Tampa Bay Lightning: Which Players Could Be Moved By The Trade Deadline?
By Kyle Barber
Oct 29, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman
(77) skates against the Colorado Avalanche during the first period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Lets first start with the players that absolutely will not be moved during the trade deadline. These players, refereed to ‘untouchables’, are the players that General Manager Steve Yzerman will not move. They are usually cornerstones of the team or young players with team friendly deals.
For the forward unit, it is pretty easy to identify the untouchables on the roster. The triplets, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, and Nikita Kucherov, are three of the main names that will not be moved. They are some of the cornerstones of this team and are also on club friendly deals (for now). Other forwards who will not be moved are Brian Boyle, Ryan Callahan, and Vladislav Namestnikov.
Jonathan Drouin is one of those young players who Yzerman will not look to move. In just his second NHL season, many fans already think its time to call Drouin a bust. As I explain in this article here, Jonathan Drouin is not going anywhere.
Valtteri Filppula is not really untouchable, but he is one of those players you could see being moved in the offseason instead of the trade deadline. Doubt you see Filppula moved before the trade deadline.
On the blue line, two names that jump out at you immediately are Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman. Not many teams are looking to move top-pair defenseman, and the Lightning will not do so either. Andrej Sustr and Jason Garrison are two of the other defenseman that will not be moved. Sustr due to his club friendly deal and Garrison is another key member of the Lightning blue line.
Between the pipes, Andrei Vasilevskiy is the first name you think about when it comes to being an untouchable. Vasilevskiy, and not Ben Bishop, is the netminder of the future for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Right now, Ben Bishop is the bridge as Vasy continues to improve and gain valuable experience.
As for Ben Bishop, I would not necessarily call him an untouchable. Now, it is very likely he is not traded midseason, but at the same time, I could easily see him being moved during the offseason.