusual fit, it seems like Boston will be stuck with Backes for at least one more year.

Despite making moves this summer to turn their team in a bonafide playoff team by bringing in head coach Joel Quenneville as well as signing star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, the Florida Panthers aren’t expected to be looking to sign a veteran goaltender to back the goalie up. The Athletic’s George Richards (subscription required) writes that Florida believes that 22-year-old Sam Montembeault is ready to be the backup and the job is his to lose. The youngster made 11 appearances late in the season last year and while his numbers weren’t overwhelming (3.04 GAA, .894 save percentage), he had moments where he looked like he was ready. The scribe reports, however, he will receive a battle from Chris Driedger, who looked sharp in 32 appearances with the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL.Because of Driedger, who the team re-upped earlier this summer, it’s unlikely the team brings in a veteran in case Montembeault isn’t ready for a NHL job yet.
Mari Faiello of the Tampa Bay Times writes that one of the main reasons the Tampa Bay Lightning went out and signed prized backup goaltender Curtis McElhinney to a two-year, $2.6MM deal on July 1 was because they were concerned about the fact that current backup Louis Domingue was going to be an unrestricted free agent next summer and would likely expect a raise. Domingue, who has been solid at $1.15MM, might cost too much to re-sign, but a chance to get the veteran McElhinney at $1.3MM AAV was too much to pass up. The team will likely wait to move Domingue until training camp when teams start realizing they need goaltending help.
The Athletic’s Sean Gordon (subscription required) writes that with the signing of forward Charles Hudon Friday, the team opened up a two-day buyout window that starts on Monday and the team could opt to buy out defenseman Karl Alzner if they wanted to. Alzner, who has three years remaining at $4.63MM AAV, isn’t a certain candidate, however, as the Canadiens could have bought him out during the first buyout period and didn’t. However, the team could free up a little more money to sign another free agent such as Jake Gardiner, who still is without a contract this summer.

Lightning Ink Goalies Wedgewood And Martin, Forward Mueller

July 1, 2019 at 4:33 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 2 Comments

Even more reason to believe that last year’s backup, Louis Domingue, is on the trade block? After signing his replacement, Curtis McElhinney, the Tampa Bay Lightning have added two more goalies to the mix in Scott Wedgewood and Spencer Martin. The team has also signed forward Chris Mueller. The trio have all agreed to one-year, two-way contracts.

Lightning Sign McElhinney, Will Look To Trade Domingue

July 1, 2019 at 1:29 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 2 Comments

The Tampa Bay Lightning emerged this morning as the surprise favorite to land veteran backup goalie Curtis McElhinney and a deal is now done. The team has announced a two-year contract with a $1.3MM AAV for the 35-year-old, strengthening their depth behind young starter Andrei Vasilevskiy.

However, the team was not expected to be in the running for a goalie, as Louis Domingue performed well last season and looked comfortable as the backup. While it’s possible that the team sees Domingue, signed through next season at $1.15MM, as better suited for a third-string role, The Athletic’s Joe Smith reports that Tampa will also work on trading the understudy.

In McElhinney, the Bolts add a backup who is an upgrade both statistically and in terms of experience. McElhinney appeared in 33 games for the Carolina Hurricanes last season and made several more appearances in the postseason while posting strong numbers. Should injury befall Vasilevskiy, McElhinney would be ready to take over the starter role temporarily and Tampa Bay obviously felt more comfortable paying slightly more to have McElhinney in case of emergency rather than Domingue.

Minor Transactions: 04/01/19

April 1, 2019 at 9:12 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

Welcome to April and the end of the NHL regular season. There are just a handful of games remaining before the 2018-19 playoffs begin and teams have started locking up their first round opponents. Still, for teams battling on the edge of postseason contention the next week may be just as important as any other. Today eyes will be drawn to the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues’ game, which very well could decide the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. The Avalanche currently hold the spot with a one-point lead over Arizona, but have this game in hand on them. As teams prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.

The Carolina Hurricanes are just one point ahead of the Montreal Canadiens in the East and have recalled Haydn Fleury under emergency conditions to help them stay there. The team was defeated last night and need to get back on track tomorrow night when they travel to Toronto, but will be without Calvin de Haan who is heading back to Carolina after suffering an upper-body injury.
With Louis Domingue banged up the Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled Eddie Pasquale from the minor leagues. The team obviously wants their backup goaltender healthy, but all eyes are on Victor Hedman as he deals with an upper-body injury. Pasquale has played in one game for the Lightning this year but has a solid .916 save percentage through 43 appearances for the Syracuse Crunch.
The Calgary Flames are set to rest several regulars after clinching a playoff spot, and Juuso Valimaki has been recalled to take their place. Mikael Backlund, Matthew Tkachuk, Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic and Noah Hanifin will all be out of the lineup.
The Detroit Red Wings have recalled Joe Hicketts from the minor league under emergency conditions, and CapFriendly believes they have moved Mike Green to long-term injured reserve in order to fit him in. Hicketts’ recall follows an injury to Danny DeKeyser, who looks like he may miss the last few games of the season.
The Nashville Predators have recalled forward Miikka Salomaki from the minor leagues, bringing him back from a conditioning stint. Salomaki hasn’t played an NHL game since early January but could be an option for the team down the stretch and into the playoffs.
With Nico Sturm set to join the Minnesota Wild immediately, Matt Read has been sent back down to the AHL. The team is expected to put Sturm into the lineup as soon as possible, though since he hasn’t yet practiced with the team it is not clear when exactly that will be. Read meanwhile will be on call for the next opportunity as he has been all season.
The Anaheim Ducks have returned Sam Carrick back to San Diego of the AHL. He had been recalled on Saturday and suited up that night, logging just over 12 minutes against Edmonton while picking up an assist.

Atlantic Notes: McAvoy, Pominville, Brown, Pasquale

December 2, 2018 at 3:25 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 6 Comments

While many young players who are close to seeing their entry-level deals expire are salivating on seeing William Nylander agree to a six-year, $45MM contract Saturday, perhaps one of the biggest beneficiaries of that deal will be Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy. Despite sitting out with a concussion for most of the season so far, McAvoy has already proven to be a franchise-changing defenseman at age 20.

Reports have the Bruins opening contract negotiations at seven years at $6.5MM per season, according to The Athletic’s Joe McDonald (subscription required). That is a nice starting point considering what Nylander just inked. The scribe writes that McAvoy, who has made it clear that he isn’t interested in a bridge deal, could force his way to an eight-year, between $7.5 and $8.0MM.

The Bruins likely have little to fall back on as the team is currently fourth in the Atlantic and seem to be struggling. While the team has been missing multiple players on defense this year, the loss of McAvoy stands out as he is exceptional of moving the puck out of the team’s defensive end and has a unique skillset when it comes to his playmaking ability.

Speaking of McAvoy, Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub reports that he spoke to the defenseman about his lingering concussion. McAvoy says he still taking it “one day at a time,” and there is no current timetable for his return. McAvoy has been out since Oct. 18 and has only appeared in seven games for the Bruins’ this year. He has put up good numbers in that limited time as he has one goals and six points.
The Buffalo Sabres announced that forward Jason Pominville is out for Monday’s game against Nashville after taking a hit from Alexander Petrovic during Friday’s game against the Panthers. He is expected to return to Buffalo and undergo further evaluation, according to The Athletic’s Jon Vogl. The 36-year-old Pominville has had a bit of a resurgence this year with nine goals and 18 points already in just 27 games and could be headed for a 20-goals season, something that has alluded him since the 2013-14 season. This will be the first game that Pominville has missed since the 2016-17 season.
Ian Tulloch of The Athletic (subscription required) wonders why the Toronto Maple Leafs have written a pass for forward Connor Brown. With the impending return of William Nylander at some point this week, the team will have to knock a player out of its lineup and send them to the press box with Josh Leivo and Tyler Ennis getting the most attention. However, Tulloch has to wonder why Brown’s name isn’t thrown in with those two as Brown has just three goals and nine points in 27 games this season and has no goals and just two assists in the last 11 games. Tulloch lists him as one of the worst players on the ice for Toronto during Saturday’s win over Minnesota.
Diana Nearhos of the Tampa Bay Times writes that even thought the Tampa Bay Lightning have been shuffling backup goaltenders every week and not playing any of them, that’s likely to change. The scribe writes that Eddie Pasquale, who was recalled Sunday, will likely get a start for the Lightning as the team has back-to-back games on Monday against New Jersey and Tuesday against Detroit and with Louis Domingue starting to show signs of fatigue, Pasquale will likely make his NHL debut on one of those days.

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