The Tampa Bay Lightning wrapped up free agency on Wednesday after a busy few weeks of trade speculation across the league. Earlier in the day, reports linked Tampa Bay to reigning Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski, but the star defenseman ultimately decided to remain with the Columbus Blue Jackets, ending any possibility of a blockbuster move.

“There’s just way more conversations around trades than before, and it’s not by a factor of two or three,” general manager Julien BriseBois said Wednesday afternoon. “I would say somewhere between a factor of five to 10. And it wasn’t just us, it was everyone in the league. Everyone.”

With a number of star players either available or rumored to be available, it made for a lot of activity. BriseBois wanted to avoid making commitments that would limit the Lightning’s ability to capitalize on bigger opportunities that could present themselves in the future, while still improving the team overall.

“I was and continue to be looking for ways to improve our team in the short term and beyond,” said BriseBois. “Or improve our team in the short term without compromising our future success.”

On Wednesday night, the Lightning signed right-shot defenseman John Carlson to a two-year deal worth an $8.5 million AAV. Carlson, 36, was one of the top unrestricted free agents on the market, with the Carolina Hurricanes acquiring his negotiating rights ahead of free agency. Ultimately, he chose to test the market and land in Tampa Bay.

The signing addresses a need on the right side following the departure of Darren Raddysh, which left the Lightning with Erik Cernak and Max Crozier as their only right-shot defensemen. Carlson had 14 goals and 60 points in 71 games between the Capitals and Ducks last season. He averaged 23:10 minutes of ice time.

“We’ll still be looking (Thursday), we’ll be looking in a week, we’ll be looking even once that cap space is committed,” said BriseBois. “You’re always looking at, is that the best use of our cap space? Are there options out there to maybe swap things out for a better use of that cap space? So I would say everything is on the table right now.”

The Lightning added a dose of speed with the signing of former Chicago Blackhawks winger Ilya Mikheyev, who is expected to factor heavily on the penalty kill. Former Anaheim Ducks forward Jeffrey Viel brings a more physical edge that the Lightning have been seeking. 

Viel didn’t shy away from what he brings to the ice, noting his comfort level in the rougher parts of the game and hinting at the kind of intensity he’s looking forward to in a certain divisional matchup. 

"I like fightning. Not everyone likes it, but I like it a lot. I take pride in it," he said during his first media availability.

BriseBois believes those two contracts will age well as the NHL landscape continues to change and the salary cap increases. 

“Jeffrey Viel, for a number of years, we’ve been trying to get a player who’s a regular player and can bring some of that truculence or physicality," said BriseBois. "You know… keep the flies off our star players. The salary cap just didn’t afford us that luxury for many years. Now that we have a little more cap space, it was something that was important to our team to bring that element in.”

In a somewhat surprising move, the Lightning traded center Nick Paul to the Maple Leafs for 25-year-old goaltender Dennis Hildeby, a 2027 fourth-round pick and a 2028 third-round pick. Hildeby will be the Lightning’s backup goaltender to Andrei Vasilevskiy, and BriseBois will work with Jonas Johansson to find the best fit via trade.

“The idea was to not make commitments that would prevent us from maybe taking advantage of bigger opportunities, that would move the needle even more in terms of improving our odds of winning that might present themselves in the future,” said BriseBois. “And I think we did that with what we did so far.”

An area that wasn’t addressed was an extension for Nikita Kucherov. BriseBois said there has been communication between the team and Kucherov’s agent Dan Milstein, with both sides maintaining a shared interest in getting an extension done.

“We will continue to discuss this, but just because there wasn’t a pressing deadline to accomplish something, versus these free agents, if you don’t sign them today, they’re gone," BriseBois said. “These trade opportunities, if you don’t pursue them, they disappear. That kind of took precedence, I would say, the last few weeks, but I’m sure we’ll circle back, I know we will circle back to (Kucherov’s) representative, and when we have something to announce, we’ll make an announcement.”