Steve Yzerman

East Notes: Gostisbehere, Bruins FAs, Red Wings Youth

June 14, 2020 at 3:58 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

There was quite a few rumors surrounding the trade status of Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere at the trade deadline in February, but in the end, the team couldn’t find a deal that they liked. After all, Gostisbehere was a top offensive defenseman with the Flyers for several years before back-to-back poor seasons. Of course he is just 27 years old and while he’s recovering from knee surgery this season, the team still believes he has quite a bit of value.

However, Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi writes in his most recent mailbag, that the team is still looking for a trade partner for Gostisbehere and hope to find the right deal this offseason. He adds that the team isn’t willing to just give the blueliner away as he still has vast potential, but the team might be willing to accept a second-round pick or a young forward with 20-goal potential down the road.

NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin reports that Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said that with the uncertainty of the salary cap going forward, the team has shelved any thought of discussing contracts with their UFAs and RFAs. The team has several unrestricted free agents, including defenseman Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara, Joakim Nordstrom and Kevan Miller. The team also has several key restricted free agents, including Jake Debrusk, Anders Bjork and Matt Grzelcyk, but will have little cap room to work with and with rumors that the cap may not increase next year, could force the team to make some difficult decisions.
Despite a record losing season in Detroit, MLive’s Ansar Khan writes that Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman and the coaching staff do feel that the team made quite a bit of progress in their development of their younger players. He notes that the team were thrilled with the play of defenseman Filip Hronek, who averaged 23:54 of TOI, while posting nine goals and 31 points. While his minus-38 isn’t impressive, the team saw a blueliner whose defense improved greatly. The scribe also points out the improved play of 2018 first-rounder Filip Zadina, Givani Smith and defenseman Gustav Lindstrom.

Snapshots: Blashill, Pilut, Canadiens

May 27, 2020 at 3:06 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Detroit Red Wings season has come to an end following the announcement of the return to play format, meaning they’ll go down as one of the worst teams in history (at least in terms of points percentage). The club finished 17-49-5 and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, leading many to question the future of Jeff Blashill.

Steve Yzerman, Detroit GM, is not one of those questioning his head coach. On a conference call with reporters today including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Yzerman explained that he has “no plans on making a coaching change at this time.” Blashill signed a two-year contract extension in 2019 that carries him through the 2020-21 season but now has a 153-194-52 record as head coach of the Red Wings.

A report out of Russia has Buffalo Sabres defenseman Lawrence Pilut heading to the KHL next season, though it has not been confirmed at this point. Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News reports that the Sabres are inquiring with Pilut to see if he has indeed signed or agreed to terms with Traktor Chelyabinsk. Pilut is scheduled to become a restricted free agent later this summer, but with the Sabres already eliminated from play he could be looking for a new opportunity already. The 24-year old Pilut ended up playing just 46 games over two seasons for Buffalo, despite being excellent in the minor leagues and showing he could handle NHL duty. Should he decide to pursue a contract overseas, the Sabres could temporarily retain his rights by issuing him a qualifying offer.
With just a few days left to sign them, Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin explained to reporters including Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports that they will not be issuing contract offers to a few prospects. Allan McShane, Cole Fonstad and Samuel Houde–all players that will see their draft rights expire on June 1st–will not receive contracts from the Canadiens.

NHL Releases Memo About Potential June Draft

May 2, 2020 at 12:29 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 6 Comments

The NHL released a memo Friday evening to all 31 teams stating its position on holding the NHL Entry Draft in June, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. While nothing is set in stone, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly wrote that broadcast networks are on board with the plan that is rumored to set a June 5 draft date, giving the league a month to prepare.

One major issue would be the draft lottery. Considering the remainder of the regular season hasn’t been played out or cancelled, the NHL is suggesting using points percentage as the means to determine the order of the draft. The memo also outlined that the lottery format would be adjusted for this season only. There would be only one winner of the lottery with teams only being allowed to move up a maximum of four spots.

Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston notes that would mean that the Detroit Red Wings, who have the best chance to win the lottery, would receive nothing lower than the second-overall pick, while the Ottawa Senators would pick no lower than the third and fourth overall picks (they currently have San Jose’s lottery pick as well via the Erik Karlsson trade in 2018).

That could cause some ire from general managers who are all hoping to get their hands on QMJHL winger Alexis Lafreniere with the No. 1 overall pick. Despite having a greater advantage, Friedman notes that Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman stated on a Fox News Detroit Facebook Live chat on Thursday that he’s opposed to the idea.

My thought is: Why would you do that? Why would you need to do that?” Yzerman said. “There’s a lot of things that are affected, obviously. The draft position hasn’t been established; we don’t know who’s in the playoffs, who’s out of the playoffs, in some cases … But at this time, my own opinion is, I haven’t heard a good reason why we should do it prior to the end of the season, if we do conclude the season over the course of the summer.”

The league is also suggesting that teams would get seven days to deal with conditional trades that might involve draft picks in order that both teams reach a fair agreement. Many have sited the James Neal – Milan Lucic trade, which had Calgary receiving a conditional pick based on Neal scoring 21 goals and at least 10 more than Lucic. Teams would have a chance to renegotiate those deals so both teams are happy with the outcome.

However, the league is making it clear in the memo that they want to move on with the draft despite the uncertainty of the rest of the 2019-20 season. If the league is persuaded against using this format by teams, then the league would have to push it back much later with the best-case scenario being that the Stanley Cup awarded at some point in September with the 2020-21 season beginning in December and the draft being hastily dropped in between.

The fact of the matter is that whenever we hold the 2020 Draft — in early June or ‘shoehorned’ into a short window in October or November — (it) is not going to be a typical NHL Draft,” said Daly. “It is not going to look the same; it is not going to feel the same; and it is not going to be the same. While we may know more about next year’s landscape in terms of CBA, Salary Cap, Escrow, etc., in November than we will in June, we are still not going to know everything, and there is still going to be a multitude of questions that have no answers. So, any comparison of the 2020 NHL Draft to a typical year’s Draft is not — and cannot be — an ‘apples to apples’ comparison.”

Of course teams have to consent to this proposal, but the NHL is making it clear that this is the direction they would like to go, especially with the league’s financial security at stake. The NFL had a successful draft recently that gave a lot of attention to the league (including a 37 percent increase in viewership on the first night). With the NHL on suspension for more than a month, the league could use some of that attention headed its way until the league feels it can resume the NHL season later in the summer, at the earliest.

Mathias Brome Expected To Sign With Detroit Red Wings

April 28, 2020 at 6:14 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

The Vancouver Canucks have lost a free agent battle with the Detroit Red Wings, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Mathias Brome is expected to sign in Motown. Brome had been deciding between the two clubs after another outstanding season in the SHL.

Now 25, the undrafted forward is coming to North America for the first time in his hockey career, one that has been marked by drastic year-over-year improvement. Brome has become a star at every level of hockey in Sweden, and is coming off a 43-point performance with Orebro HK in the 2019-20 season. That was good enough for sixth in the SHL scoring race, obviously drawing some interest from across the pond.

It’s hard to blame an unproven free agent like Brome for picking Detroit, given how many opportunities will be available next season. The Red Wings are still just at the beginning of their rebuild and will need bodies to fill in a roster that will likely look considerably different next season. For Detroit GM Steve Yzerman, signing a player like Brome could not only give his team a boost on the ice, but perhaps an extra trade chip come deadline day.

Snapshots: Player’s Last Paycheck, Hyman, Yzerman

April 18, 2020 at 3:59 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 4 Comments

NHL players and have deferred their decision on their last paycheck until May 15, which they hope will give both the NHL and NHLPA extra time to figure out if there will be games played this season, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Players have been debating on how much of their final paycheck should go back to owners via escrow.

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun notes that players are already getting their 2018-19 escrow return next week, which should alleviate some of the pain in delaying their final paycheck. The NHLPA must decide what to do with their last paycheck, which is estimated at $140MM, but the players also owe escrow money to the system for this year, which could require giving up some of that final paycheck.

With the recent admission that forward Zach Hyman hopes to remain with the Toronto Maple Leafs, The Athletic’s James Mirtle (subscription required) looks at what a contract with the Maple Leafs might look at, especially considering the importance of the salary cap to the team. However, the importance of a bang-and-crash winger is an important element to the team. Mirtle’s best comparable is Colorado winger Joonas Donskoi, who signed a four-year, $3.9MM AAV deal last summer. However, Hyman produces a little more than Donskoi, suggesting he is likely to make more than Donskoi’s $3.9MM cap number. A number closer to $4.5MM per season is more likely, but Mirtle wonders if Hyman’s camp would be willing to take a lower number for more term, such as maybe a six-year deal?
With his one-year anniversary hitting Sunday, Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman made it clear to Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan that everything is going according to plan despite a dismal season that has the Red Wings at the bottom of the standings in the NHL with a 17-45-9 record. “I knew what I was getting into, and I think I had a general idea what it takes to build a team,” said Yzerman. “(Patience) is very difficult to sell, and we gotta show progress. I’m hoping the progress shows next year in wins and losses, but it will show in prospects and their development.” Yzerman, along with former GM Ken Holland, have been stockpiling picks. Yzerman acquired two second-rounders and a fourth for Andreas Athanasiou and Mike Green (all from Edmonton) and have 10 total picks in the upcoming draft. Considering quite a bit of prospect depth already in the system, the team’s long-term future looks bright so far.

Atlantic Notes: Blashill, Krug, Ceci, Kinkaid

February 29, 2020 at 4:38 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

The Detroit Red Wings find themselves at the bottom of the NHL this season with a dismal 15-47-4 record and already have been eliminated from a potential playoff spot on Feb. 21.

That could spell the end for head coach Jeff Blashill, who could find himself out of a job when the regular season ends. Both general manager Steve Yzerman and president and CEO Christopher Illitch have been supportive of Blashill recently. However, Illitch went a step further on Friday, stating that Blashill’s job will be completely in the hands of Yzerman, in an interview with the Detroit Free Press’ Carlos Monarrez.

“I think Steve had indicated that Jeff and Steve are going to talk after the season’s over and they’ll talk about the future and we’ll see where it goes,” said Illitch. “But at the end of the day, that’s Steve’s call. I support it, but I agree with Steve. I think Jeff’s done a good job in the situation he’s been given.”

Last Monday, Yzerman told the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James that the team can’t blame all the losing on Blashill and was supportive of a coach that he inherited last year when he took over as GM.

“It’s unfair to judge Jeff Blashill on our team’s record, it really is,” said Yzerman. “I put this team together. I had expectations for the year. I don’t think this is a playoff team honestly. A lot of things would have had to go right for us to be a playoff team at the start of the year. Obviously that hasn’t happened. A lot of things went wrong that we necessarily didn’t forsee, whether it be injury or what not.”

With rumors that Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug, an unrestricted free agent this summer, could be looking for a $9MM per year on the open market and potentially asking for $8MM from the Boston Bruins, WEEI’s Matt Kalman spoke to Krug who said that he hasn’t changed his mindset on negotiations with the Bruins. “No, I’ve been in the same spot from Day One. Just obviously trying to respect the situation here and trying to find a balance of being paid fairly and obviously being part of a winning team too,” Krug said. Krug has eight goals and 45 points this year and is a key piece to the team, but at 28 years of age, the Bruins may be hesitant to hand him a long-term deal. The team did free up some cap room at the trade deadline, unloading the albatross contract of David Backes as well as moving Danton Heinen, but the team has a number of other players it needs to sign as well.
While there is no word on when Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Cody Ceci might return, the blueliner did participate in Saturday’s morning skate, signaling he might not be that far away from returning, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton. “It’s moving along pretty good. [Morning skate] was a nice step for me,” said Ceci, who is out with an ankle injury since Feb. 5. His next step is to take contact at a full practice.
In an unusual AHL transaction, the Laval Rocket announced they have re-assigned goaltender Keith Kinkaid to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. Kinkaid signed with the Montreal Canadiens in the offseason as the backup to Carey Price. However, Kinkaid struggled in six appearances with a .875 save percentage. He has played with the Rocket for 13 appearances with little more success (.876 save percentage) and now will attempt to help out the Checkers, the AHL affiliate, who lost both Anton Forsberg and Alex Nedeljkovic to the Carolina Hurricanes after their two starters went down with injury. Regardless, it’s an AHL transactions, which means his contract still belongs to the Canadiens.

Snapshots: Matheson, Toffoli, Handemark

February 13, 2020 at 6:50 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 1 Comment

The Florida Panthers iced a unique lineup on Tuesday night with not one, but two defensemen skating as forwards. While Mark Pysyk has served in that hybrid role frequently this season, Michael Matheson also tried his hand. The result was a win and goal and two assists for Matheson. While Matheson does not receive a tremendous amount of attention, the Boston College product has been a reliable two-way blue liner for Florida since day one and other teams are beginning to take notice. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Panthers have explored the trade market for Matheson this season. He believes that a number of teams are interested and after Tuesday’s display of versatility and offensive touch, there may now be a few more. The stumbling block to any trade though would be Matheson’s contract. The dependable defender actually has a very fair $4.875MM cap hit, but it is term that could be a problem. Matheson is in just the second year of a maximum eight-year contract that carries through the 2025-26 season. Any team looking to acquire Matheson has to be more than just interested, they have to be dedicated, as Matheson could be around for a long time. The Panthers probably won’t take a discount on a return due to the term of the deal though. Florida was happy to have Matheson in the fold for many years to come just a couple of seasons back and they likely will not move the homegrown defenseman without a strong return.

Los Angeles Kings forward Tyler Toffoli continues to be one of the hottest names on the market with a number of potential suitors. However, some think that the Philadelphia Flyers have emerged as the favorite to land the two-way winger. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer added fuel to that fire by reporting that former Flyers GM Ron Hextall, now an employee of the Kings, is in Florida scouting Flyers-Panthers on Thursday night. The Kings have been scouting the Flyers frequently, but Hextall’s presence takes things up a notch. No one in L.A. knows Philadelphia better than Hextall and the team would likely not make a move without his seal of approval. Perhaps they will get that nod from Hextall on a potential return for Toffoli after tonight’s game.
The Detroit Red Wings are hardly buyers in the trade market, but they will be looking to add in the off-season. One player that the team has been linked to is Swedish forward Fredrik Handemark. The 26-year-old center is a big, two-way center who has impressed for several years with the Malmo Redhawks of the SHL. In a season in which he has already matched his career high in points with weeks still to play, the consensus is that Handemark has outgrown Sweden and will look to make the jump to the NHL next season. Swedish news source Aftonbladet reports that there is interest from NHL teams, including the Red Wings, who Handemark calls his childhood favorite. Detroit has had great success with Swedes in the past, including a fellow two-way pivot in Henrik Zetterberg, and Handemark could be an affordable, effective addition for GM Steve Yzerman’s rebuilding club. Aftonbladet also mentions Orebro’s Mathias Brome, Farjestad’s Gustaf Rydahl, and HK Sochi’s Malte Strömwall as other Swedish standouts who have been linked to the Red Wings this season.

Atlantic Notes: Red Wings, Bruins, McCabe

January 11, 2020 at 11:09 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

With the Red Wings sitting in last place, there’s no question about what direction they’ll be going at the trade deadline. However, with a lot of their veterans underachieving, their respective trade values have taken a hit. Despite that, GM Steve Yzerman stated in an interview on the team’s website (video link) that he’s not looking to be passive and is hoping to bring in picks or young players that can contribute sooner than later. The last bit is somewhat noteworthy as there have been teams in recent years that have preferred players to picks when they’re selling and it appears as if Detroit is at least open to going in that direction. As for their recent picks, Yzerman acknowledged that they could give players like Moritz Seider or Joe Veleno a look down the stretch but they likely wouldn’t go as far as playing them ten games to burn the first year of their entry-level deals.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Detroit Red Wings

December 14, 2019 at 8:56 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 8 Comments

As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads past the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Detroit Red Wings.

What are the Red Wings most thankful for?

Very little has gone right for Detroit this season as the team finds itself dead last in the league, four points out of 30th place and nine points out of 29th place, suggesting the team is likely to land another significant lottery in June. And while none of that is worthy of being thankful for, Detroit’s general manager Steve Yzerman, is eager to complete the team’s rebuild and likely has no qualms about seeing this franchise at the bottom in hopes of completely rebuilding the franchise up. It has plenty of complementary pieces and several players who could be stars, but a picking up a franchise player in a stacked draft might be the most valuable piece to this franchise.

Who are the Red Wings most thankful for?

Anthony Mantha.

Mantha missed eight games with a knee injury, returning today, but continues to be the team’s leading scorer with 12 goals and 23 points this season, which puts him on pace for almost a goal per game. After posting 48 points for the past two seasons, Mantha looks ready for a potential breakout season if he can remain healthy. He is third on the team among forwards in TOI, averaging 18:54 and looks to have taken his game to another level this year.

Considering that Dylan Larkin has seen a slight decline in his play so far, the team should be thankful that Mantha continues to improve season after season.

What would the Red Wings be even more thankful for?

Defense.

Detroit has struggled defensively this season with injuries as the team has been without several of their veteran blueliners for chunks of the season already. Other than Filip Hronek, the defense has looked to be in serious trouble. Danny DeKeyser has missed all but eight games so far this season. Trevor Daley has missed 20 games, Mike Green has missed eight games and isn’t the same player he once was, while Jonathan Ericsson has been waived and used just eight times this season. Even Dennis Cholowski has failed to live up to expectations this year and has been sent to the AHL as well.

The team needs the defense to get healthy and more importantly, they need some of their young blueliners to take that next step and provide some defense to give the team a chance.

What should be on the Red Wings’ Holiday Wish List?

Goaltending.

The teams goaltending has hit some hard times. The star of the team is Jonathan Bernier, who is boasting a 3.34 GAA and a .890 save percentage in 20 appearances. And yes, that’s the best of the bunch. 35-year-old Jimmy Howard, who is currently out with a strained groin, is struggling even worse with a 3.94 GAA and a .887 save percentage in just eight appearances. The team did add Eric Comrie to the team in a trade with Arizona. However, so far there hasn’t been any indication that he’s the answer in two appearances, although it’s still early.

Unfortunately, the team may not find the answer during the holidays. They may be more likely to fix that problem by making a big splash in the free agent market this summer when some interesting names might be available, including Washington’s Braden Holtby, Jacob Markstrom, Robin Lehner amongst others.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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.