Expect Lightning GM Julien BriseBois to Make Complimentary Adds
Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period joined Sirius XM NHL Network Radio on Wednesday with Steve Kouleas and Nate Thompson. There, he was asked about what the Tampa Bay Lightning are up to at the deadline, and Pagnotta stated it will be more of a strategic add to help them win.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Nate Thompson: “I want to talk about contending teams, and particularly Tampa, because the rumor was they were in on our team in Artemi Panarin, too. And, I guess, what do we or can we not expect the unexpected from Tampa with the trade deadline looming, and possibly them doing whatever it takes.”
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Dave Pagnotta: “Yeah, you can’t count them out. You always have to keep eyes on them. I think this was a different scenario when these players obviously don’t become available very often. So you try to throw your hat in the ring and try to get involved in it. But I chatted with Julien BriseBois well over the weekend, on Sunday, ahead of the Stadium Series. Came here on the channel, and he said, like he’s willing to make adds. But any significant add that they make, has to benefit the club now and beyond.
So he’s looking at players that are controllable, or players that have term beyond this season. BriseBois is willing to make moves. There’s been some chatter that he’s willing to even consider moving some of his top prospects in order to make something happen. But it has to fit their game plan, and it has to fit financially as well. They don’t have a ton of cap space. So they’re going to have to be a little bit creative here if they do make a solid add.
Now, one player I think they’ve circled anyway, they’ve had some interest before, is a former Bolt, Blake Coleman, out in Calgary. There was a lot of smoke surrounding him last week, obviously dealing with a bit of an injury. But that’s a calibre player I could see them shifting back towards.
Somebody with a pretty solid cap hit number, somebody that’s not going to cost the overall farm, but is still going to take some value in order to pry him away from wherever he is. In this case, Calgary and the Flames are willing to listen.
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So that’s the kind of player, your mid-six type of asset that I think helps put them over the edge. I was at their game last night (Tuesday), guys here in Tampa against Buffalo. They’re so banged up, it was really Brandon Hagel, Jake Guentzel, and Nikita Kucherov kind of leading this team the entire way. And they pulled it off, with a comeback win in overtime.
They add to it, and they’re healthy, they’re going to be that much more dangerous, and (Andrei Vasilevskiy) Vasy is playing lights out. Darren Raddysh is absolutely fantastic. Victor Hedman is back in the mix, so they can add to it. This team’s going to be that much more potent, and that’s what I think BriseBois was looking to do. But it’s a strategic ad. It’s not just going for the shiny piece that’s out there.”
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