By Michael Wax
The Lightning have a lot of issues on their current roster that need to be addressed. During the 6-3 loss to the Calgary Flames, while this trade was being processed, the Lightning had many defensive breakdowns, and it's evident that the team needs defensive help or a new defensive structure entirely. that being said, one of the bright spots from the game was the injection of bottom-six scoring from players like Connor Sheary and Mikey Eyssimont, which has been a problem all season. Above all else, this trade seeks to boost the Lightning’s bottom-six scoring.
Duclair Currently has 16 goals and 11 assists for 27 points and 56 games so far this season, tied with Fabian Zetterlund for the Sharks team lead in goals and fifth among the entire team in points. With the Lightning being the 8th team of his NHL career, Duclair has scored over 20 goals three times and is on pace to hit it a fourth time this season. The 28-year-old is regarded as one of the fastest players in the league and an underrated playmaker. Throughout his career, Duclair has never been someone who has shined defensively, but that won't be his role on the Lightning. Calgary Flame Jonathan Huberdeau, who played with Duclair in Florida, was asked about him after the matchup with the Lightning and gave a very eloquent answer on what Duclair can bring the Bolts:
Duclair’s main job is going to be to beef up the middle six with goal-scoring and open up space for the rest of the middle six to score way more than they have been this season, a group that has been carried on the shoulders of Hart Trophy front runner Nikita Kucherov.
Duclair is on the final year of a $3M AAV deal, and the Lightning are absorbing the entire contract. It's unlike Julian BriseBois to go after pure rentals at the deadline, so perhaps an extension for the 28-year-old forward is in the his future.
What the Lightning Gave Up
In order to get Duclair, the Lightning had to give up something. That came in the form of a 2024 third-round pick and defensive prospect Jack Thompson. Let's start with the pick.
With the Lightning trading their 2024 3rd, they now no longer have a pick in the first four rounds of the 2024 draft. Interestingly, all four of these missing picks came from four different trades. The first-rounder was part of the Brandon Hagel deal in 2022, the second was a part of the Tanner Jeannot deal in 2023, the third-rounder was in this deal, and the fourth-rounder was a fourth-round pick swap with the Predators to select prospect Jason Shangabay in the 2023 draft.
Defenseman Jack Thompson is definitely an interesting trade chip. The 21-year-old, drafted in the third round by the Lightning in the 2020 NHL draft, was in his second full AHL season. He put up five goals and 32 points in 46 games and was named to the 2024 AHL All-Star game as an injury replacement. He even made his NHL debut alongside fellow defensive prospect Emil Lilleberg in Boston on January 6, his only NHL game to this point. While Thompson certainly showed a lot of promise offensively and has room to grow at just 21 years of age, he showed a lot of defensive struggles in the Syracuse system and was passed on the organizational depth chart by Lilleberg and Max Crozier. Still, this is a really nice get for the Sharks, and ultimately it won't hurt the Lightning too bad with all of the young defensemen that they have in their system.
Overall Thoughts
The Bolts certainly paid a steep price for a rental, something they're not used to doing. but in what has been a very active trade market, the Lightning felt the need to bolster their team in a way that doesn't necessarily help them defensively but certainly boosts their offensive production. With the trade deadlines still tomorrow at 3:00 p.m., it wouldn't be surprising to see the Lightning make another move to help out their back end.
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