I agree I definitely think they are going to try and move Tyler Johnson. He has his cup now, maybe he can go play somewhere that he can be the 1 or 2 C playing 18-20 minutes a night... I think its enough incentive for him to waive and reestablish himself as a player. As for who would take him, would he waive, I have no idea.

Killorn has a M-NTC he will most likely be traded even though I would rather keep him.

Paquette can be moved pretty easily and replaced.

Brayden Coburn can be bought out or traded.

I have played around with capfriendly enough that if the Lightning move these four guys they can still field a pretty good team next season and re-sign their RFAs.

Maybe some of the veterans would like Maroon, Bogosian, Shatty would take discounts to stay with the team again.

Going to be an interesting next 10-14 days.
- stammerman

Maybe Corey Perry will sign for league minimum.

The answer is Johnson (no big loss) and Killorn (who will be missed), coupled with none of the UFAs coming back.
It feels like this is perfect time to let some more kids have a shot at full time spots
- tiamatzer0

How do you get Johnson to waive his NTC?

How do you get Johnson to waive his NTC?
- mnhockeyguy

Pull a Rutherford and trade him without telling him. Hornquist said afterwords that it was a no brainer to move since the Panthers wanted him and the Penguins didnt.

I honestly think the NTC is not an anchor but more leverage for a player to have a say in the trade, I don't know about Tyler Johnson but I would not want to force my stay if I am no longer wanted for whatever reason like a cap casualty. I would give a small list and say make it happen if I were him.

Plus I think Johnson would be a great fit for Minnesota as he instantly slots into the top 6 as the 1/2C playing larger minutes and Minnesota could get him without giving up much and if it doesn't work work a deal to send him to his home state team at the expansion draft.

How do you get Johnson to waive his NTC?
- mnhockeyguy

Don't. Put him on waivers.

We will definitely be losing a lot of guys, but this is what well run franchises do. they spend to the cap, they win, they lose players due to the cap, they replace them with cheap talent that they've drafted and developed, and the cycle continues. Are the lightning in cap trouble? Hell yes they are. But this is part of the process of championship caliber organizations, and we will see how BriseBrois does with this.

Some cheap talent that will help us out very much in the near / immediate future:

Alex Barret-Boulet
Volkov
Foote
Raddysh
Katchouk
Joseph (I believe he will re-find his game and eventually play a similar role Gourde has)
And who knows about Lipanov

Then you trust the current core group of super stars to lead the way while these guys hopefully learn. Stamkos, Point, Kucherov, Hedman, Vasilevskiy.. Come on.. could not ask for a better group to learn from.

We went through this process 6-7 years ago with johnson palat kucherov killorn vasilevskiy and many many more...now look. We hope for the best and trust BriseBrois!!! LETS GO BOLTS!!!!!

hey guys, I've been seeing some Can we trade Stamkos talk over in the Eklund comments. I posted this there, but was curious to see what we actually thought over here, so I will post my thoughts on it here.

While I understand why some people would talk about trading Stamkos, to me, it is really not possible.

He spent 12 seasons trying his ass off to bring Tampa a cup. And although yes, he was hurt, he finally does, and now they trade him. That would send a horrible message to the young players. And I am certain our #1 franchise defenseman would not be very pleased either.

He's our captain and an extremely strong and proven leader in a locker room that will soon be littered with developed AHL players needing it. For those of you who say there is plenty of other leadership, don't forget who all the vets said they looked to for leadership throughout these playoffs. And leaders like maroon, shattenkirk, bogo will not be back.

Moving the captain, the cornerstone of your franchise. A proven scorer who worked his ass off for 12 years to bring Tampa a cup. Tearing up the league year after year, bringing the cup home to Tampa. Showed loyalty and dedication to Tampa Bay by resigning here as a UFA. Yes, Steven was rewarded with his contract, but if a franchise does not show loyalty to the face of the franchise, why would any upcoming talented young talent think they would ever show any loyalty to them? It would be a huge mistake, IMO. Sends a poor, poor message.

And lastly, can we really depend on Point, Kucherov, and Hedman producing THAT MUCH every single year in the playoffs? No one had more assists in a single playoff than Kucherov other than Gretzky and Lemeiux. Victor Hedman scoring the third most goals by a defenseman in NHL history? I doubt that is an every year thing. And WHEN those numbers return to normal, I sure as hell would love to see Stamkos there supporting these guys.

I'm sure he could be moved, it would be an ugly ugly situation. And I think it would really hurt the franchise more than anything, no matter the return.

hey guys, I've been seeing some Can we trade Stamkos talk over in the Eklund comments. I posted this there, but was curious to see what we actually thought over here, so I will post my thoughts on it here.

While I understand why some people would talk about trading Stamkos, to me, it is really not possible.

He spent 12 seasons trying his ass off to bring Tampa a cup. And although yes, he was hurt, he finally does, and now they trade him. That would send a horrible message to the young players. And I am certain our #1 franchise defenseman would not be very pleased either.

He's our captain and an extremely strong and proven leader in a locker room that will soon be littered with developed AHL players needing it. For those of you who say there is plenty of other leadership, don't forget who all the vets said they looked to for leadership throughout these playoffs. And leaders like maroon, shattenkirk, bogo will not be back.

Moving the captain, the cornerstone of your franchise. A proven scorer who worked his ass off for 12 years to bring Tampa a cup. Tearing up the league year after year, bringing the cup home to Tampa. Showed loyalty and dedication to Tampa Bay by resigning here as a UFA. Yes, Steven was rewarded with his contract, but if a franchise does not show loyalty to the face of the franchise, why would any upcoming talented young talent think they would ever show any loyalty to them? It would be a huge mistake, IMO. Sends a poor, poor message.

And lastly, can we really depend on Point, Kucherov, and Hedman producing THAT MUCH every single year in the playoffs? No one had more assists in a single playoff than Kucherov other than Gretzky and Lemeiux. Victor Hedman scoring the third most goals by a defenseman in NHL history? I doubt that is an every year thing. And WHEN those numbers return to normal, I sure as hell would love to see Stamkos there supporting these guys.

I'm sure he could be moved, it would be an ugly ugly situation. And I think it would really hurt the franchise more than anything, no matter the return.
- Bolts77

I can't speak for others, but for myself - when I talk about trading Stamkos, it's only in a hypothetical way. I agree that the optics of a trade at this time would be terrible.

At worst, if Stamkos ends up being hurt off and on for the remainder of his contract, then he gets shipped off to Robidas/Ohlund Island for cap relief. I expect Stamkos will be with the Lightning until he retires or is bought out in the future in the same way Lecavalier was. The latter probably won't happen because Stammer's contract is buyout-proof for all intents and purposes.

I can't speak for others, but for myself - when I talk about trading Stamkos, it's only in a hypothetical way. I agree that the optics of a trade at this time would be terrible.

At worst, if Stamkos ends up being hurt off and on for the remainder of his contract, then he gets shipped off to Robidas/Ohlund Island for cap relief. I expect Stamkos will be with the Lightning until he retires or is bought out in the future in the same way Lecavalier was. The latter probably won't happen because Stammer's contract is buyout-proof for all intents and purposes.
- GalacticStone

yes. and at best (we hope) he remains an 85-100 point player for 8.5 million per year :D

I truly believe that now that this core group knows they can win it all (kuch,stammer,point,hedman,sergachev,vasilevskiy, and now mcdonagh since he's signed that contract) they will win multiple times. Obviously I am biased, and may have just jinxed it all, but that's how I feel. Maybe it's the high I am riding from winning it all this week

yes. and at best (we hope) he remains an 85-100 point player for 8.5 million per year :D

I truly believe that now that this core group knows they can win it all (kuch,stammer,point,hedman,sergachev,vasilevskiy, and now mcdonagh since he's signed that contract) they will win multiple times. Obviously I am biased, and may have just jinxed it all, but that's how I feel. Maybe it's the high I am riding from winning it all this week


- Bolts77

He has the worst injury luck. He would have an Olympic gold to go with that Cup if not for injuries.

I think this core can make at least another 2-3 runs before the aging curve really catches up to Stamkos and Hedman. I hope Hedman ages well, like Lidstrom did.

I see Stamkos and Hedman as the main core. Point, Kucherov, Sergachev, and Vasilevskiy are the future core after Father Time catches up to Stammer and Hedman.

The rest are complimentary pieces - and some fine ones at that, but some will go and some will stay as time goes on.

When people talk about offer-sheeting Sergachev, I chuckle because most just assume he would sign one. I doubt he would - and walk away from Kuch and Vasi. Not gonna happen. Somebody would have to offer him a Karlsson-like contract and even then I am not so sure, because he is gonna get paid here regardless of what happens.

He has the worst injury luck. He would have an Olympic gold to go with that Cup if not for injuries.

I think this core can make at least another 2-3 runs before the aging curve really catches up to Stamkos and Hedman. I hope Hedman ages well, like Lidstrom did.

I see Stamkos and Hedman as the main core. Point, Kucherov, Sergachev, and Vasilevskiy are the future core after Father Time catches up to Stammer and Hedman.

The rest are complimentary pieces - and some fine ones at that, but some will go and some will stay as time goes on.

When people talk about offer-sheeting Sergachev, I chuckle because most just assume he would sign one. I doubt he would - and walk away from Kuch and Vasi. Not gonna happen. Somebody would have to offer him a Karlsson-like contract and even then I am not so sure, because he is gonna get paid here regardless of what happens.
- GalacticStone

I agree with that. His best friends are here, and his time to win cups is right now. He can make $$$ the rest of his career, especially if he signs a team friendly bridge deal now and keeps progressing the way he has. He may never see a cup final again, even if he stays here, but his best chance to win multiple cups, and with his best friends, is now. I really believe the Lightning core players believe that Tampa is the best place to play hockey. Beautiful weather beaches and sell out crowds every night. The team is also a juggernaut every year and the most successful franchise of the last decade. I believe this because none of them leave. They all stay, and it's great to see. And Stamkos started that. Stammer set the tone for this franchise and everyone else is following. It's a beautiful thing to see

wow, it's so great to look back on the years and be able to be so positive about it now after winning the cup. And there were some rough years between 2011-2014 that were pretty terrible. Enjoying it now while I can.