Breaking Down the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Unrestricted Free Agents
By Henry Yoho
4. Ian Cole
Ian Cole was brought in last summer to be a poor man’s replacement to try and somewhat fill the shoes left behind by Ryan McDonagh. Cole’s season certainly had some ups and downs but he ended up playing some decent minutes in the playoffs. If he is to come back to Tampa, it will have to be for less than the $3 million they gave him last summer.
With seven defensemen already under contract for next season, it is hard to see Cole being brought back for another year. If Tampa Bay is looking to improve their blue-line, they will probably look elsewhere unless Cole is willing to come back for quite a bit less.