With a flurry of activity happening around them on Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Lightning made their first move of the trade deadline. Julien BriseBois was able to acquire a fourth-round pick to help make the salary numbers work in a larger trade between Anaheim and Edmonton. Anaheim sent forward Adam Henrique to Tampa for unsigned prospect Ty Taylor while retaining 50% of Henrique’s $5.825 million salary.
Henrique’s tenure in Tampa didn’t last too long as Tampa Bay then traded the 34-year-old pending unrestricted free agent to the Oilers for a 2026 fourth-round pick that becomes a 2025 fourth-round pick if Edmonton doesn’t win the 2024 Stanley Cup (they won’t). The whole purpose of the deal was so that the Lightning could retain $1,456,250 of Henrique’s salary. In a separate deal, the Oilers picked up Sam Carrick and Taylor for some draft picks, including a 2024 first-rounder.
We wrote about the Lightning utilizing their cap space in order to acquire to pick up extra draft picks or lower-end prospects. This is a perfect example of Mr. BriseBois helping build up his assets without it really costing the team anything other than cap space. Ty Taylor was a seventh-round pick by the Lightning back in 2018 who was never going to suit up for the Bolts. After his time at the University of New Hampshire, he did appear in one game with the Orlando Solar Bears in 2021-22, but spent last season with the Glasgow Clan in the EIHL. He returned to North America this season and was playing with the Evansville Thunderbolts of the SPHL prior to the trade.
The Bolts did sacrifice one of their three retention spots, but still have one more left, as well as plenty of cap space if they want to get involved in another deal. As for the draft pick they acquired, it will likely be a 2025 pick, currently giving them two in the fourth-round for that draft. They can hold onto it, or use it as part of a package make a deal of their own this trade deadline or at the draft.
It appears the trade deadline fun is getting underway a little early as the Florida Panthers picked up Vladimir Tarasenko from the Senators and the Colorado Avalanche swung deals to acquire Sean Walker from Philadelphia and Casey Mittlestadt from the Sabres. The Bolts had been linked to Walker by a few sources and Tarasenko would have been an interesting fit for them as a middle-six winger and a member of the second power-play unit. New York also got into the game by picking up Alex Wennberg from Seattle.
With no-trade clauses, salary retention, and conditions on draft picks becoming more and more routine, these types of deals are happening earlier in the trade deadline process. No general manager wants to lose out on a deal at 2:59 PM on deadline day because the salary didn’t work, or because a player didn’t want to waive their NTC.
It’s good to see the Lightning get in on these types of deals. They still have room to make a bigger splash (cough, Noah Hanifin, cough) if they feel like they are a player or two away from a serious playoff run. If Mr. BriseBois is happy with the way the team is, or feels like their problems can’t be solved at the deadline, then he is at least making the most of it by utilizing the cap space they were gifted when Mikhail Sergachev broke his leg.
If today is any indication, the next 36 hours or so could be very interesting.
