Cal Foote Facing Uncertain Future After Perbix Extension

The Tampa Bay Lightning re-signing Nick Perbix to a two-year deal on Monday puts Cal Foote in an interesting contractual situation with the team.

Now 24-years-old with over one hundred games experience the past three seasons, and in the final year of his two-year bridge deal, Foote is not an unknown quantity. He has had chances higher in the lineup but has not been able to consistently play a high-minute role.

From that inconsistency, Foote has seen Perbix jump him on the depth chart since his debut. Perbix has played twice as many games as Foote and averaged nearly a minute more of ice-time. And that additional ice-time comes from the success Perbix has seen alongside Hedman and Sergachev, whereas Foote struggled early in the season when he had the opportunity as their pairing partners.

Bogosian stands in the way of ice-time

For now, Cernak and Perbix will continue to see the most ice-time among right-handed defensemen. But that still leaves the third-pairing and possible seventh defenseman spots open this season for Foote, Zach Bogosian, and, to a lesser extent, Phil Myers, and Haydn Fleury to compete for.

Myers does not appear to be a serious contender after being assigned to the Crunch in the AHL, Fleury could challenge for the seventh defender role, but Bogosian, a 32-year-old veteran who has been a reliable option whenever called upon over his two stints in Tampa, remains the main roadblock to Foote having a consistent role on the team.

Statistically, neither are going to move the needle much when it comes to scoring – Bogosian has one point and Foote has three this season. Although Bogosian does look significantly better when considering Corsi-for% (52.55 vs. Foote’s 48.07) and expected goals-for% (54.34 vs. Foote’s 42.80).

However, one area that Foote has exceeded at this season, and over his career, is that he does not give up a lot of goals when he is on the ice. During the 2021 and present season Foote has had the lowest number of goals allowed per 60 when on the ice, and at times by sizeable margins over Lightning defense stalwarts.

Complicating that individual statistic is that Foote has also consistently been near the top for allowing the most high danger scoring chances against per 60 when on the ice. Thus, meaning that there is either a lot of luck in play or he is doing something right, and I would personally argue the latter as Foote has looked effective using his 6-foot-5 frame to box out opponents and clear the puck from around the net.

Anyone who has watched Foote since he has been in the league knows his skating is still a work in process, and possession is not always great, but one half of the equation that matters – goals against – shows that he does not allow much into his own net. And to me that says that he could eventually excel as a shutdown defenseman in a limited role if he gets the ice-time to further develop.

Recent history says this could be the end of the road

Another consideration for Foote and the Lightning will be his offseason status as a RFA with arbitration rights this summer. With Foote’s next contract almost guaranteed to pay less than the walkaway threshold for NHL teams, there could be hesitancy from the Lightning to qualify him and risk salary arbitration as the team is expected to be up against the upper limit of the salary cap again next season.

Carter Verhaeghe went unqualified with arbitration rights in 2020, and Mathieu Joseph was traded before last season’s trade deadline – but was expected to go unqualified if he was not traded.

Likewise, if Foote has not outright secured a nightly spot ahead of Bogosian before the trade deadline, the Lightning would be wise to weigh his value in the trade market if they are looking for reinforcement elsewhere in the lineup. A young, right-handed defenseman with experience could be of value to the right team and help the Lightning preserve some of their otherwise depleted draft capital.

And from Foote’s perspective, Perbix’s ascension within the team could be viewed as sign to seek a change of scenery. While he could stick it out and battle Bogosian and Myers, both already signed, for a depth role next season, it is possible a team lower in the league standings would gladly offer him a larger on-ice role than he would realistically get in Tampa in the near future.

We will have to see how the remainder of the season plays out but expect Foote’s name to be tossed around as a trade asset at the deadline if he continues to see inconsistent playing-time.

Stats used for this article: Natural Stat Trick