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Steven Stamkos To Hit Unrestricted Free Agency, Lightning To Pursue Jake Guentzel

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By trading away defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and forward Tanner Jeannot earlier this afternoon, the Tampa Bay Lightning have $11.165MM more to work with this summer than they did 24 hours ago. Much of the early conjecture perceived the cap-clearing moves as the Lightning making a concerted effort to keep captain Steven Stamkos in Tampa Bay for the rest of his career.

We now know that is not the case as the Lightning never increased upon their original eight-year, $3MM AAV extension offer to Stamkos, as Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports confirms that the star forward will reach the free agent market for the first time in his career on Monday. In a clear case of pivoting away from their captain, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes Tampa Bay made their moves today to pursue Jake Guentzel once free agency opens up on July 1st (Article Link).

Before eventually signing his most recent eight-year, $68MM extension with the Lightning, Stamkos was poised to be the hottest name on the free agent market heading into the 2016-17 NHL season. Despite never hitting the open market, the Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs were all interested in signing Stamkos nearly a decade ago. However, with Stamkos signing his contract on June 29th, 2016, he was prohibited from negotiating with any other team.

This time, Stamkos will earn the ability to talk to all 32 teams before finally deciding on his future. The Nashville Predators have been the most heavily linked to Stamkos so far, but the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, Red Wings, and Utah Hockey Club, among others, will all have interest in signing the star player. This does not count out the Lightning organization either as they will be in contact with Stamkos and his camp in the coming days.

On the other side of the report, the Lightning join the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, and Canucks as teams that are pursuing Guentzel this summer. The 29-year-old winger is coming off a season that saw him score 30 goals and 77 points in 67 games with 25 of those points coming in 17 games with Carolina after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, Guentzel continued as a strong performer as he registered four goals and nine points through 11 games.

If Tampa Bay can sign Guentzel once free agency opens on July 1st, they will potentially start the 2024-25 NHL season with the best first line in the league. Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov are in no danger of losing their spots on the team’s first line — and adding Guentzel to it will have opposing teams scrambling to match up against it.

Both players’ situations will unfold over the next 48 hours but one item remains clear. After bowing in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs two years in a row, the Lightning are not afraid to make tough decisions to extend their contention window.

Kings Acquire Tanner Jeannot

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The Los Angeles Kings have acquired forward Tanner Jeannot from the Tampa Bay Lightning, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic (Twitter link). In return, Tampa receives Pick 118 in this year’s draft and L.A.’s second-round pick in 2025, per Tracey Myers of NHL.com (Twitter link). The move has since been confirmed by the team.

This trade quickly succeeds Mikhail Sergachev’s move to the Utah Hockey Club. The two moves combine to free up $11.165MM in cap space, massively supporting Tampa’s pursuit of franchise centerman Steven Stamkos. It also quickly succeeds Tampa’s acquisition of Jeannot, which came ahead of the 2023 Trade Deadline, with the Lightning acquiring the winger for Callan Foote and one pick in each of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth rounds.

Jeannot recorded 24 goals, 41 points, and 130 penalty minutes in his rookie 2021-22 season with the Nashville Predators. But he’s struggled to find that same spark since, totaling just eight goals and 18 points in 75 games with Tampa Bay between last season and this season. With the Lightning facing a cap crunch that may cost them the face of their franchise, they’ve been forced to accept defeat – winning back less than half of the assets they gave up for Jeannot.

But while the trade may illicit soul searching on Tampa’s end, it stands as a low-cost, high-upside move for the Kings. Jeannot carries a low-stakes $2.665MM cap hit – setting him up well to fill the girtty, high-energy bottom-six forward role left open by Carl Grundstrom’s trade to the San Jose Sharks. The Kings have used Grundstrom’s grit to good effect, and could be getting a more dynamic iteration in Jeannot, who shows much more drive down the ice and confidence on the puck. Los Angeles will be searching for any boost they can receive after a middling 2023-24 campaign, though the gritty style that’s led Quinton Byfield to success could also be exactly what Jeannot needs to rediscover his groove.

Utah Hockey Club Acquires Mikhail Sergachev

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The Utah Hockey Club have acquired defenseman Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning, in exchange for defenseman J.J. Moser, forward prospect Conor Geekie, and a second-round draft pick, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The first blockbuster of the draft has hit, as Tampa Bay parts with a top-line defender and moves out $8.5MM in cap space. That should make their pursuit of franchise centerman Steven Stamkos a bit more manageable. Stamkos was reportedly set for the open market on July 1st, with the Lightning holding just $5.335MM in cap space. That number is now up to $16.5MM – a massive difference – after the Lightning also moved Tanner Jeannot and his $2.665MM cap hit to the Los Angeles Kings.

And while the cap space is surely what Tampa was looking for, they’ll reel in a strong return for parting with Sergachev. That includes Moser, who’s filled a strong second-pairing role for the Arizona Coyotes since his second-round selection in 2021. Still just 24, Moser has already totaled 205 career games and 72 points – including 26 points in 80 games this year. He’s a swift, confident defender on and off the puck, showing a knack for controlling traffic along his own blue line.

Tampa also receives top prospect Conor Geekie, the 11th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. He’s since played through his final two seasons in the WHL, recording 99 points in just 55 games split between the Wenatchee Wild and Swift Current Broncos this season. Not to be outdone, Geekie also added nine points in nine postseason games. He’s a big-frame forward, standing at 6-foot-4 and 197 pounds. He’s improved his ability to move that weight around substantially since his draft year looking much more fluid moving with the puck on his stick this season. Geekie signed his entry-level contract following the end of Swift Current’s year, setting him up for his first pro season in 2024-25.

And in return for their pretty penny, Utah receives a true top defenseman – finally ending a search that’s taken them through Jakob Chychrun, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Sean Durzi. None of the options could fill the role, though, leading Utah to pull in the understudy to Lightning star Victor Hedman. Sergachev has served in a vital role for the Lightning since a 2017 trade for forward Jonathan Drouin. He recorded 40 points in 79 games in his rookie season with Tampa Bay, quickly claiming a large share of ice time that he hasn’t relinquished since. Sergachev recorded at least 30 points in each of his next four seasons before posting a career-high 10 goals and 64 points in the 2022-23 season. It was the breakout that fans had been waiting for – though his encore this season was cut short by a pair of long-term leg injuries. He’ll now have to carry on his performance in a new jersey, joining the NHL’s newest franchise.

Lightning Offering Eight-Year, Low-AAV Extension To Stamkos

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  • Following up on a statement from Steven Stamkos’ agent earlier today that the longtime Lightning captain projects to hit the open market, LeBrun said Tampa GM Julien BriseBois is trying to make his tight cap situation work by offering Stamkos a low-AAV deal at the maximum eight-year term. He speculates they’ve offered him a deal with a $3MM cap hit, working out to a total value of $24MM. On a four-year deal, something the 34-year-old is much more likely to land on the open market, that would be twice the cost against the cap ($6MM annually). It’s something BriseBois has tried and failed to do before, with LeBrun confirming that was his strategy to attempt to keep winger Alex Killorn from departing in free agency last year. He ended up rejecting an eight-year, $20MM deal ($2.5MM cap hit) from Tampa to sign a four-year, $25MM deal ($6.25MM AAV) with the Ducks.

Steven Stamkos Expected To Reach Open Market

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Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos is expected to reach the open market, his agent shared with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (Twitter link). Stamkos has been a pillar of the Tampa lineup since his first-overall selection in the 2008 NHL Draft. He’s since accomplished it all in Tampa Bay – claiming the franchise record for games played, goals, and points; succeeding Vincent Lecavalier as captain in 2013; and leading Tampa to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021.

Not to be outdone, Stamkos followed the Cup wins with the first 100-point season of his career in 2022. He since shown zero signs of slowing down, recording 34 goals and 84 points last year and 40 goals and 81 points this year. Through his seasons that weren’t limited by injury, Stamkos has failed to reach 50 points just once – in 2008-09, when he scored 46 points as a rookie. He’s since been as consistent of a scorer as teams could ask for, still offering high-end goal-scoring at the age of 34.

The Lightning are in the rare position to stomach losing a consistent 80-point scorer, thanks to Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point’s continued challenging of the 100-point mark. But Tampa will still need to find a way to replace the reliable upside that Stamkos brought year after year, should he move away from the club. That could be a very tough bill to meet as the Lightning boast just $5.335MM in projected cap space, with seven pending free agents on their NHL roster. That includes winger Anthony Duclair, who scored eight goals and 15 points in 17 regular season games after Tampa Bay acquired him at the Trade Deadline. Duclair had a career year in 2021-22, scoring 31 goals and 58 points, though he’s failed to reignite his scoring since. While he’s bound for a pay raise after a hot second-half to the year, Duclair could be a cheaper option with scoring upside to try and fill Stamkos’ top-six role.

Meanwhile, the question of what Stamkos’ next contract could look like is seemingly impossible to answer. He’s nearing the end of his career but still seems fit for a few more years in the league. And he’ll undeniably be among the year’s highest paid players, after concluding an eight-year contract with an annual cap hit of $8.5MM. There seems to be no price he couldn’t demand after potting 40 goals this season. At the very least, he likely isn’t set for a pay cut. And he’s a future Hall-of-Famer entering the open market, which could quickly inspire a bidding war.

Tampa Bay is at risk of losing the face of their franchise for much of the 2000s. That will be an impossible role to fill, especially with such limited cap space. Meanwhile, Stamkos will plan for a rare career-first in free agency – and surely plenty of interest from around the league.

NHL Announces 2023-24 All-Star Teams

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The NHL announced their annual season-ending All-Star teams as part of last night’s award festivities. The rosters, as voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, are as follows.

First All-Star Team

LW: Artemi Panarin (Rangers)
C: Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche)
RW: Nikita Kucherov (Lightning)
D: Quinn Hughes (Canucks)
D: Roman Josi (Predators)
G: Connor Hellebuyck (Jets)

Second All-Star Team

LW: Filip Forsberg (Predators)
C: Connor McDavid (Oilers)
RW: David Pastrňák (Bruins)
D: Adam Fox (Rangers)
D: Cale Makar (Avalanche)
G: Thatcher Demko (Canucks)

The First Team nod caps off quite a successful 24 hours for MacKinnon, who also swept both media-voted and player-voted MVP honors with the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. It’s his third All-Star nod, although his two prior ones were both Second Team honors in 2018 and 2020. The 28-year-old pivot led the Avs in scoring with 51 goals and 140 points this season and recorded a league-high 405 shots on goal.

Notably, the voting ledger (available in the league’s announcement) indicates Kucherov was the unanimous First Team selection at right wing. That’s the first time that’s happened since 2002, when the Flames’ Jarome Iginla was the across-the-board pick after also winning the Richard and Art Ross trophies. Like Iginla, Kucherov was crowned this year’s Art Ross winner after recording 144 points in 81 games. He tied with McDavid for a league-leading 100 assists, becoming the first winger in NHL history to hit the mark.

Absent from either team is Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews, whose 69 goals this season were the most of anyone since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. He also fell short of being a Hart Trophy finalist behind Kucherov, MacKinnon and McDavid. He was third in All-Star voting among centers, though, and did receive nine First Team and 55 Second Team votes out of 187 ballots. The only other center to receive consideration was the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, who only appeared on four ballots.

East Notes: Stamkos, Hedman, Flyers

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Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning continue to engage in contract talks but Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois isn’t sure that a deal will get done before July 1st (as per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times). The Lightning GM met with Stamkos’ representatives as recently as yesterday but with Tampa Bay’s cap crunch, the 2008 first overall pick may go to market.

Stamkos would have no shortage of suitors (as per Darren Dreger of TSN) if he becomes an unrestricted free agent and it would mark the end of an incredible era in Tampa Bay. Stamkos has won two Stanley Cups with the Lightning as well as two Rocket Richard trophies and has tallied 555 goals and 582 assists in 1082 NHL games. If the 34-year-old does go to market, he is sure to find a lucrative deal as he is coming off a season in which he registered 40 goals and 41 assists in 79 games.

In other Eastern Conference notes:

  • Gabby Shirley of Bally Sports is reporting that Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois has held extension talks with defenseman Victor Hedman. BriseBois told the media that he hopes that he will agree on an extension in the coming days as Hedman is eligible to sign a new deal on July 1st. The 33-year-old has one year left on his current contract and is coming off another strong season in which he posted 13 goals and 63 assists in 78 games. Hedman’s cap hit for next year will be $7.875MM, but his actual salary will be $7MM.
  • Pierre LeBrun of TSN is reporting that the Philadelphia Flyers made a big push to try and acquire the fourth overall pick in this year’s NHL entry draft from the Columbus Blue Jackets. LeBrun’s sources have told him the Philadelphia made the offer on Wednesday and it was reported to include a swap of first-round picks, a player off the Flyers roster, and potentially the Flyers first-round pick next year. According to reports, Blue Jackets’ general manager Don Waddell turned down the offer, but it remains possible that the teams re-engage in the hours leading up to the draft.

Lightning Add J.D. Forrest To AHL Coaching Staff

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The Lightning have hired J.D. Forrest as an assistant coach for their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, as announced Wednesday. He steps into the position vacated by Daniel Jacob, who’s mutually parting ways with Tampa, per the release.

Forrest, 43, is entering his second decade as a coach after ending his playing career, which he primarily spent in European pro leagues, in 2014. The New York native began as an intern assistant coach for the U.S. National Team Development Program, where he played from 1997 to 2000. By 2016, he’d landed a job in the Penguins organization as an assistant with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he remained up until a few months ago. He was promoted to head coach of the Baby Pens in 2020 and held the role for four seasons before being let go in April.

The 2000 sixth-round pick of the Hurricanes was a candidate for other minor-league coaching jobs, including the Sabres’ vacancy in Rochester, but it didn’t materialize. Instead, he settles for an assistant role in Syracuse under Joël Bouchard, who’s entering his second season behind the bench. Bouchard guided the Crunch to a 39-24-9 record last season before being eliminated in the North Division Final by the Cleveland Monsters.

As head coach of WBS, Forrest recorded a 113-102-24-13 record.

Discussions Continue Between Lightning And Stamkos

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  • Discussions are ongoing between the Lightning and captain Steven Stamkos, Pagnotta relays (Twitter link). Stamkos made it known going back to training camp in the fall that he wasn’t pleased that a new deal wasn’t in place with the team preferring to let the season play out.  His frustration didn’t show in his play, however, as he put up 40 goals and 41 assists in 79 games, surpassing the point-per-game threshold for the seventh time in eight years.  While the 34-year-old will one day slow down, it looks like he has several good years still to come, meaning he’ll have a strong market should he actually get to free agency on Monday.

East Notes: Lightning, DeBrusk, Ullmark

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Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times expects the Tampa Bay Lightning to make a trade in the near future to cut costs as they try to find room to sign pending free agent captain Steven Stamkos to a contract extension. The Lightning are up against the cap with just $5.335MM in cap space and have just 18 active roster players signed for next season.

Encina looks at the contracts of Tanner Jeannot and Erik Cernak as possibilities to move on from. Jeannot has struggled since coming over from Nashville for five draft picks and Callan Foote and is slated to make $2.665MM next year, while Cernak is owed $5.2MM. Jeannot seems like the likelier of the two to be moved as he has just a year left on his contract at half the cost and has already been linked to multiple teams.

In other Eastern Conference notes:

  • Nick Kypreos speculates in the Toronto Star that the Toronto Maple Leafs have interest in pending free agent forward Jake DeBrusk. The 27-year-old has haunted the Maple Leafs in the playoffs could slide into the team’s top six if they don’t bring back Max Domi or Tyler Bertuzzi. DeBrusk is coming off a disappointing season with the Boston Bruins, tallying just 19 goals and 21 assists in 80 games. However, the Edmonton, Alberta native is just a year removed from a 27-goal season and has surpassed 25 goals on three separate occasions.
  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts that he believes that a big holdup on the Linus Ullmark trade is a potential contract extension being worked out. Friedman points out that a lot of teams aren’t interested in paying the Bruins high asking price for a goaltender that would only be a rental and would like an extension in place before making the deal. Friedman also notes that in the case of a team like the Ottawa Senators, he would have to waive his no-trade clause and likely work out an extension with the team to make the trade happen. Boston has held firm on their asking price in recent weeks but might have to adjust it as some teams that were in on Ullmark have already addressed their goaltending situation, and there are other potential available options on the market.

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