NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It is a dance the Lightning are used to by now, but this summer the salary cap is particularly suffocating for the perennial Stanley Cup contenders.
They won’t be a big player in free agency Saturday, nor will they likely be able to partake in some of the big trades going down around the league this summer.
“I knew this was going to be the season where our cap crunch was to be the crunchiest,’’ Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois quipped Thursday as the second round of the NHL draft wound down.
Not that he’s whining. Not at all. That’s life for all the elite teams. No cap room and tough decisions.
It’s about keeping as much of the team together as possible — and already that goal has taken a hit with the losses this week of Ross Colton and Corey Perry.
Now it’s about one last shot at trying to keep pending unrestricted free agent Alex Killorn in the fold before the market opens Saturday.
“I’m still holding hope that we’ll be able to bring him back,” BriseBois said. “He’s an important member of our team. He’s been a huge contributor to us. He’s a homegrown talent. More importantly, I think he can still help us for the future and help us compete for more championships. That’s all the more reason we’d really like to keep him. Our financial constraints are what they are. We’re going to find out soon enough if we’re able to come to an agreement.
“I do know Alex wants to stay as badly as we want to keep him. Now it’s just a matter of whether we’re able to come up with a concept that works for both parties.’’
If he leaves, that’s an impactful hit to the Lightning’s leadership group, too. Tampa Bay could be staring at losing Killorn, Perry and Colton a year after parting ways with Ondrej Palat and Ryan McDonagh.
“That’s the reality when the cap goes up $4 million over six years and you have a lot of good players and they all deserve to get paid,” BriseBois said. “You’re not going to be able to keep everyone.’’
Core pieces such as Mikhail Sergagev, Erik Cernak and Anthony Cirelli all have new eight-year extensions kicking in next season — raises that were deserved, BriseBois said, and allow the team to have a core that should continue to be competitive.
And that’s for sure. The Bolts will be contenders again, especially after finally having a full offseason for their players to rest after three consecutive trips to the Cup Final.
But first, it’s another tough summer with the cap, filling out the roster below that core as best they can. If they lose Killorn, they’ll use whatever was earmarked for him and see what’s out there on the UFA market. But he’s a tough guy to replace for what he means to the fabric of that team.
Rumblings elsewhere:
• The first thing that’s important to know on the William Nylander front is that Saturday isn’t any kind of real deadline for the Maple Leafs. The fact he has a modified no-trade clause (10-team list) kicking in isn’t seen by GM Brad Treliving as a moment when he must be signed or traded. There’s some leeway there.
But there’s still some urgency to find a resolution as soon as possible so the Leafs can continue to address other roster decisions. The problem, in my understanding of the situation as of Thursday, is that Nylander’s ask so far in contract talks is certainly above what the Leafs can live with in an extension. There appears to be a sizeable gap. But my sense is the Leafs will just keep hammering away at it hoping to find a path to an extension.
The other reality is that though it sounds good on paper to simply trade Nylander if they can’t sign him, look at what’s transpiring around the NHL right now, as far as teams’ not being able to move money. As talented a player as Nylander is, what the Leafs have found out this week is that his trade market isn’t nearly as robust as we might have predicted. There’s just no cap room out there, and any team trading for Nylander would want him extended.
If the Leafs do trade Nylander, they also have to have a plan for how they replace his offense. This is still a fluid situation, but it’s one that’s put the Leafs in a tough spot. They want to sign him — but at a deal that makes sense for them. Let’s see what the next week brings on that front.
• Several teams, including Florida and Boston, have shown interest in Noah Hanifin, but the Flames have not been presented with anything close to what they believe is fair value. My understanding of the situation, as of Thursday, is that first-time GM Craig Conroy has let teams know he’s not going to sell low on Hanifin — he will be patient and wants to see a proper trade play out. If that acceptable trade doesn’t pan out this summer, then so be it. The Flames are prepared to have Hanifin come back to training camp still part of the team.
The opening of free agency Saturday could help move things along as far as other teams who have interest in Hanifin. Perhaps they take a swing at UFA Dmitry Orlov, strike out and then circle back with more serious trade offers. That’s a distinct possibility. But whatever the case, Conroy is prepared to be patient.
• The Erik Karlsson trade talks seem to have quieted down. My sense is that after teams found out the landscape from the Sharks, some decided to retreat for now to ponder what they are prepared to do. And it’s a situation, frankly, that could play out all summer. There’s no deadline.
There are two key factors at play here: How much money is San Jose willing to retain on Karlsson’s $11.5 million AAV over the next four seasons, and what is the return for the Sharks? Because again, Sharks GM Mike Grier is adamant he’s not giving away Karlsson for nothing, despite the recent trades of players like Taylor Hall, Ryan Johansen and Kevin Hayes when that was indeed the case.
As one team executive told me Thursday — from a team that’s not involved in the Karlsson discussions — the Sharks’ return or level of return will be greatly influenced by how much they’re willing to eat.
If Karlsson is traded as a $9.5 million player, there’s probably very little return. If he’s at $8 million, there should be some return there for the Norris Trophy winner. If you can get Karlsson all the way down to a $7 million player, then San Jose can really look at a return.
But that’s a lot of money for Sharks ownership to swallow.
Not an easy situation, which is again why there’s no guarantee Karlsson will be traded in the end.
(Photo of Erik Karlsson and William Nylander: Kavin Mistry / NHLI via Getty Images)
LeBrun rumblings: Buzz from the NHL Draft on Killorn, Nylander, Hanifin, Karlsson and more - The Athletic
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