The trade deadline looms and is now just a few days away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have become the class of the NHL in the last decade. With two Stanley Cup championships and a third trip to the finals in the previous three years, the Lightning are poised to make another deep run. But first, they will likely have to battle the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.
The Maple Leafs have made some big adds in the past few weeks, which prompted Tampa Bay to make a splash this past Sunday with the expensive addition of Tanner Jeannot. While Tampa Bay may have spent big on the rugged forward, GM Julien BriseBois boasted that he had no issues dealing future draft capital for a team firmly entrenched in win-now mode.
After the Maple Leafs made another addition yesterday, could BriseBois feel the need to make another move?
Record
37-18-4, 3rd in the Atlantic
Deadline Status
Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
Deadline cap space $769,967, 0/3 retention slots used, 49/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly
Upcoming Draft Picks
2023: TB 6th, TB 7th
2024: CHI 4th, TB 5th, TB 6th, TB 7th
Trade Chips
Tampa Bay has very little in the way of draft capital in the next three entry drafts. They have already dealt their next three first-round picks and don’t have a second-round pick until 2025. Should they stand pat, the Lightning wouldn’t pick until the sixth round this season.
Tampa Bay also don’t have much flexibility for another trade deadline addition, as they have less than $1MM in cap space available for the deadline. This would mean any potential deal would need a third party to facilitate the move or be a dollar-for-dollar trade.
On the prospects side, Tampa has emptied the cupboard during their three runs to the finals, but it is not without good young players. Despite dealing picks seemingly every year, BriseBois and company have found value in the later draft rounds. Nick Perbix is a former sixth-round pick in 2017 who has established himself on Tampa’s backend, and Ross Colton was a fourth-round pick who scored a Stanley Cup-winning goal just three years ago.
Team Needs
BriseBois has stated publicly that he would like his team to be harder to play against; this was an area he addressed with the Jeannot addition. It could be a development to keep an eye on as Tampa is staring down two tough series in Toronto and potentially the Boston Bruins. BriseBois may want to add further toughness to his lineup like an Austin Watson-type player. Watson is a pending UFA in Ottawa and could be the type of addition BriseBois would look at.
The Lightning would also do well to add to their defense core. The back end is the only glaring weakness on the club, and is something BriseBois would do well to address. His ideal target would likely be a right-shot defenseman, as Zach Bogosian currently occupies the top right-side spot next to Victor Hedman. Bogosian is a battle-tested warrior but probably isn’t equipped for those hard minutes at this stage of his career. The cost to acquire this type of player is likely out of Tampa’s price range, but never count out the creativity of Julien BriseBois.