(Photo's via Tampa Bay Lightning)
By Jake Ricker
The regular season has come to a close but, the offseason has only just started. In this article, we will look at some of the major events coming up, when they take place, and what's at stake for the Lightning. We will have more in-depth coverage of these events when they happen but be sure to follow us on Twitter to stay updated all offseason long.
NHL Draft
First up in the offseason will be the NHL draft which will take place on July 7th in Montreal. The Lighting will have the following picks in this year's draft.
1st round - pick 31
2nd round - none
3rd round - none
4th round - pick 103
5th round - pick 160
6th round - pick 169, 192
7th round - pick 223, 224
For the first time since 2019, the Lighting will have a pick in the first round, so Bolts fans will have that to look forward to. Although it would not be surprising to see them trade out of the first round to get into rounds two and three. The Lightning are often unpredictable when it comes to the draft, so it's hard to predict exactly what they might do.
What we do know is they still have a decent amount of picks to work with, and we will have more coverage when the draft gets closer. The Lightning will have some new young talent entering the organization, and they just might need their help with some big decisions coming up as not all players might not be returning from last season.
Re-signing period
The Lighting will have a few free agents coming up this offseason, and as Julien BriseBois stated in his exit interview, they intend to bring back as many as they can. Here are the following UFA's and RFA's for the Lightning.
UFA
Main Roster Minors
F Ondrej Palat F Remi Elie
F Nick Paul F Charles Hudon
F Riley Nash F Anthony Richard
D Jan Rutta D Fredrik Claesson
D Daren Raddysh
G Maxime Lagace
RFA
Main Roster Minors
None F Tye Felhaber
F Otto Somppi
F Odeen Tufto
D Alex Green
G Alexei Melnichuck
The Lightning will again have about 5 million of cap space to work with this offseason unless other moves are made. It's hard to say exactly how the Lightning will be able to bring all these players back, but with hometown discounts, it is a possibility. The more likely scenario is the Lightning will have to let go of a player or trade a current one to make it all work.
Free Agency
Unfotently we don't know exactly how much cap space the Lightning will have to work with in free agency. A lot of that depends on what happens with the players mentioned above. However, free agency will start on July 13th, and there are plenty of big names on the market this year.
It's unlikely the Lightning will make much of a splash this year, considering their cap situation, unless they decide to let go of some of their unrestricted free agents and replace them in free agency. But as guys like Nick paul stated in his exit interview, they would like to come back and make another run at the Stanley Cup.
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