Bolts at the Deadline: Smart Tweaks or Bold Moves?
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That old adage certainly applies to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the NHL trade deadline nears on Friday.
The Lightning were the hottest team in the league heading into Monday’s 2-1 road loss at Florida, and bounced back from that loss with an impressive 6-2 win over a good Columbus team on Tuesday at Amalie Arena.
Tampa Bay is still scorching, having won nine of their previous 10 games. So if Tampa Bay Vice President and General Manager Julien BriseBois elects to stand pat with his team, as is, there is logic to such inactivity.
However, as Bolts Nation comprehends: that isn’t often BriseBois’ M.O. at this time of the season.
The deadline to make a deal is 3 p.m. Friday, and the Lightning have a touch over $6 million in available cap space to operate with, according to Puckpedia.com.
Tampa Bay fans are eager for a big move after Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division rival Florida Panthers acquired veteran defenseman Seth Jones from Chicago. The desire to “keep up with the Joneses” is strong, both literally and figuratively. While there are potential deals that could satisfy this demand, landing an elite, immediate-impact player would come at a steep cost both financially and in terms of personnel.
Having placed five players (centers Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point, and Anthony Cirelli, left winger Brandon Hagel, and defenseman Victor Hedman) in the recent 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, Tampa Bay is a top-heavy team, which is great from a talent perspective, but not so much every other Friday when payroll comes due.
It has the players other teams would covet, and the aforementioned names don’t even include the team’s top two players: goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and right wing Nikita Kucherov, both from Russia who didn’t participate in the tournament.
BriseBois will have to carefully navigate this week. The Lightning don’t want to become even more burdened financially by adding an experienced, high-salary (though impactful) player, simply for a possible short-term gain.
Doing such could hamper the team’s development moving forward if it lost a young piece of its core. Adding an experienced and expensive player would also limit BriseBois’ ability to manage the team’s depth in the future.
Tampa Bay is playing excellent hockey, and is much-improved defensively from last season. Playing the hand they’re holding isn’t the worst idea.
This franchise will exist in 2028, also. BriseBois has to ensure that it is competitive then, as well as two months from now.
Veteran Pittsburgh versatile winger Rickard Rakell (52 points this season) has been talked about as an intriguing option for multiple teams, Tampa Bay, included. He fits the profile (talented player, high salary, struggling team) of a player to be traded.
The Penguins are languishing at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division and have an interest in getting younger and more talented. Sending the 31-year-old Rakell and his remaining $15 million (over three years) to a team in exchange for younger, less expensive AND talented players (and/or draft picks) would help that franchise in the long run.
However, would it make sense for Tampa Bay to give Pittsburgh a combination of young talent (defenseman JJ Moser, Cirelli, Hagel, and/or Point), along with a high draft pick, for Rakell?
No, if you are talking about Hagel or Point.
Possibly, if it is Cirelli or Moser (plus a high draft pick). But it would certainly hurt to break up the core of a team that is playing among the best – today – in the NHL, at both ends of the ice.
A pair of productive, veteran names who have also been spoken of regarding their potential availability are St. Louis center Brayden Schenn and Buffalo right wing Alex Tuch.
However, Schenn is 33 and makes $6.5 million for three more years. He hasn’t been as productive this season as the Lightning players mentioned above, plus that would continue to strain the Lightning moving forward (even with the ever-growing cap) in salaries moving forward.
In the case of Tuch, he is much more intriguing for several reasons:
At 28, he has been very productive this season (23 goals, 47 points), and he only has $4.75 million remaining on his contract.
In addition, Tuch is a team-leading plus-14 on a last-place team that is minus-13 overall.
If the Lightning could land Tuch while only giving up a center such as Mikey Eyssimont or Gage Goncalves, or a winger such as Mitchell Chaffee, or a defenseman such as Emil Lilleberg, in addition to a draft pick, that makes a lot of sense over the next 16 months.
Having said that, doing so only kicks the “how do we pay everyone” can down the road to the summer of 2026, when BriseBois will have to address the issue with (hopefully) a very productive Tuch.
There are several players throughout the league who would be very interesting pick-ups, for the right price. The latter can’t be emphasized enough, because again, Tampa Bay is a top-flight team, as it stands.
Here are some ‘depth” players to ponder:
- Fabian Zetterlund, LW, San Jose
Zetterlund would be a very good player to land. He makes just $1.45 million and his contract expires this season. The 25-year-old has totaled 34 points this season and is a plus-9 on the worst team in the NHL.
- Michael Bunting, LW, Pittsburgh
Bunting would cost $4.5 million through next season but brings experience in 326 NHL games and is productive (29 points). He has declined in each of the past three seasons, but two seasons ago, he was scoring 23 goals a season.
- Matt Grzelcyk, D Pittsburgh
Grzelcyk would bring a lot of experience (500+ games) at a low cost. The 31-year-old is on an expiring deal that pays $2.75 million.
- Anthony Beauvillier, LW, Pittsburgh
The 27-year-old has experience (nine years in the NHL), has produced 20 points this season, and costs very little ($1.25 million on an expiring deal). Beauvillier averages 12:00 in ice time per game for the Pens.
- Jason Zucker, LW, Buffalo
The 33-year-old is out currently (lower body) but is on an expiring deal ($5 million) and brings a wealth of experience and productivity. He has tallied 44 points this season and is plus-4 for a bad Sabres team.
- Ryan McLeod, C, Buffalo
The 25-year-old is on a reasonable deal ($2.1 million) and is a restricted free agent. He has enjoyed his second consecutive improved season with 31 points accumulated.
- Brandon Tanev, LW, Seattle
The 33-year-old brings experience and is a nice forechecker. He is on an expiring deal ($3.5 million).
- Trevor Zegras, C, Anaheim
A “swing for the fences” deal if it wouldn’t cost the Lightning much. The 23-year-old has struggled over the past two seasons, mightily. He was a 65-point player in 2023 but has battled injuries this season and is currently suspended for a hit against the Red Wings. Zegras makes $5.75 million for one more season, and Ducks coach Greg Cronin has spoken very highly of Zegras’ play this season.
- Ryan Donato, LW, Chicago
A REALLY intriguing player. The 28-year-old makes only $2 million on an expiring deal. Donato has enjoyed his most productive season (45 points) yet. The Blackhawks are looking for draft picks and youth and this would be a strong pick-up, which is why a lot of teams are calling about him. Chicago has an over abundance of goalies after landing Florida back-up Spencer Knight this week. Tampa Bay adding one of the Blackhawk stoppers would help, as Jonas Johansson has an expiring deal.
- Ryan Suter, D, St. Louis
Suter is an interesting possibility. The 40-year-old has a TON of experience, makes nothing ($775k), and is on an expiring deal. He averages 20:00-plus in ice time and has played 62 games this season. Suter would not cost the Lightning much but could help in the postseason.
Tampa Bay is in an incredible position right now. The team boasts star power, young depth that has already proven it can succeed at this level, and some cap space to work with.
While standing pat wouldn’t be a bad move, strengthening an already strong group is an enticing option – especially with defending Stanley Cup champion Florida losing its star winger, Matthew Tkachuk, for an extended period. If the right addition increases Tampa Bay’s chances of lifting a fourth Stanley Cup, it’s certainly worth considering.
Either way, Lightning fans have to feel positive about this ever-improving team this spring.
