Lightning Round: Tampa Bay made two deals before NHL Expansion Draft roster freeze

Yesterday was the last day when NHL teams could make moves or sign players ahead of the upcoming Expansion Draft. In contrast with some other teams, the Tampa Bay Lightning were relatively quiet, but still made two deals before the Expansion Draft roster freeze.

As a first deal, the Lightning signed Swedish defenceman Fredrik Claesson to a one-year, two-way deal. Claesson was acquired before the Trade Deadline last spring in exchange of goaltender Magnus Chrona and played in two regular season games with the Bolts, spending most of the time on the taxi squad. With the potential departure of Luke Schenn, who’s becoming a free agent on July 28, Claesson will likely be a candidate for seventh defenseman spot on the Lightning roster.

The second move was inevitable, but still a painful one. The Lightning traded the negotiating rights for pending unrestricted free agent Barclay Goodrow to the New York Rangers for a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. Goodrow has won two Stanley Cups with the Lightning since being acquired from the San Jose Sharks at the 2020 Trade Deadline and was a part of the Lightning’s grind line alongside Yanni Gourde and Blake Coleman. This line played a significant role in both Lightning championships.

Winning two cups with the Lightning raised Goodrow’s free market price, which the Lightning eventually couldn’t afford to match. Reportedly some NHL teams are ready to offer Goodrow a six-year term.

Jon Cooper with some complimentary words on Barclay Goodrow after winning the Stanley Cup about a week ago.

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Several NHL teams had been active yesterday, trying to finalize their rosters and protection lists ahead of the Expansion Draft. The biggest deal yesterday was a three-team trade, involving the Philadelphia Flyers, the Nashville Predators and the Vegas Golden Knights. As a result the Flyers received 30-year old defenceman Ryan Ellis, the Predators got defenceman Philippe Myers and a forward Cody Glass, while the Golden Knights receive Nolan Patrick.

This deal gives the Flyers a top-pair right-handed defenceman they needed to play alongside with Ivan Provorov and also allows them to protect James van Riemsdyk, who will likely slot into Nolan Patrick’s spot on the protection list.

The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired forward Jared McCann from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a 2023 seventh-round pick and forward Filip Hållander, who was originally drafted by the Penguins in 2018.

The San Jose Sharks and the Arizona Coyotes made a goaltender swap on Saturday. Adin Hill will likely be protected by the Sharks at the Expansion Draft, leaving Martin Jones – their starting goalie in the past season – unprotected.

The Arizona Coyotes also acquired Andrew Ladd from the New York Islanders alongside with some conditional picks in the next three drafts in exchange for future considerations. For the Islanders it was essentially a cap space deal, which will allow them to sign their restricted free agents, including Adam Pelech, Ilya Sorokin and Anthony Beauvillier, and potentially land some bigger name from open market later.

The Dallas Stars traded forward Jason Dickinson to the Vancouver Canucks for the third-round selection at the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

On the same day the Stars re-signed defenceman Miro Heiskanen to a eight-year contract at $8.45 million AAV.

The New York Rangers traded forward Brett Howden, a former Lightning’s first-round selection, to the Vegas Golden Knights for defenceman Nick DeSimone and a fourth-round pick in next year’s draft.

Reportedly the Montreal Canadiens’ goaltender Carey Price has agreed to waive his no-trade clause for purpose of exposure in the Expansion Draft. It would allow the Canadiens to protect Jake Allen, while the team hopes that Price’s salary will scare off the Seattle Kraken from claiming him.

According to some reports, the Los Angeles Kings also exposed their goaltender Jonathan Quick in the Expansion Draft.

Another big name, which was left out of the protection list is Vladimir Tarasenko. As it was earlier reported, a 30-year forward was disappointed with how the St. Louis Blues handled with his shoulder surgeries in 2018 and 2019 and requested a trade last spring.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are leaving forward Max Domi unprotected.

The protection lists will be revealed today after being approved by the NHL.