Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin is one of the most interesting names to follow this summer, as he has continued to be linked in trade speculation all around the league. The latest example comes from Conor McKenna of TSN who while admitting he isn’t a trade-breaker, relayed that he’s heard rumblings of a possible Alex Galchenyuk (plus a first-round pick) for Drouin swap. That would certainly be a substantial kickoff to the trade season, as both players are incredible talents who haven’t quite hit the highs predicted of them.
Lightning Rumors
Tampa Bay Notes: Trades, Killorn, Namestnikov
With the Tampa Bay Lightning having loads of offseason questions after not making the playoffs this past year, a lot is up in the air when it comes to their expansion protection plans. Regardless, Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith writes that general manager Steve Yzerman has said that he would like to work out a side deal with the Las Vegas Golden Knights, but said he isn’t sure he can as the Lightning may have too many good assets available.
The scribe writes to not be surprised, however, if the Lightning make a big trade, possibly for a defenseman in the next week before protection rosters must be turned in on Saturday. He mentions both the Anaheim Ducks and the Minnesota Wild as likely trade partners as both teams must move a defenseman as well. One suggestion would be to make an agreement with Las Vegas to select a defenseman from another team in the expansion draft and then package them to Tampa Bay in a bigger deal.
- In a mailbag, Smith writes that he expects Tampa Bay to try to move center Alex Killorn before a no-trade clause kicks in. He signed a new seven-year deal last offseason, but a full-trade clause takes effect for the next three years on July 1. Then it goes to a modified no-trade clause for the final three years. Despite scoring a career high in goals (19) during the first year of that seven-year deal, the team may want to take advantage of his value and package him and his $4.45MM contract to solve some cap issues that the team must deal with. If the team doesn’t trade Killorn and he gets exposed for the expansion draft, don’t be shocked if Las Vegas head coach Gerard Gallant might take Killorn, who he coached for Team Canada at the World Championships this year.
- Smith also mentions several players who are possible expansion picks by the Golden Knights, assuming Tampa Bay can’t pull off a side deal with them. Center Vladislav Namestnikov would be an obvious choice, if left unprotected, as well as restricted free agents Slater Koekkoek or Jake Dotchin. Namestnikov is just 24 and has scored 24 goals in the last two seasons. Koekkoek and Dotchin, both 23-year-old defensemen, each have promise. Koekkoek has only played in 41 total games, while Dotchin recorded 11 assists in 35 games in his rookie campaign.
Lightning Have Not Asked Ryan Callahan To Waive NMC
Despite the fact that the Tampa Bay Lightning have protection issues in their forward group when it comes to the expansion draft, the team has not yet asked Ryan Callahan to waive his no-movement clause, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. If he doesn’t waive it, it would mean he is automatically protected from the draft and the team would be down a protection slot. The deadline to ask a player to waive their clause is 4pm on Monday, giving the Lightning the weekend to decide.
Callahan played just 18 games this season due to a hip injury, and is the Lightning’s second highest-paid forward at $5.8MM per season. That deal has three years remaining on it, and now 32 and several years removed from his last effective season it is one of the biggest problems for a team tight to the cap. Callahan is part of the leadership group on Tampa Bay, and has been an alternate captain for the past few seasons after serving as captain for the New York Rangers. While he’s expected to be ready for the start of the season, his effectiveness is still in question as anything more than a bottom-six player.
With at least eight forwards deserved of protection from the Golden Knights, Callahan waiving his NMC would seem like a smart move for GM Steve Yzerman and company. The effect it may have on player relations though has long been debated, with several executives previously stating that they’d never ask a player to move it. It’s unclear whether Yzerman had to convince (or at least come to some sort of agreement with) Valtteri Filppula to waive his no-trade clause to go to Philadelphia at the trade deadline, as the clause only blocked trades to 13 of the other 29 teams. Filppula did use it to block a deal with the Maple Leafs however, indicating that Yzerman was at least somewhat open to the idea of asking him to waive it.
Regardless, there now is just a few days remaining for Yzerman to change his mind and see if Callahan would waive the clause for the betterment of the team. At very little risk of being selected, Callahan could help the Lightning keep the forwards they want and hopefully keeping the core group together. He did earn the clause with his play though, and has no responsibility to the fans or his teammates to waive it.
Teams “Lining Up” For Sami Vatanen
Amid several pieces of information in the latest edition of Insider Trading on TSN, Pierre LeBrun reported that teams are “lining up” with interest for Sami Vatanen hoping Anaheim Ducks are indeed going to trade him to solve some of their expansion problems. LeBrun mentions the Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning in particular.
The Ducks have a real crunch on defense that has been examined multiple times this season. Interestingly, they have several young players—Brandon Montour, Shea Theodore and Jacob Larsson in particular—who could step into any holes created by a trade of Vatanen or another defenseman. The team will need to find a trade somewhere, as Vegas would be hard to convince to take someone other than whichever defenseman ends up exposed. Watching Vatanen or Josh Manson be shipped off to Sin City for nothing would be painful for a team who fancies themselves a real contender for the Stanley Cup. 
All of that is to say that Vatanen remains a real trade candidate this month, and it comes as no surprise that he has suitors all over the league. After another season with solid point totals and an average ice time number above 21 minutes, Vatanen projects as a solid addition to nearly every top-4 in the league. The fact that he is right-handed and comes with a sub-$5MM salary for multiple years makes him palatable to dozens of teams.
The three teams that LeBrun mentions are all coming off very different seasons, and demonstrate how widespread the appetite for Vatanen could be. The Maple Leafs, building on a surprisingly good season by their young stars could jump-start their contention window with a few defensive additions. With Nikita Zaitsev and Connor Carrick penciled in as the top two options on the right side, Vatanen could take on a substantial amount of responsibility.
In New Jersey, the team is still in a window when it needs to try and make the playoffs. With a core group in their prime right now, they’re not quite in a rebuild and with a few tweaks could be right back in the postseason picture. The ironic part is that they dealt a right-handed defenseman last summer for Taylor Hall, but obviously could use an upgrade to the blueline for next season.
Tampa Bay was devastated by injury last season but is expected to be a contender not only for the playoffs but the Stanley Cup again next year. With a healthy Steven Stamkos and an improved blueline, they would be among the early favorites for the Atlantic division crown once again. While Victor Hedman has turned into one of the best all-around defensemen in the league, and Anton Stralman is still an underrated possession darling, the rest of the defense has not been as good.
Even though the Ducks are in a tough spot for the expansion draft, they remain in a great spot after drafting or developing a ton of good defenders. With Cam Fowler in extension talks after an outstanding year, they can now pick and choose which other players they keep for their current window. Should they make a trade, they’ll be able to either restock a prospect cupboard that is anything but bare, or add to their NHL squad for another shot at the Stanley Cup next year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Exclusive Negotiating Rights Of 33 Players Expire
The deadline for signing draft picks has come and gone, and unless more deals come in after the fact, 33 players will see their exclusive negotiating rights expire. With it they will either re-enter the 2017 draft for the final time or become free agents, depending on their age. None of the selections were made any higher than the fourth round, though even that is an unfortunate loss for a team hoping to hit a late-round stud. Below is the full list of players:
Buffalo Sabres
Giorgio Estephan (6th round, 2015)
Gustav Possler (5th round, 2013)
Calgary Flames
Riley Bruce (7th round, 2015)
Chicago Blackhawks
Roy Radke (6th round, 2015)
Colorado Avalanche
Wilhelm Westlund (7th round, 2013)
Kings Acquire Bokondji Imama From Lightning, Agree To Terms
Thursday: Imama has agreed to terms on a three-year entry-level contract with the Kings, according to Bob McKenzie of TSN.
Wednesday: With the Lightning set to lose prospect Bokondji Imama’s rights in less than 24 hours, they have dealt his rights to Los Angeles, the Kings announced. In return, the Kings will send their 2018 seventh round pick, contingent on them getting a deal done with Imama.
Imama was a sixth round pick of Tampa Bay (180th) overall back in 2015. He had a career with the QMJHL Champion Saint John Sea Dogs, recording 41 goals (the team leader) and 14 assists along with 105 penalty minutes in 66 regular season games. He also added eight goals and seven helpers in 18 postseason contests. The Sea Dogs participated in the recently-completed Memorial Cup where he had a goal and two assists in four games.
Imama has played in five career seasons at the major junior level between Saint John and Baie-Comeau, scoring 71 goals to go with 52 assists and 463 penalty minutes in 276 games.
The Kings will have until 4:00 PM CST to get a deal done with the 20 year old. Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider reports (Twitter link) that no deal had been agreed on prior to the trade. If they’re unable to do get a contract done, they will lose his negotiating rights.
The Pros And Cons Of Trading Jonathan Drouin
Due to their tight cap space both now and in the near future, the Tampa Bay Lightning and general manager Steve Yzerman will have to make a big decision soon about the future of young 22-year-old rising star Jonathan Drouin. There has been talk for much of the offseason already that the team might look to trade the young scorer for a top-four defenseman, which has created some outrage about the team trading a player of Drouin’s potential.
Drouin had a breakout year in 2016-17, scoring 21 goals and adding 32 assists for a 53 point season. And he’s likely to have just scratched the surface of his potential. Yes, Drouin chose to sit out games in 2015-16 and both looked selfish for demanding a trade and caused problems for the Lightning, but Drouin and the organization has moved past that, according to Tampa Bay Times writer Martin Fennelly. The scribe writes that under no circumstances do you trade away a top-talent like Drouin. The former third-overall pick in the 2013 draft has the potential to be one of the best players in the NHL if he plays to his potential.
Many people believe that Drouin could be a point-a-game player. Hall of Famer Phil Esposito, the franchise’s founder, compared Drouin to Wayne Gretzky. And that’s why, according to Fennelly, that you don’t trade a potential star. You don’t have to. The scribe suggests trading Tyler Johnson instead. The 26-year-old scored 19 goals last year and should be able to bring in a solid defenseman – perhaps not a star – but a blueliner that can still improve that defense.
However, there are others factors to consider, writes Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, as the two writers wrote opposing columns. When the team’s disappointing season ended, without a playoff berth, Yzerman didn’t blame all the team’s injuries, but the Lightning’s lack of defense and that is the key to the team’s future success. The team allowed opposing teams too many scoring opportunities due to a weak defense. It’s not like the Lightning can just go out and sign the top free agent defenseman on the market. The team couldn’t afford Kevin Shattenkirk, let alone Karl Alzner. Cap space is the problem.
Smith says the idea of trading Drouin is crazy, but you have to look at all the factors, which includes the defensive problems as well as the cap ramifications. The team must lock up three restricted free agents this year, including Drouin, Ondrej Palat and Johnson (as well as add a back-up goalie) with just $18MM in cap space. That would be a major challenge. The team must also factor in that they must give a big contract to Nikita Kucherov in two years as well.
On top of that, Drouin’s value is at an all-time high. Every team would want to put a package together to get the young scorer. His value would be able to net multiple assets with a top-two or top-four defenseman just the beginning of an offer. The team could net other assets of young talent and/or picks, which could keep Tampa Bay on top for years to come from a trade like this. There are rumors about packages ranging from Los Angeles Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin or Minnesota Wild’s Matt Dumba and Marco Scandella as potential starting points in trades. And if Yzerman waits until just before the expansion protection roster deadline, he may be able to get an even greater package.
However, Fennelly points out that Tampa Bay should be reminded of a similar situation several years ago when the Boston Bruins traded Tyler Seguin to the Dallas Stars in 2013 for a package of players because the Bruins thought Seguin was a problem-child. Seguin now is one of the best scorers in the league. You don’t want to be the team that traded away a star player.
Offseason Keys: Tampa Bay Lightning
While the expansion draft is set to headline a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months ahead. Here is a closer look at what lies ahead for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Expectations were high for the Lightning this season but not much went their way. Goaltending was expected to be a strength but Ben Bishop (before being dealt) and Andrei Vasilevskiy both struggled at times while they were dealt a crippling blow when Steven Stamkos tore his meniscus early on, ending his season after just 17 games. Tampa wound up missing the postseason and are now heading into what will likely be a summer of change for GM Steve Yzerman and company. Here are some key decisions that need to be made.
Rebuild The Blueline
Yzerman hasn’t hidden his desire to improve Tampa Bay’s back end. It was reported earlier that he and the Blues had pretty much agreed on a deal for Kevin Shattenkirk but it fell through when they weren’t able to agree on a contract extension. While that one didn’t work, it gives teams (and agents) around the league an idea of what they’re looking to do.
It wouldn’t be all that surprising to see them take another run at Shattenkirk in free agency. The market doesn’t have many players who can play a top pairing role and while they could certainly benefit from the second tiered players, it may not be the best use for the money they have to work with (more on that shortly).
The Lightning have a couple of youngsters who will likely make a strong push for a roster spot next season. Jake Dotchin spent time with Victor Hedman down the stretch and held his own while 2012 first rounder Slater Koekkoek will be waiver eligible next season. While those two will likely factor into the roster next year, there is still a need to add from outside the organization if the team intends on getting back into contention.
Shed Salary
Tampa has a little over $55MM committed in payroll for 2017-18 per CapFriendly and they only have 14 players under contract. They have several key players to re-sign but will have great difficulty getting them all signed without shedding a cumbersome contract or two.
Ryan Callahan dealt with hip trouble for most of the season and has three more years left on his deal with a pricey $5.8MM cap hit. He also has a full no-move clause which could come into play in expansion. The expectation is that he will be ready to go to start next season which takes out a long-term stashing on LTIR out of the question as well. Alex Killorn has six years left on his deal with an AAV of $4.45MM and while he has been a consistent middle six winger, they could decide to try to deal him and stick a cheaper forward in his place.
On the back end, the expiring contract of Jason Garrison ($4.6MM) is likely someone they will be looking to move. He isn’t the top four defender he was in his Vancouver days and is slowing down as he gets older. If they can’t move him (and they’d probably have to attach an asset to get a team to take him), a buyout may be an option as well. Braydon Coburn is another blueliner that isn’t living up to his deal but with two years left at $3.7MM per season, they’ll be in tough to find a taker. Yzerman will need to find a way to move one of these deals if he wants to keep his core restricted free agents in place.
Decisions For RFAs
The Lightning have no fewer than three prominent restricted free agents that are all in line for big raises. Jonathan Drouin had a career year with 53 points in 73 games which was good enough to rank him third in team scoring. A year removed from a midseason holdout and trade request, he has boosted not only his value to Tampa Bay but his trade value around the league. He earned just $832K last season before performance bonuses and will surpass that amount by a considerable margin. Will he be willing to take a bridge deal? That’s a key question and it’s plausible that the answer to that will determine whether or not they’ll be able to keep him for next season; if they opt to move him, they’ll have no shortage of suitors.
Tyler Johnson is a couple of years removed from his breakout 72 point season but is still a legitimate top six centre. The back loaded structure of his second deal results in him needing a $4MM qualifying offer, a fair bit higher than the $3.33MM cap hit he carried for the last three seasons. Ondrej Palat is coming off the identical contract as Johnson but his platform year was a bit more productive as he finished fourth in team scoring with 52 points. At 26, both are candidates for long-term deals but they could also opt to go to arbitration for one year contracts which would set them up for unrestricted free agency next summer.
There’s no doubt that Yzerman would like to go long-term with both but it’s unlikely they’ll be able to do so without losing a core player. It’s certainly shaping up like there will be some tough decisions upcoming this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Carolina Hurricanes Will Use Expansion Draft To Their Benefit
Though the Carolina Hurricanes finished the season out of the playoffs once again, it’s clear that the team is on the rise. With a deep young defense corps, and an improving forward group, they could easily vault themselves into the postseason as soon as 2017-18. Now, because so many of their key players are young and ineligible for the expansion draft they plan on using the threat of Vegas to target some help up front. Luke DeCock of The News & Observer spoke to GM Ron Francis, who made it clear that he’s on the phones working to try and improve his club.
We’ve got the open for business sign out there. We’re in a unique situation with the amount of picks we have and the amount of prospects we have. It’ll be interesting. Really what it comes down to is what teams want: Do they want a player back for the asset they don’t have to protect or are they willing to take some picks and prospects?
When Francis refers to the number of picks he has, he’s speaking about the 10 picks the Hurricanes have in this summer’s entry draft, including six of the first 73 selections. Those picks, combined with prospects like Haydn Fleury, Julien Gauthier, Jake Bean, Warren Foegele, and the room the Hurricanes have to protect additional players in the expansion draft make them a perfect trade partner for teams afraid to lose someone for nothing.
The Hurricanes could easily dangle a prospect or ineligible player like Noah Hanifin in front of teams like the Rangers or Lightning who may be facing expansion draft issues up front. Carolina clearly wants to upgrade their forward group, looking for both a top-line center and power winger to add for next season. They also could do nothing, and keep all of their assets for the draft floor and use them to move around and select the players they want. But with so much young talent already coming through, they could afford to move some of their prospect and draft pick capital to go after a big name or two in trade.
Tampa Bay Lightning Open To Bringing Peter Budaj Back
Lightning GM Steve Yzerman was on Tampa Bay radio today, and according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times indicated his interest in bringing Peter Budaj back as the team’s backup goaltender next season. While obviously no decision has been made, Smith relays that Budaj also seemed open to the idea at the end of the season.
Budaj was acquired at the trade deadline as part of a package in exchange for Ben Bishop, as the Lightning needed to move out enough salary so that Brayden Point and other’s performance bonuses wouldn’t affect their 2017-18 cap structure. He had played himself back into NHL consideration after injuries to both Jonathan Quick and Jeff Zatkoff to start the year in Los Angeles, and was part of the reason the Kings were even in contention as long as they were.
After the deal, Budaj had a bit of trouble in his four starts with the Lightning registering just a .898 save percentage but apparently doing enough to put himself in the conversation for next season. The 34-year old netminder earned just $600K this season and would likely only cost between $800K and $1.1MM for next year. The Lightning, who need all the cap space they can get as they try to re-sign Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson, will be in need of a goaltender who makes as little as possible.
With Andrei Vasilevskiy starting his three-year extension that pays him just $3.5MM per season, the duo would be one of the cheapest in the league. With the savings they have in net, perhaps they can indeed keep the band together for a couple more seasons—before Nikita Kucherov’s deal is up and he gets another raise—and try for the Stanley Cup with this group.