Welcome to the 2026-27 NHL season. The new season officially starts today with one of the most fun days of the year – signing bonus day! That’s right, all of those players that are playing for $1 million salaries because their contracts are loaded with bonuses are going to cash nice fat checks today. Good for them. Oh, yeah, there is also a new crop of players that will be signing big money deals today. Good for them as well!
Because your friendly neighborhood managing editor actually remembered to request the day off (unlike the draft) we will have full coverage of the signings around the league later today. We will have a live post starting at 10:00 that will be constantly updated throughout the day as well as dedicated posts regarding any and all moves that the Tampa Bay Lightning make along the way.
The Lightning enter the day with a few holes to fill in the line-up. General Manager Julien BriseBois has tempered expectations ever since the end of the playoffs, but he’s also been known to adapt his strategy as things change. Our consensus is that the Lightning are looking to add a middle-six winger that can put the puck in the net, some defensive depth (hopefully on the right side), and maybe a depth center that can win a face-off or three. They also need to add some goaltending depth in Syracuse since Harrison Meneghin is currently the only goaltender in the organization signed to a contract outside of Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jonas Johansson.
While the Lightning have been quiet since the Darren Raddysh trade, other teams have been making moves. Here is what has happened in the last 24 hours or so:
Anaheim signs A.J. Greer to four-year contract [Orange County Register]
After trading for his rights a couple of days ago, the Anaheim Ducks signed rugged forward A.J. Greer to a four-year deal worth $4.25 million a season. That seems to be the going rate for bottom-six forwards these days. The young Ducks squad replaces some of the physicality that they lost with Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba heading to free agency.
Golden Knights sign Jeremy Lauzon to six-year contract [Knights on Ice]
Another pending free agent is off the board as Jeremy Lauzon, acquired from Nashville last summer, agrees to a new contract that will carry a $4 million AAV for the next six seasons. The 29-year-old isn’t a big scorer, but he does provide them with some consistency on the blueline. Vegas is navigating a tight salary cap, even if they are able to LTIR Alex Pietrangelo.
TRAAAAAAADDDEEE – Vegas/Pittsburgh [Pensburgh]
Vegas cleared some space by trading defenseman Kaeden Korczak and his $3.25 million cap hit to Pittsburgh for Parker Wotherspoon. The Penguins are retaining $500,000 of Wortherspoon’s cap hit in order to pick up a 25-year-old, right-shot defenseman under a reasonable contract for the next four seasons.
Wild re-sign Bobby Brink to one-year contract [Minnesota Star-Tribune]
One of the more interesting names on the list of players not offered qualifying contracts was Bobby Brink. The 24-year-old forward would have been a nice fit in the Lightning organization, but it looks like that dream comes to an end (for now). The Minnesota native re-signed with the Wild on a one-year, $2.75 million deal. It seems like the organization wanted to keep him around, but not at the possibility of a $4 million a season deal which Brink could have been awarded if they had gone to arbitration.
St. Louis Blues buy out Jonathan Drouin’s contract [St. Louis Blues]
Old friend Jonathan Drouin is an unrestricted free agent after the Blues placed him on waivers with the intention of buying out the final season of his current contract. The former third-overall pick was part of the deal that sent Brayden Schenn to the New York Islanders at the trade deadline in the spring. Now 31-years-old, the left-shot forward will be heading to his sixth different team in 12 seasons. He’s put up a respectable 398 points (111 goals, 287 assists) in 671 games with the Lightning, Canadiens, Avalanche, Islanders, and Blues.
Zach Werenski rejects trade to Dallas Stars [Sportsnet]
The biggest name on the trade block was traded on Monday. It appears that Dallas and Columbus had a deal in place to send the Norris Trophy winner to the Big Star State for a package of players that included Thomas Harley. Due to salary cap implications, the trade couldn’t be consummated until today. Oh, and Werenski needed to waive his no-movement clause. Guess what. He didn’t. Guess the Lightning are still in the running.
Panthers acquire Jacob Markstrom [Litter Box Cats]
After picking up Akira Schmid earlier in the week, the Florida Panthers landed another goaltender in Jacob Markstrom in a five-player deal with New Jersey. Markstrom and Angus Crookshank head south while Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist, and Ben Steeves head to New Jersey.
