The Tampa Bay Lightning concluded the 2022-23 season on a down note, losing in the first round of the playoffs after appearing in three straight Stanley Cup Finals. But now, players and GM Julien BriseBois can turn their attention to offseason matters.
While none of the team’s elite talents are free agents this offseason, there are still decisions to made that will determine how successful the team will be next season and in the years ahead.
Per CapFriendly, the Lightning already have a roster of 16 players signed for next season (8 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 1 goalie) with $8.475 million in cap space to fill out the remaining spots, with a 22-player roster being ideal.
Mikey Eyssimont re-signing yesterday was the first piece of the offseason puzzle, but with six potential open roster spots up for grabs, here is an overview of the remaining decisions the Lightning will need to make over the summer.
Re-sign or replace pending UFAs
UFAs: Alex Kilorn, Corey Perry, Pierre-Édouard Bellemare, Ian Cole, Brian Elliott
Alex Killorn, the longest tenured member in the organization, headlines the Lightning’s group of free agents this offseason. The veteran forward has played 805 games for the Bolts since being drafted in the third round in 2007 and has been a mainstay in the top-six of the lineup.
As Killorn has aged, he has only gotten better at scoring. His 27 goals and 64 points this season marked career highs for both. Now 33 years old and showing no signs of slowing down, Killorn is set to cash in this summer, if he chooses, and get a raise over the $4.45M AAV of his previous contract.
"I know my agent and Julien are going to, for sure, be in talks. Hopefully something can be figured out. But yeah, I can't really talk about that right now. I just don't know the situation exactly. We haven't talked enough about it." (2/2)
— Chris Krenn (@Chris_Krenn) May 2, 2023
However, while both parties would love to continue their relationship, the Lightning likely will not be able to fit Killorn’s next contract under the salary cap if he signs at his market value. A contract with term that ensures he retires as a Bolt, to help lower the AAV, would be our best-case scenario for retaining our beloved influencer. But like Ondrej Palat’s free agency last summer, this scenario is anything but a given.
Elsewhere, the team will have decisions to make on UFAs that have helped fill out the lineup behind the team’s core.
Corey Perry, soon to be 38, has been a bargain providing consistent depth scoring in the regular season and playoffs. He has stated his willingness to return, and with his next contract unlikely to cost much more than his current $1 million AAV, expect the team to explore bringing him back.
Corey Perry on his drive to win another Stanley Cup: "At the end of the day, that's still inside me. I still want to win another one and I believe it's here. I believe it's in that room and hopefully I can be a part of it."
— Chris Krenn (@Chris_Krenn) May 2, 2023
Pierre-Édouard Bellemare has served as the Lightning’s fourth line center and been a penalty kill stalwart the past two seasons, but it is unclear what plans the Lightning might have for him. Bellemare, 38, remains committed to continuing his career, but I do wonder how willing the Lightning are to continue with two 38-year-olds and 35-year-old (Maroon) on their fourth line.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare says he wants to continue playing next year.
— Chris Krenn (@Chris_Krenn) May 2, 2023
"In my mind, I love the game way too much. I can't quit now. I haven't had the Cup yet."
To lessen the shock of losing Ryan McDonagh on defense, the Lightning brought in Ian Cole, and he had what at times felt like a roller coaster of a season with high highs and low lows. Having signed a one year, $3 million contract, it always felt like this was only going to be a one-year arrangement while the team had spare cap space to spend for the one season.
With the Lightning having avoided putting Haydn Fleury on waivers all season, Cole is likely on the way out. But do not rule out the team looking for an additional budget left defenseman in free agency to make the third left defense position a competitive roster opening in the preseason.
In net, Brian Elliott has backed up Vasilevskiy the past two seasons, but now the 38-year-old could be thinking retirement. Goaltending prospect Hugo Alnefelt had a good second season with AHL Syracuse but expect the Lightning to once again target a low-cost reliable veteran to give them a proven backup option.
Determine RFAs Colton and Jeannot’s futures with the team
RFAs: Ross Colton, Tanner Jeannot
Ross Colton and Tanner Jeannot are the team’s two notable restricted free agents this offseason, with qualifying offers of $1.125 million and $892,500, respectively, and both possessing arbitration rights.
Colton has been a key piece on the Lightning’s third line the past two seasons, scoring 38 goals and 71 points. His presence, when on the ice, gives his line a legitimate scoring threat from anywhere in the offensive zone with his shot.
However, his arbitration rights could give the team pause on qualifying him. In the past, the Lightning forwent qualifying Carter Verhaeghe and traded Mathieu Joseph rather than qualifying them and potentially going to arbitration and stuck with a contract AAV they cannot afford or walk away from.
Colton, at the time of being up for renewal, has by far been the more involved player on the team, but limited cap space could still force the team’s hand, and possibly even a trade by some rumblings.
For Jeannot, the team would surely have hoped for him to have become an additional scoring threat on the opposite wing on Colton this season, but a slow start and subsequent fourth line assignment, along with a late season injury, put a damper on those ambitions.
The Lightning paid a king’s ransom to Nashville for Jeannot, but in return they only got 1 goal and 4 points in 20 regular season games, and a bloodied Luke Schenn in the playoffs. Re-signing Jeannot would give both parties a second chance, but salary cap considerations could be a factor as Jeannot is at least due a pay raise from his previous $800K AAV.
Sign Hagel to a long-term extension
The Lightning do not let their young stars reach restricted free agency.
Under BriseBois, the team has signed Brayden Point, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Mikhail Sergachev, Anthony Cirelli and Erik Cernak to long-term extensions the summers before they became RFAs. Now, Brandon Hagel, after a 30 goal, 64-point season looks to have firmly solidified his standing as key piece of the team’s core moving forward.
Coming off a bargain 3-year, $1.5 million AAV deal that he signed with Chicago, the 24-year-old forward is due a significant raise that should make him the fourth highest paid forward on the team behind Kucherov, Point, and Stamkos.
Getting Hagel’s extension out of the way would give BriseBois a clearer picture of the team’s salary cap picture moving forward and allow more confident offers to be made to the team’s other free agents knowing what they can afford to pay them once Hagel’s next deal kicks in before the 2024-25 season.