Tampa Bay Lightning Could Make Room for Defenseman David Savard

There is some buzz out there that the Tampa Bay Lightning might be looking at David Savard of the Columbus Blue Jackets. While the Blue Jackets aren’t officially sellers yet, as a bubble team, they could be a couple of losses away from moving the defenseman and the Lightning would like to add, with Joe Smith and Aaron Portzline of The Athletic thinking Savard might be the perfect fit.

Related: Ekblad Out for Season With Leg Fracture, Will Panthers Hit Trade Market?

The Athletic: If #CBJ continue to slide, UFA D David Savard will surely be on the move. Winnipeg, Toronto, Tampa Bay and others are logical destinations. Here, @JoeSmithTB ponders the #TBLightning as a fit for Savard w the Jackets playing in Tampa tonighthttps://t.co/mfZuqrqRiF pic.twitter.com/1XfWUnilfU

— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) March 30, 2021

Portzline and Smith write, “I believe Tampa Bay is in the market to bolster their blue line depth, and I would imagine watching the past two games without Erik Cernak and Ryan McDonagh has only reinforced the belief they could use some help.” The issue with this is that the Lightning don’t have any salary cap space to make a trade. Lightning GM Julien BriseBois has been fairly blunt about the financial capacities of the organization to make another move.

NHL insider Pierre LeBrun cited the GM who said, “We did our shopping a year ago,” He explained:

“Your work is never done, but our ability to do anything is severely compromised by the fact we don’t have any cap space. We made decisions in the offseason and we went into the season knowing full well that these were the players we were going to have. And I like these players. They’re a good group of players. I have total faith in them. And I knew I wouldn’t have any cap space for us to do anything to correct course in-season.”

But, as was pointed out, unlikely doesn’t mean impossible.

What’s The Ask for Savard?

Portzline notes that the Blue Jackets would be happy if they could get a first-round pick for Savard and it might be possible now as the Florida Panthers could be in the market for a right-shot defenseman after news of Aaron Ekblad’s season-ending injury. It’s not that Savard is having the kind of season where a first is warranted, but if there are multiple bidders, supply and demand will dictate the price. A first and a prospect seems like a reasonable price.

The Blue Jackets may be willing to retain salary, especially if the Lightning include a better prospect, and that will be crucial to any deal happening. If Tampa can find a way to move about $1 million and entice the Blue Jackets with a bit of a sweetener, there’s a chance to two teams could find the right deal.

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