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Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Sign Braydon Coburn

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are bringing back one of their veteran defensemen, re-signing Braydon Coburn to a two-year deal. The contract carries an average annual value of $1.7MM, a considerable drop from Coburn’s last deal.

Coburn, 34, actually had an excellent bounce back season for the Lightning in 2018-19, finishing with 23 points in 74 games and solid possession statistics. While he’s no longer the 22+ minute man he was during his prime for the Philadelphia Flyers, Coburn still represents a reliable veteran presence on the blue line for Tampa Bay. That was obviously important for the team to maintain, given that Dan Girardi and Anton Stralman are both scheduled to become unrestricted free agents this summer. With Coburn back in the mix, it seems unlikely that the team will be able to afford either one unless they sign for a considerable bargain.

That’s because the Lightning now sit at a projected $76MM in cap commitments for next season. Amazingly that doesn’t include a deal for young star center Brayden Point, who will certainly cost more than the $6.88MM in cap space the team currently projects to have unless he takes a short-term bridge deal. Tampa Bay is expected to make a move to clear some cap space at some point this offseason.

This deal however doesn’t drastically change the arithmetic for the Lightning. They were always going to have to bring in at least one more defenseman, and a $1.7MM cap hit is reasonable for a veteran of more than 1,000 NHL games. The question will be if Coburn can continue to play at a championship level throughout the two-year deal, as the Lightning still hold contender status in the Eastern Conference. Luckily the team already has Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh locking down the left side, taking a lot of pressure off the veteran.

Anton Stralman To Participate In UFA Interview Window Next Week

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  • Lightning free agent defenseman Anton Stralman will be participating in the UFA interview window which begins next week, agent Marc Levine told Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). That suggests that there hasn’t been much progress made in discussions about a possible contract extension.  Stralman, 32, is coming off an injury-plagued 2018-19 campaign but still logged over 20 minutes a night and with the market for right-shot defenders dwindling quickly, he should have plenty of suitors if he does indeed make it to the open market next month.

Michael Bournival Retires, Eddie Pasquale Signs In The KHL

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  • Tampa Bay UFA Michael Bournival has retired, the Lightning’s AHL affiliate in Syracuse announced (Twitter link). The 27-year-old showed some promise early in his career with Montreal but injuries limited him in his time both there and with Tampa.  In 2018-19, he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury after just five games.  He wraps up his career with 127 NHL games between Montreal and Tampa Bay (regular season and playoffs), posting 12 goals and 11 assists.
  • While he made his NHL debut this past season, Lightning UFA goaltender Eddie Pasquale is heading overseas. Barys Nur-Sultan of the KHL announced that they’ve signed the netminder to a one-year contract.  Pasquale was the starter for AHL Syracuse in 2018-19, posting a 2.35 GAA in 45 appearances while also getting into three games with Tampa Bay, his first career NHL appearances.  Between this and their trade of Connor Ingram earlier today, their goaltending depth has taken a bit of a hit.

Tampa Bay Lightning Trade Connor Ingram

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have traded prospect Connor Ingram to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a seventh round pick in 2021. Ingram has one year remaining on his entry-level contract.

It’s been a very odd year for the 22-year old goaltender, as Ingram was sent down to the ECHL almost immediately after being named an AHL All-Star. Little was explained about the decision, but Ingram spent the rest of the season with the Orlando Solar Bears. In his 22 appearances at the AHL level, Ingram recorded a 14-7 record and posted a .922 save percentage. In a bizarre situation, the trade was actually listed on NHL.com’s trade tracker before either Ingram or his agent were notified, according to Joe Smith of The Athletic.

Originally selected in the third round of the 2016 draft, Ingram was a top goaltending prospect that had competed for Canada internationally and dominated the WHL. He actually stepped into professional hockey in 2017 with no trouble, posting a 20-11 record for Syracuse in his rookie year. That kind of production is exactly what the Predators are hoping for, though obviously whatever came between him and the Lightning organization will have to be resolved if he wants to flourish with his new team.

Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Sign Cameron Gaunce

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed minor league defenseman Cameron Gaunce to a one-year, two-way contract. Gaunce was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but will stick around for another year.

Gaunce, 29, played 59 games for the Crunch this season and was their best offensive weapon on the blue line. Recording 46 points in 59 games he set new career highs in basically every category, and earned himself a chance to suit up with the Lightning twice. Even with that breakout season there is little reason to think that Gaunce will play a big role in Tampa Bay next season, instead likely heading to the AHL right away. He’ll have to clear waivers to do it, but he did that twice last season including just a few months ago.

Red Wings Not Planning Buyouts, Hoping To Re-Sign Kronwall, Witkowski

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Detroit may have a new GM, but that doesn’t mean they’re looking to clean house. Quite the opposite in fact, according to Steve Yzerman. The Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan relays the news that the Red Wings are not planning to buy out any of their current players this off-season. For a roster with plenty of unwieldy contracts, that comes as a surprise. But that’s not all -Kulfan adds that the team also hopes to re-sign 38-year-old defenseman Niklas Kronwall and versatile depth piece Luke Witkowski.

The Red Wings are heading into the off-season with a projected $13.7MM in cap space and no key players in need of new contracts. That gives Yzerman and company some wiggle room to bring back a couple impending free agents and also spend on the market. Yet, the team could have opened up even more room, to drastically improve a roster that finished eight games under .500, by not extending any free agents and buying out expensive players with little production, such as Jonathan Ericsson, Trevor Daley, Darren Helm, or even a bigger move like Justin Abdelkader or Danny DeKeyser. Instead, it seems the whole team will return, barring a trade, as Yzerman does not plan to utilize a buyout.

On top of that, Yzerman also hopes to bring back two players that fans may not have expected. Kronwall was still productive last season, leading all Red Wings defensemen with 27 points. Yet, the aging veteran has also clearly lost a step and many assumed he would move on amidst what was expected to be a youth movement in Detroit. Not so fast, as Yzerman would like to have the respected defender back. In fact, it’s Kronwall who is still undecided about whether or not to continue his career. As for Witkowski, the defenseman – and occasional forward – played in only 34 games this year and recorded just two points. His versatility is valuable, but his production leaves a lot to be desired. Yet, the team is in talks to bring him back as well.

One player who has not had extension talks with Detroit yet: Thomas Vanek. Vanek’s 36 points were good enough for sixth on the Red Wings this season, but the team may be looking to add a better, younger free agent forward rather than re-signing the 35-year-old. Vanek has bounced around the league in recent years, playing for four different teams including two stints with Detroit, so the veteran may not be up for another move. Vanek’s market bears watching this summer as the interest level, both player and team, will be intriguing.

Competition Committee Submits Rules Recommendations

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The NHL and NHLPA released a joint statement this evening outlining the changes recommended by the Competition Committee, which wrapped meetings today. The players’ side, led by NHLPA Special Assistant Mathieu Schneider, included Ron Hainsey, Connor Hellebuyck, Connor McDavid, John Tavares, and James van Riemsdyk. The league side, led by NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Opertations Colin Campbell, included Craig Leipold, David Poile, Ken Holland, Doug Wilson, and Steve Yzerman. Together, the group came up with some intriguing ideas for consideration.

The most notable suggestion, as well as the most expected one, was expanded access to video review and coach’s challenges. Few details were disclosed as to the specifics of expanded review, other than allowing referees to use video review to review calls on the ice. However, after a postseason in which incorrect calls has drawn so much media scrutiny, it’s fair to assume that changes are coming to review procedures to help remedy that situation.

Another suggested rule change bound to draw some attention is a change to the the tie-breaking procedures used to determine final regular season rankings. While the joint release did not outline the proposed changes, Sportsnet’s Elliott Friedman believes that the preference of the Competition Committee is to use simply regulation wins rather than “ROT”, regulation and overtime wins, as the primary tie-breaker. If adopted, this rule change could very well see more teams looking to end games in regular time as opposed to playing for overtime, especially late in the season in a tight playoff race.

Other suggestions included changes to face-off locations based on icing, pucks out of bounds, power plays, intentionally knocking the net over, and goalies unnecessarily freezing the puck, as well as a rule that would require players to leave the ice if their helmet is knocked off during play.

These rules suggestions still need to be approved by both the NHL’s Board of Governors and the NHLPA’s Executive Board, and many of the proposed changes will require more detailed presentations, as well as considerable discussion. After suggestions are adopted, the language will be formalized and they will officially be indoctrinated into the NHL rule book. Stay tuned for further updates on these possible rule changes when these governing bodies meet later this summer.

Buyout Watch: Most Likely Candidates As Buyout Window Nears

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At this time next week, there could already be a few notable additions to the impending unrestricted free agent class. The NHL’s buyout window is set to open on Saturday, June 15th, after which teams will have 15 days to buy out unwanted contracts before the month ends and free agency begins on July 1st. This year in particular, there seem to be a surplus of teams upset with their current salary cap position and itching to remove a contract from their books that has not yielded the expected results. Yet, at a cost of two-thirds of the remaining salary and double the remaining term (in most cases), as well as the side effects of pay and bonus structure, it may not always be the best route. The following are some of the top names that could be bought out later this month and the cost to do so:

Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks

Contract Remaining: Two years, $8.625MM cap hit
Buyout Cost (each year): $2.625MM/$6.625MM/$2MM/$2MM

The most recent name to hit the buyout rumor mill, Perry’s contract is undoubtedly an albatross and it is difficult to see him getting back to the pace and production that initially warranted his high cap hit. A buyout would give the Ducks immediate relief this year and $2MM in years three and four is not bad. However, the 2020-21 cost is not ideal. However, it’s hard to see anyone trading for Perry’s contract with so many unknowns about his game, so this could be the only choice for Anaheim.

Dion Phaneuf, Los Angeles Kings

Contract Remaining: Two years, $7MM cap hit
Buyout Cost (each year): $2.917MM/$5.417MM/$1.417MM/$1.417MM

The Kings want to get younger and faster and want some cap space to improve. Moving Phaneuf accomplishes all of that, and L.A. has good blue line depth to fall back on in the short-term. Like Perry, this buyout hurts in year two, but is otherwise tolerable. The Kings will try to trade Phaneuf and may succeed, otherwise this is a likely buyout scenario.

Scott Darling, Carolina Hurricanes

Contract Remaining: Two years, $4.15MM cap hit
Buyout Cost (each year): $1.233MM/$2.333MM/$1.183MM/$1.183MM

One of the earliest reported buyout rumors was that of Darling, and for good reason. The former star backup has not panned out as a starter for Carolina, a team that made it to the Eastern Conference Final with a tandem of a UFA flier and a veteran waiver claim. The Hurricanes may not have any experienced goalies under contract for next season yet besides Darling, but that won’t stop them from moving on and going back to the free agent market or their talented pipeline for answers, especially with this very palatable buyout and few cap concerns.

Ryan Callahan, Tampa Bay Lightning

Contract Remaining: One year, $5.8MM cap hit
Buyout Cost (each year): $2.667MM/$1.567MM

Callahan won’t be in Tampa one way or another next season. The team is facing a difficult cap crunch and there’s no room for the veteran, who has played little role in recent years. A buyout doesn’t give the Bolts the full savings they’d hope for this upcoming season and a trade likely remains preferable, but Callahan’s stock is not high and a buyout remains the more likely resolution.

Valeri Nichushkin, Dallas Stars

Contract Remaining: One year, $2.95MM cap hit
Buyout Cost (each year): $700K/$450K

Nichushkin’s age makes his buyout fall under the second category of buyout wherein only one-third of the remaining salary is accounted for. As such, his buyout would mean almost nothing for Dallas’ cap calculations. The young winger failed to score a goal last season as a regular player and both sides would seemingly benefit from a split. It’s not certain that the Stars will move on, but should they choose to, a buyout is a painless option.

Brendan Smith, New York Rangers

Contract Remaining: Two years, $4.35MM cap hit
Buyout Cost (each year): $971K/$3.146MM/$1.146MM/$1.146MM

Smith has been a disaster in New York and certainly not the player that the Rangers saw perform well in the postseason as a deadline addition in 2016-17. It’s hard to see a fit for Smith moving forward, even more so than other unfriendly defense contracts like Marc Staal and Kevin Shattenkirk. It’s even more difficult to see him having any trade value, so the team would have to go the buyout route. It’s not a terrible option, but as frequently happens, the year one savings come back to bite with a hefty year two increase.

Karl Alzner, Montreal Canadiens

Contract Remaining: Three years, $4.625MM cap hit
Buyout Cost (each year): $1.069MM/$4.194MM/$2.194MM/$1.069MM/$1.069MM/$1.069MM

Alzner had one point in nine games with Montreal last season, which is enough to say he’s not in the Canadiens’ long-term plans. He could be on their books for a long time to come with a potential six-year buyout structure, but at a relatively low cost most years. Alzner needs a fresh start and it’s fair to assume that Montreal will give him one.

Milan Lucic, Edmonton Oilers

Contract Remaining: Four years, $6MM cap hit
Buyout Cost (each year): $3.625MM/$5.625MM/$4.125MM/$5.625MM/$625K/$625K/$625K/$625K

Loui Eriksson, Vancouver Canucks

Contract Remaining: Three years, $6MM cap hit
Buyout Cost (each year): $5.556MM/$5.556MM/$3.556MM/$556K/$556K/$556K

Lucic and Eriksson have been tied together by rumors all off-season and one more thing they share: poor buyout possibilities. As bad as Lucic’s contract is, based on his drop-off in performance, his buyout is still very expensive for four more years and then extends another four years beyond that. The Oilers would be better off continuing to search for some way to trade him, no matter how slim the chances. As for Eriksson, his front-loaded contract makes a buyout pointless. The Canucks would pay almost the same amount in each of the next two years as if he was still on the team, then would have the cap penalty for another four years after that. Vancouver and Edmonton are likely stuck with these players, unless of course they swap them for each other.

Snapshots: Datsyuk, Faulk, Karlsson, Sutter

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Despite some initial speculation early this off-season, it seems an NHL comeback for Pavel Datsyuk is unlikely. Speaking to Helene St. James of The Detroit Free Press, agent Dan Milstein stated that Datsyuk’s probable landing spot remains his home town of Yekaterinburg with the KHL’s Avtomobilist. A free agent after wrapping up a very successful three-year stint with SKA St. Petersburg, Datsyuk made it known that he was leaving SKA and was hoping to land somewhere more familiar to he and his family. The 40-year-old center’s NHL rights are currently owned by the Arizona Coyotes, but they expire on July 1st with the start of the new league year. As such, there was some thought that he could return to the Detroit Red Wings, where he spent all 14 years of his NHL career. Datsyuk would be joining a team now run by fellow Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman and even in his advanced age, Datsyuk would have had the chance to return to a key role for Detroit. Although he recently visited the city and reportedly spoke to Yzerman and company, Milstein maintains that Datsyuk is more likely to settle into a cushy role in Yekaterinburg. “We are meeting in the coming days to discuss options and future plans,” Milstein said, but it seems that the decision is already close to being made. “It’s very likely Pavel will live up to his promise of playing for his hometown team in Russia.”

  • In an article offering up some trade suggestions over the waning days of the NHL postseason for those teams no longer in the running, USA Today’s Kevin Allen notes that teams may not want to waste their time trying to pry a defenseman out of Carolina. The Hurricanes succeeded this season largely because of their strength on the back end and GM Don Waddell appears more concerned with maintaining that depth rather than leveraging it. Allen reports that the team is engaged in extension talks with long-time stalwart Justin Faulk, whose current contract expires after next season. Allen adds that the team is not interested in dealing Faulk or any of their top-four defensemen at this time, which certainly includes Dougie Hamilton, Jaccob Slavin, and Brett Pesce, but may also include their big free agent addition from last summer, Calvin de Haan. The one defenseman who might have been dangled as trade bait is Trevor van Riemsdyk who, like Faulk, has only one year remaining on his contract. However, a long-term injury that will see van Riemsdyk on the sidelines to begin the season will probably put a damper on any trade talks. van Riemsdyk’s early-season absence will also allow youngsters Haydn Fleury and Jake Bean to see some NHL ice time, keeping all blue line parties content through another season at least.
  • Offer sheets remain a rare occurrence in the NHL – the last came in 2013 – but that doesn’t stop talk from spreading every off-season that one of the top restricted free agents could finally land such an offer. One prominent RFA whose name has not been associated with an offer sheet thus far, perhaps should be, writes David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Schoen believes that center William Karlsson is a prime candidate for an offer sheet this summer. The Vegas Golden Knights are already buried in payroll and the off-season has yet to begin. CapFriendly estimates that they are already over the projected $83MM ceiling for next season, yet still have Karlsson, Nikita Gusev, Malcolm Subban, and others to re-sign. The Knights will be forced to move out salary regardless, but a substantial offer sheet signed by Karlsson may be too much for Vegas to match. Specifically, Schoen names the Carolina Hurricanes, Ottawa Senators, Minnesota Wild, and Detroit Red Wings as potential suitors, citing cap space and need for all four teams.
  • While it is not a done deal, the Los Angeles Kings don’t appear worried about losing one of their key free agents. Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen reports that the Kings are close to extending Brett Sutter, the captain of the AHL’s Ontario Reign. Sutter, 32, is a respected veteran who Rosen states is a “great conduit between the coaching staff and dressing room.” An experienced and productive minor league forward, Sutter is the type of dedicated player that all organizations like to have around and it seems he will be back with L.A. for at least one more year.

Offseason Keys: Tampa Bay Lightning

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With the postseason down to just two teams, many squads are now well into their offseason planning.  What storylines lie ahead around the league in what is shaping up to be a likely busy NHL offseason?  Next up in our Offseason Keys series is a look at the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Even with the surprise resignation by Steve Yzerman as GM for Tampa Bay before training camp, things pretty much went the way of the Lightning during the regular season.  They were the class of the league and it wasn’t even close.  They were a popular pick to contend for the Stanley Cup and then within a week, it was all over as they were swept at the hands of the Blue Jackets.  Now, GM Julien BriseBois must figure out what went wrong and make some tweaks to a roster that didn’t appear to have a whole lot of holes heading into the playoffs.  Here’s what they need to accomplish this offseason.

New Deal For Point

Back in 2017-18, Brayden Point cemented himself as a key part of the team after posting 66 points.  He was a big part of their secondary scoring and it looked he’d anchor the second line.  No one’s thinking that now.  He exploded with a 92-point campaign that put him tied for 12th in scoring league-wide.  Instead of thinking he could be a secondary producer for the Lightning, he’s now a bona fide front liner.

Tampa Bay has benefited considerably from him being on his entry-level deal, one that made him arguably the best bargain in the entire league in 2018-19.  That’s about to change.  He is among the class of high-end restricted free agents this offseason and is about to get a massive raise.

Given Tampa Bay’s salary cap situation (more on that shortly), he has been a speculative offer sheet target.  While that probably won’t happen, his case will still be interesting to follow.  While most – if not all – of the other major RFAs will sign long-term deals, Point could be forced to settle for a bridge contract.  It’s not like there isn’t precedent for doing so with a top player either as Nikita Kucherov just wrapped up his three-year bridge deal this past season.  A long-term pact will be desirable for both sides but it will take some roster manoeuvering from BriseBois to give them a shot at making that happen.

Clear Cap Room

Speaking of that roster movement, that’s almost assuredly going to involve Ryan Callahan.  The veteran winger is entering the final year of his contract with a $5.8MM cap hit.  He spent time as a healthy scratch in 2018-19 and didn’t make much of an impact when he was in the lineup.  They badly need to clear out his contract and will be faced with figuring out the lesser of two evils – do they trade him with an incentive (assuming he waives his partial no-trade clause) or buy him out and carry two more years of him being on the books at a reduced cap hit ($2.567MM in 2019-20 and $1.567MM in 2020-21)?

Doing that may not even be enough.  As things stand, Tampa Bay has over $74MM tied up in 17 players for next season, per CapFriendly.  They have some work to do on their back end and Point’s new deal will be pricey, even if it’s a short-term pact.

With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them shop one of their other mid-tier veterans.  J.T. Miller ($5.25MM for four more years), Tyler Johnson ($5MM for five more seasons), and Alex Killorn ($4.45MM for four more years) all hit the 40-point mark in 2018-19 and would be good secondary scorers on a lot of teams.  They do that already in Tampa Bay.  But a younger player like Anthony Cirelli or Mathieu Joseph is ready to step into a larger role for a fraction of the price.  Moving one of those veterans out would free up a spot for one them to take on that extra responsibility and would give them a lot more wiggle room on the cap in the process.

Add Defensive Help

Tampa Bay’s back end is going to look a whole lot different next season.  Anton Stralman, Braydon Coburn, and Dan Girardi are all unrestricted free agents and aren’t likely to return.  That’s basically half a blueline corps that needs replacing.

Some of that will come from within.  Jan Rutta, a midseason acquisition for depth purposes, was already re-signed after he agreed to a $950K pay cut.  After being in and out of the lineup upon being recalled, he’ll likely play a regular role next season.  So too will Erik Cernak, who started out as the number seven and consistently worked his way up the lineup.

Even with those two joining incumbents Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, and Mikhail Sergachev, some additions are going to need to be made.  None of their minor leaguers are ready to make the jump on a full-time basis just yet so they’ll likely have to look to either get a cheap rearguard as part of their cap dump(s) or look for bargains on the free agent market.  On top of that, it’s likely that they’ll look to add a veteran or two on two-way deals with an eye on having some recallable injury depth, similar to what pending UFA Cameron Gaunce was brought in for last summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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