With the Tampa Bay Lightning pretty much concluding their summer business with the signing of Tanner Jeannot, what else is there to pay attention in hockey world? Well, first of all, expect Julien BriseBois to pull off at least one more move to max out the cap space afforded by Brent Seabrook’s cap relief. It’s doubtful he can get to the $33 cushion that he had last year, but it will be close.
Outside of the Lightning organization there are still some story lines to follow. The biggest will likely be the fallout from the 2018 Team Canada scandal. Various media outlets are reporting that teams are preparing for suspensions from any player named in the report. How the NHL handles the report could send some teams scrambling.
Could there be some big trades in the works? Alex DeBrincat was finally traded last week, so that might open up the trade floodgates. Connor Hellebuyck’s name has been floated around all summer, but finding a team that has the cap room to absorb his cap hit could be a problem. Speaking of problematic cap hits, the Toronto Maple Leafs are currently sitting at the top of the list in cap hits with $92,331,450. Even factoring in some LTIR they are still sitting about $3 million over the cap so who is getting moved out and why is it William Nylander?
Is Erik Karlsson going to join Kyle Dubas in Pittsburgh or will Carolina add him to the roster so that they can continue their reign as the Corsi Kings of the NHL?
Turning to the free agent market, Vlad Tarasenko still needs a team and Ottawa needs someone to replace DeBrincat’s offense. Sounds like a match to me. The arbitration-eligible restricted free agents continue to sign deals, but there are still some interesting names out there like Ross Colton and Troy Terry that still need deals. Then there are the non-arbitration RFAs that might sign big deals. Anaheim has Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale that could cash in while no one really knows what the Rangers are going to do with Alexis Lafreniere.
Stay tuned!
Lightning/NHL News
Tampa Bay signs Tanner Jeannot [Raw Charge]
In case you were offline all weekend the Lightning came to terms with Tanner Jeannot. The price was a little higher than we were expecting, but the term works for both sides. If Jeannot is a bust, the Lightning are tied into a long-term deal. If he beats expectations, he can cash in two offseasons from now.
Tanner Jeannot #GoBolts
$2.665M x 2 yearsStructure:
23-24: 1.045M + 2M signing bonus
24-25: 2.285MM-NTC beginning year 2: 16 team no-trade)
Represented by Michael Kaye @MikeKaye_https://t.co/llkuuVyvvr
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) July 15, 2023
Marion Hossa is inviting his hockey friends to play in his ‘Goodbye Game’ [GBG81.com]
On August 18 Hossa is saying goodbye to hockey and he’s bringing some friends, including free agent Jonathan Toews. Zdeno Chara and Nick Lidstrom will be there as well.
The curious case of Patrick Kane’s 2023 free agency [ESPN]
He’s 34 and recovering from hip surgery. Not really that curious, really.
