As per multiple reports, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson is headed to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Lightning traded Johnson and their 2023 second round pick to the Blackhawks in exchange for Brent Seabrook, says ESPN. As Chris Johnston of Sportsnet adds, “Not only did the #TBLightning solve immediate cap issues with this Tyler Johnson trade, they actually created ~$1.8M in additional space since they’ll now operate in LTIR with Brent Seabrook’s deal on the books.”
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The Blackhawks were busy on Tuesday. They acquired Marc-Andre Fleury, Johnson and a second-round pick for next to nothing. They simply decided they were going to try and solve other team’s problems and made out well in the process, even if the moves don’t actually give them much in terms of on-ice production. Stan Bowman thanked Seabrook for making the deal possible. Noting, “I would first like to thank Brent for his cooperation in this process…”, Seabrook is not going to play, but he needed to waive his no-move clause to facilitate the deal.
Bowman also believes Johnson will help. He notes, that the player “adds a large amount of skill and depth to our offense.” The Blackhawks cited his versatility across the lineup, his two-way play and championship experience as reasons the deal made sense for them. Johnson has seen a drop in both his minutes and production over the course of the last three seasons. Still, his 5v5 production and goal scoring are decent.
Meanwhile, GM Julien Brisebois did some amazing work for the Lightning and took care of a last piece of major business that needed addressing. With the move, the team is out of salary cap hell, even though the roster looks a lot different than the one that won the 2021 Stanley Cup.
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