The Tampa Bay Lightning were one of the most active teams on Day 2 of the 2024 NHL Draft Saturday, trading Mikhail Sergachev to the Utah Hockey Club and Tanner Jeannot to the Los Angeles Kings. The moves cleared more than $11 million in cap space, indicating that the Lightning were preparing to do big business in free agency – but it may be a different bit of business than most were expecting. At first, it was widely presumed that Tampa Bay was clearing cap space to extend Steven Stamkos, the longtime Lightning captain and face of the franchise who is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz speaks to the media following the team's trade of Ryan McDonagh to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 34-year-old has spent his entire 16-year NHL career in Tampa Bay and is the franchise's all-time leader in games played (1,082), goals (555), points (1,137), even-strength goals (336), even-strength points (707), power-play goals (214), power-play points (422), overtime goals (13), game-winning goals (85) and shots (3,332). He captained the Lightning to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021, and he has 101 points (50 goals, 51 assists) in 128 playoff games. However, Tampa Bay general manager Julien Brisebois said Saturday that he did not expect to reach an agreement with Stamkos before free agency opens and followed up Sunday by trading a 2025 third-round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes to acquire the rights to highly touted free-agent winger Jake Guentzel. With Guentzel projected to sign a seven-year contract with the Lightning at an AAV of just over $9 million, it appears that Stamkos' days in Tampa Bay are numbered. He is expected to test free agency for the first time in his career, and Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman [https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/lightnings-brisebois-makes-big-trades-ahead-of-free-agency-with-an-eye-on-guentzel/] says the Nashville Predators are his most likely landing spot: > "As the Stamkos news spread over the past few days, several salivated at the > thought of talking to him. We’ll see how he handles this. Stamkos did not > enjoy the 2016 dog-and-pony show, ending it prematurely. It’s absolutely weird > to process him anywhere but Tampa. Never thought I’d see the day. My money’s > on Nashville (no wagering on anything I say, please), but a lot of suitors are > putting on their cufflinks in this dating game." - As Friedman notes, this is the second time Stamkos has gotten close to free agency without a contract. In 2016, he signed an eight-year, $68 million contract ($8.5 million AAV) two days before the start of free agency. The Lightning already made a move to shore up their defense, re-acquiring defenseman Ryan McDonagh in a trade with Nashville on May 21. At the time, the Lightning said that McDongah's salary (two years remaining at $6.75 million per season) would not impact their ability to sign Stamkos, but now the Guentzel trade changes everything. Stamkos is coming off an 81-point season and could have a major impact on a Predators team that has $26.3 million in cap space and desperately needs more star power in the top-six. Nashville only had three players finish the 2023-24 season with more than 60 points, and the team averaged just two goals per game in the postseason. Stamkos will turn 35 this season, inviting some (warranted) hesitation from Predators fans after general manager Barry Trotz has said numerous times that he wants to build a team that is younger and faster. That still appears to be the long-term plan, though, and the addition of Stamkos would fulfill a significant organizational need in the present while still allowing young players and forward prospects the time they need to develop for the future – which, in theory, lengthens Nashville's window of contention. The Predators haven't made a deep playoff run since their trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, and the addition of an elite scorer and power play driver like Stamkos would be a major boon for a team looking to keep their window open long enough to maximize star power from the likes of Juuse Saros (age 29), Filip Forsberg (age 30) and Roman Josi (age 34) before it's too late. So, will the Predators be big winners in the Stamkos sweepstakes? We will find out when free agency opens at 11 a.m. CT on July 1.
