Some more thoughts on…the trade deadline

Alright folks. We\'ve had a few days to absorb what happened last week. Most of the players that have been traded have played for their new teams (minus the ones waiting for visas). The people that get paid to write about these things have expressed their thoughts on the winners and losers of the deadline, so it\'s time to expand upon our thoughts here at Raw Charge.

We sum up the Tampa Bay Lightning\'s trade deadline as...perfectly fine. Not great. Not terrible. Just fine. It basically boiled down to Curtis Douglas left and Corey Perry returned. On paper, that is an upgrade. Perry gives them someone who Coach Jon Cooper will actually put into the line-up while Douglas gets to play a little more for a team that is out of the playoff hunt. He suited up for Vancouver against Ottawa last night and played 6:52, threw four hits and didn\'t get into a fight.

Meanwhile Perry has scored twice for the Lightning and gotten into a fight. Oddly enough, Perry\'s goal against the Maple Leafs extended a rather interesting streak for the Lightning. It is now three straight years that a player acquired at the trade deadline has scored in their first game with the Lightning following the trade. Anthony Duclair did it in 2024. Oliver Bjorkstrand in 2025, and now Perry accomplished the feat in 2026. We look forward to Bryan Rust keeping the streak going in 2027.

In his post-deadline media scrum, Julien BriseBois spoke at length about familiarity in regards to acquiring Perry from the Los Angeles Kings. The veteran, in his second tour with the Lightning, knows the system, knows the coaches, and knows the expectations. On the flip side, the team knows what to expect out of him. We\'ve seen some folks struggle in the past when adapting to new teams, but that shouldn\'t be a problem for Perry, and based on his immediate success, he seems to be fitting in just fine.

Mr. BriseBois hinted that the type of player he usually covets at the deadline - young with term left on their contract - wasn\'t as available as they have been in the past. Not to say he settled for Perry, because, like we said earlier, he does make the team better than it was before the deadline, but it definitely sounded like he might have been Plan B.

Another big factor in the Lightning general manager\'s approach to the deadline is that there weren\'t quite as many holes to fill as their have been in the past. Not withstanding the last five games or so, the Tampa Bay Lightning are a very good team. Are they a Stanley Cup contender? Well, based on what Vegas has to say, yes. As of the time of publication, Hard Rock Bet as the Lightning at +400 to win the Stanley Cup. Only the Colorado Avalanche at +275 have better odds.

Now, Mr. BriseBois will likely tell you that the Lightning\'s odds are closer to 6.25%. As in a 1-in-16 chance to win the Stanley Cup. Once the deck is cleared and only the playoff teams remain, it\'s pretty much an even slate. Picking up Corey Perry does help increase those odds. He might not be the player he was in his prime, but he\'s still pretty good when it counts. Last year with Edmonton he put up 10 goals and 4 assists in 22 games with 5 of those goals coming on the power play.

He does all of those little things that teams need in short series, and manages to get under opponent\'s skins as well. Will the Lightning be the ones to break his own personal curse? That remains to be seen, but he does make them a tougher team to play against.

It is also interesting that one of the first things that Mr. BriseBois mentioned in his press conference is that they made the deal without sacrificing any of their prospects or \"premium\" draft picks. Yes, a second-round pick is pretty high for a team that routinely doesn\'t have first-round picks, but a lot can happen between now and 2028. Not only does that pick not help them now, in all probability the player they draft with that pick wouldn\'t help them until 2031 or 2032 at the earliest. Who knows what can happen between then and now?

The fact that he didn\'t see a deal out there worth parting with Sam O\'Reilly or Conor Geekie speaks to either the fact that the prices to acquire young talent must have been exorbitant. One might also wonder, given his proclivities, if other general managers ask for just a bit more from the two-time Stanley Cup winner when it comes to negotiating. JBB has shown a willingness to overpay in the past for what he wants, so why not start out asking for the moon and the stars when it comes to negotiating.

Overall, though, there just weren\'t a lot of players with term moved over the deadline. MacKenzie Weegar was really the only that had more than a year left on his current deal. The no-double retainment rule probably aided in that, but teams are probably also valuing cost certainty in a cap world that is going to see a lot of turmoil over the next couple of years. Having players with a set cap hit over the next two or three seasons will give general managers a better sense of how to attack a salary cap that could grow to as high as $128 million within three years.

There was one player moved that seemed to fit in what Mr. BriseBois normally goes after, and that was Bobby Brink, who was traded by Philadelphia for David Jiricek. The 24-year-old winger is a pending restricted free agent, but has the type of skillset that is somewhat similar to Perry. He could have filled a similar role on the fourth-line, but who knows what the Flyers asking price for him was from the Lightning?

As for the teams around the Lightning in the standings, for the most part they held pat. Montreal didn\'t pull off any deals over the weeks before the deadline while the Bruins added Lukas Reichel. Buffalo, chasing their first playoff appearance in more than a decade, armed with prospects and cap space, were the one team that made the big push. Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn should improve their blueline while Sam Carrick gives them a fourth-line center that can win face-offs. Will they be able to integrate into the line-up in time to help keep Buffalo on the hot streak that they\'re currently enjoying? Well, that\'s why they play the games.

In the end, it\'s way too early to judge the winners and losers in the deadline. Save that for June when there is only one team left standing. For now, we\'ll say that Julien BriseBois did okay in adding Corey Perry.

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