The Tampa Bay Lightning aren't going to be able to step up to the plate in NHL free agency and hit an apparent home run. According to spotrac.com, general manager Julien BriseBois has a touch over $12 million to spend this summer, but a presumably massive extension for Nikita Kucherov will have to be factored into the long-term calculus. If Tampa decides to retain Darren Raddysh, kiss most of that money goodbye for 2026-27 as well.
So Lightning fans aren't going to love any solutions that we can comfortably pitch here at Bolts By the Bay. Unless you are a massive Patrik Laine fan, in which case, welcome to the site! We already pitched the idea of inking one of two possible UFA defenseman away from the Anaheim Ducks, and the idea behind going after Laine as a free agent carries the same energy.
Lightning will have to make a few risky moves, like signing Patrik Laine as a reclamation project
The right environment can do wonders for a player. Laine wasn't a good fit in Montreal, and he didn't meet the Columbus Blue Jackets' expectations during his time in Ohio. The Jackets needed him to be a go-to triggerman and the best player on his line at any given time. He wasn't that in 2024 and he isn't now.
At this stage of his career, it's safe to say that Laine can't carry that kind of burden on a Stanley Cup-contending team. Or even a team that wants to simply win a playoff round or two, like the Lightning. What the 28-year-old could possibly provide Tampa is a solid chunk of goals at a ridiculously discounted rate.
Laine probably isn't going to be someone who signs on the first day of free agency. As the first wave of this incredibly thin class gets snatched up, more and more teams will go back to the drawing boards to examine their other options. What if BriseBois made the former second-overall draft pick a priority instead of a plan B? That could mean a lot to a player who hasn't really seemed at home since the early 2020s in Winnipeg.
Laine is not and will never be Mitch Marner, but take a look at where the Vegas Golden Knights are with the former Toronto Maple Leaf and consider what a positive change of scenery could do for Patrik.
Best-case scenario for Laine with the Lightning is worth a dice roll
The numbers have to make sense, and if Laine is trying to get paid like the player he was in 2018, when he scored 44 goals for the Jets, it'll be a no-brainer for the Lightning to walk away. This could be a perfect help-me-help-you situation for both player and team, though.
It isn't tough to imagine him on a line with Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point, taking Corey Perry's place on the second unit. The 41-year-old found the back of the net six times in 22 games after rejoining Tampa, and then went pointless against the Montreal Canadiens in round one of the playoffs.
At worst, Laine could replicate that production. At best, the right wing could find the back of the net 20 or 25 times, while adding 40 or 50 assists and boosting the second power play unit. Inking a player like him coming off of an injury that limited him to five games a year ago would be risky, but the Lightning have a clear need at right wing, and Laine needs to resurrect his career while he still has a chance.
BriseBois could do worse this summer than offering Laine a two-year, $4 mlilion contract that would allow both team and player to, hopefully, get what they want. If Laine lights it up alongside a reinvigorated Point, then he has another chance to cash in as a free agent in two years. If he doesn't, the salary cap will only continue to rise, and it'll be easy for the Lightning to work around a $2 million cap hit.
Add us as a preferred source on Google