The Lightning could look for a right-handed defenseman before the trade deadline
Joe Smith of The Athletic: (mailbag) The Tampa Bay Lightning terminated Jake Dotchin‘s contract for “material breach.” It’s been reported that it was because of his lack of conditioning, and it’s not known yet if Dotchin will file an appeal. Several teams have shown interest in Dotchin.
The Lightning will have three UFA defensemen after this season – Anton Stralman, Dan Girardi, and Braydon Coburn – with Stralman the most likely of the three to re-sign. He’d likely get a short-term deal at under $4.5 million.
Though they had trade talks with the Ottawa Senators about Erik Karlsson dating back to the trade deadline, it doesn’t appear that they were ever close. The Senators didn’t really want to trade Karlsson to an Eastern Conference team. They were likely asking for Mikhail Sergachev.
The Lighting don’t have a lot of salary cap space so it would be hard for them to make any significant roster changes. thinks they will look at right-handed defensemen before the trade deadline. Their level of interest may depend on the play of veterans Girardi and Coburn, as well as prospects Erik Cernak and Cal Foote.
The Stars would have the pieces to trade for Nylander if he was made available
Sean Shapiro of The Athletic: (mailbag) It would make some sense for the Dallas Stars or another team try to offer sheet Toronto Maple Leafs restricted free agent forward William Nylander.
If the Maple Leafs were to make Nylander available in a trade, the Stars do have the assets to make the deal. They could package a pick, prospect, and a roster player.
Despite reading it in a report on twitter, never heard during his investigation that prospect Ty Dellandrea was a deal breaker in any potential Erik Karlsson trade package. From intel, defensive prospect Miro Heiskanen was the only prospect the Stars made unavailable.
Don’t see the Dallas Stars being able to re-sign Columbus Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin if they were able to trade for him. For this reason, the Stars are likely not going to try and trade for him.