It’s looking like a quiet trade deadline for the Lightning
Joe Smith of The Athletic: Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois doesn’t think they will have a busy trade deadline given their salary cap position.
“This year, we have no cap space. We have no one we can send to the minors without requiring waivers, and none of our players would clear waivers. We legitimately have no cap space. If we’re looking to add a player, it means subtracting a player, and all of our players are good players on good contracts and provide really good value. So it’s unlikely we’re going to find a player we can acquire that brings more value for cap hit than whatever player we would be moving out.”
The Lightning added depth players in Corey Perry, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Zach Bogosian this past offseason.
Injuries could change their position, and they’ve never been shy to trade first-round pick or prospects to improve their odds.
“Nothing is off the table in terms of improving our odds of winning a Stanley Cup,” BriseBois said. “If there is an opportunity for me to make a decision I feel will increase our odds of winning a Cup, I’ll make that decision.”
Top 25 NHL trade bait board
The Fourth Period: Top 25 players who could be traded by the March 21st NHL trade deadline.
1. Jakob Chychrun – LD – Arizona Coyotes
2. Ben Chiarot – LD – Montreal Canadiens
3. Jake DeBrusk – LW – Boston Bruins
4. Dylan Strome – C/LW – Chicago Blackhawks
5. Phil Kessel – RW – Arizona Coyotes
6. Calvin de Haan – D – Chicago Blackhawks
7. John Klingberg – RD – Dallas Stars
8. Mark Giordano – LD – Seattle Kraken
9. Joonas Korpisalo – G – Columbus Blue Jackets
10. Reilly Smith – RW – Vegas Golden Knights
11. Lawson Crouse – LW – Arizona Coyotes
12. Travis Boyd – C – Arizona Coyotes
13. Max Domi – C/LW – Columbus Blue Jackets
14. Calle Jarnkrok – RW/LW – Seattle Kraken
15. Alexandar Georgiev – G – New York Rangers
16. Brett Kulak – LD – Montreal Canadiens
17. Rickard Rakell – RW/LW – Anaheim Ducks
18. P.K. Subban – RD – New Jersey Devils
19. Travis Dermott – LD – Toronto Maple Leafs
20. Vladimir Tarasenko – RW – St. Louis Blues
21. Marc-Andre Fleury – G – Chicago Blackhawks
22. Anton Khudobin – G – Dallas Stars
23. Rasmus Ristolainen – LD – Philadelphia Flyers
24. Mikko Koskinen – G – Edmonton Oilers
25. Claude Giroux – C/RW – Philadelphia Flyers