TVA Sports Renaud Lavoie said during a hit on the JiC show on Thursday that fans, media and NHL teams should expect the Tampa Bay Lightning to make two pretty sizeable moves here in the next couple of weeks. Who or what the team trades is unclear, but Lavoie notes that the Lightning realized they’ll have to part with “two good players and more.”
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That the Tampa Bay Lightning needed to do some internal housekeeping with their NHL salary cap is not new news. The most recent Stanley Cup Champions are close to the cap ceiling with only 18 players committed to next season’s roster. They’ve tried to move Tyler Johnson with no luck and there was talk the Lightning may have considered talking with Steven Stamkos about waiving his no-move clause to help the team alleviate some financial pressure.
Nothing big has happened yet from a Lightning trade perspective, but it will. Something has to.
What Kind of Deal are the Lightning Looking At?
Lavoie reports the Lightning may be the NHL team in the worst financial cap trouble and said sources have told him the organization believes they can sort things out by the start of training camps, but will have to part with two key players plus add sweeteners to the deal to get to where they need to be. “We will be forced to add draft picks or even young prospects.”
Lavoie says that means dealing with teams who have space financially and the most obvious players would be the New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings or Nashville Predators.
The Devils are eager to do something, and Lavoie notes, “What I’m told in the Devils is that we want to acquire a player aged 27 and under whose contract is still valid for a few seasons.” The problem there is that not many players from the Tampa side are willing to waive their trade protection clauses to go to New Jersey.
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