BY Mike Rifkin
The Tampa Bay Lightning were the toast of the NHL when they made three straight Stanley Cup Final (won in 2019-20, 2020-21) and lost in 2022. Since then the Lightning have lost in the first round, including this year losing to the Montreal Canadiens in seven games. So now it’s time for the old question : What comes next?
Let’s start with superstar Nikita Kucherov. Kucherov, had another MVP esque season with 44 goals and 130 points. In the seven game series against the Habs, Kucherov had six points, but just one goal. In fact Kucherov has just three goals in his last 25 playoff games. Kucherov is signed through 2028 at 9.5 million dollars. I don’t think the Lightning will move one of the game’s best players, but Kucherov only has a ten team no trade clause. Then there’s Victor Hedman, who didn’t play in the series due to what was revealed to be a mental health issues ( wishing the best for Victor) . Hedman is still one of the best d-men in the NHL and posted one goal and 17 points in 33 games this season. Hedman, 35 is signed through 2030 at eight million dollars. Brayden Point (9.5), Jake Guentzel (9), Brandon Hagel (6.5), and Anthony Cirelli (6.25) are all forwards who have a full no trade clause, meaning they’d have to sign off on any deal. Although of the four, Cirelli would be the one to explore in my opinion. Andrei Vasilevskiy returned to form this season and was healthy. Vasilevskiy went 39-15-4 with a 2.31 GAA and a .912 save percentage and two shutouts. In the series against the Habs he had a 2.18 GAA and .897 save percentage.
When guys are in and out of the lineup it means others have to step up, and Tampa got a lot of guys to step up. Two guys who had awesome seasons on the Blue line were Darren Raddysh and JJ Moser. The two combined for 29 goals (22 Raddysh 7 Moser) and 99 points. Moser, acquired in the Mikhail Sergachev trade signed a new contract that kicks in next season. Raddysh, had his breakout season at 30 and will be a UFA. Personally I would let Raddysh test the market, the Lightning will have 13.5 million dollars in cap space, signing another 30 plus old defenseman might not be the best use of resources.
One bad thing for the Lightning is that they don’t have a first round pick in each of the next two drafts. But with the free agency market looking thin, maybe the Lightning find a few trades to help themselves, one player I think they should target is Seattle’s Shane Wright. Acquiring Wright could slide Cirelli to the number three Center and Yanni Gourde to the fourth line. But as long as Jon Cooper is in charge the Lightning have a chance.
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