Trade-deadline primer for the Tampa Bay Lightning

Up front, Waltteri Merela comes to mind as someone who fits that profile.  He was up with the Lightning for a good chunk of time at the start of the season – getting into 19 games – but eventually was sent to the minors where he has fared relatively well since then with 20 points in 34 games.  Signed last spring after some strong years in Finland, the 25-year-old fits as a potential low-cost player who could hold his own on the fourth line for a couple of years.  A restricted free agent this summer, Merela should land somewhere close to the league minimum with a one-way offer.  This type of profile isn’t the most exciting for trade purposes but teams may value that over one of their later-round selections.

Defensively, Emil Martinsen Lilleberg is in a similar situation.  He has played 21 games with the Lightning this season after signing with them in the spring, days after Arizona opted not to sign the 23-year-old.  Martinsen Lilleberg has played a sheltered role thus far but has put up positive possession numbers while logging a little under 16 minutes a night.  He has another year left on his entry-level deal and would likely be viewed as near NHL-ready depth, something sellers are often interested in.  Maxwell Crozier is in his first professional campaign and has suited up 11 times with the Lightning.  He’s also 23 and has another year left on his deal and falls into a similar category as Martinsen Lilleberg.

Their best trade chip, if they’re willing to move him, might be goaltender Hugo Alnefelt.  The 22-year-old has shown steady improvement in his first three years in North America and as things stand, he profiles as the eventual partner for Andrei Vasilevskiy who is signed through the 2027-28 season and likely isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.  Accordingly, the smarter play might be to move Alnefelt and with the year he’s having with AHL Syracuse (2.31 GAA, .910 SV% in 22 games), his value should be up.  If a selling team has a near-term opening coming in the crease, someone like Alnefelt would be appealing.

Of their unsigned prospects, Isaac Howard is the headliner.  The 19-year-old forward was a first-round pick in 2022 (31st overall) and after struggling in his freshman year at Minnesota-Duluth, he has been a point-a-game player at Michigan State.  With their next two first-round picks being spoken for, Howard is the one piece they have in their prospect pool that carries similar value.  If BriseBois is inquiring about anyone of significance, it won’t take long for the other team to ask about Howard.

Other potential trade chips: F Alex Barre-Boulet, F Gage Goncalves, D Philippe Myers, F Eamon Powell

Team needs

1) Defensive upgrades – Injuries on the back end have been an issue for the Lightning this season, resulting in some of their youngsters getting early NHL opportunities.  But while most of those players have eventually come back, that isn’t the case for Mikhail Sergachev who is believed to be out for the rest of the regular season and a good chunk of the playoffs after undergoing surgery last month to stabilize fractures to his left tibia and fibula.  Their entire cap space is based on his presence on LTIR.  They need a top-four player at a minimum and potentially two to take some pressure off some of the players they have toward the bottom of their depth chart.

2) Backup goalie upgrade – Tampa Bay needs to have a low-cost backup goaltender with how their salary cap spending is structured, resulting in long-time third-string netminder Jonas Johansson getting the nod.  While he held his own early on when Vasilevskiy was injured, he has hardly played since then, playing just seven times since December.  When he has got the nod in that stretch, he hasn’t fared well, posting a save percentage of just .862.  While it’s quite possible that Johansson is the backup again next season, Tampa Bay could use some of their rest-of-year cap flexibility to get a more proven second-stringer on an expiring contract to give Vasilevskiy an extra night off here and there.  That might be beneficial from a rest perspective as they’ll need him at his best for the postseason if they can get in.