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Mailbag version 1-2 touches on roster questions, the GM and who wears the A’s

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by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
January 23, 2017


TAMPA, Fla. – Thank you to those who sent in questions for the first mailbag last week, which leads us to the second edition of the mailbag.

This is something which requires audience participation from you, the audience. So to get in your questions, you can reach me via Twitter and use the search tag #LightningInsider, email me at Erik@LightningInsider.com or send in your question via Facebook at Facebook.com/LightningInsider with your questions. Anything is game (within reason) and I’ll do my best to answer it as I can.

So here is this week’s mailbag filled with lots of trade and roster questions, but touches on some other topics as well. Keep the questions coming and let’s keep interacting.

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Petey kicks this off this week with an interesting question. But Jeff Vinik does not speak too often to the media in regards to the dealings of the hockey team. And Vinik has not been around since Fan Fest at the beginning of the season.

But Yzerman signed his current deal in April, 2014, and at the time he had one year remaining on his deal. So that means his contract would not expire until the end of the 2019 season. But I would imagine that as long as the current track of (mostly) success that extending Yzerman’s deal is something that will get taken care of when the time comes.

I’ll admit, had to look this one up as I had not heard of this rumor. And to be honest, I don’t put a ton of stock in rumors, unless they are from a source I’m familiar with or trust. But I’ll bite on this one, even though I haven’t heard it as it could make some sense in the sense (see what I did there) that the Blues are sort of scuffling along as well this season. And aside from the goaltending (see below for that one), St. Louis is need of some help at the center position.

But Filppula has one more year remaining on his contract and has a modified no-trade clause which dictates he submit a list of 16 teams at the end of the season that he would be willing to accept a trade to. Of course, he can always waive it accept a deal to a team not on his list. St. Louis is also going to have a coaching change at the end of the season when Ken Hitchock retires and Mike Yeo takes over, so that’s something Filppula would also have to factor in if he were asked to waive his no-trade to go to St. Louis.

Sort of a broad question, but I know what you are getting at here as the blue line is in need of a bit of an overhaul. Unfortunately, a rebuild on defense is not an easy task and using the free agent market always leads to overspending to fill a need (see: Carle, Matt). So let’s say, for example, if Tampa Bay was interested in either Karl Alzner or Dmitry Kulikov (both are scheduled to be UFAs this summer), there will be a bidding war and it will be costly. And, let’s face it, the Lightning don’t have the cap space to get in to a bidding war.

So the most likely route is to go the trade route. There are some ways to look. The pipe dream here is Jacob Trouba, a right-handed, two-way defenseman that asked for a trade out of Winnipeg. He wouldn’t come cheap, either in assets to acquire him nor his next contract, which will be costly. Trouba has one more year left on his contract before he has arbitration rights and will get a hefty raise. But he seems a perfect fit.

Anaheim has an excess on young defensemen such as Shea Theodore, Cam Fowler, Brandon Montour and Sami Vatanen. The Ducks will need to move one of them soon and Tampa Bay could be a good partner. Arizona’s Mark Stone, a right-handed shot, has had his name come up with the direction he Coyotes’ season is going.

Trying to read the tea leaves, I would say Palat is the most likely to stay if we are choosing between the two. Palat is a Selke-caliber winger, a rarity in today’s game, and frequently wears the “A’’ as one of the alternate captains, so that shows the level of trust and respect Palat has in the dressing room and from the coaching staff.

Don’t interpret that as I don’t think highly of Johnson because I think he is an exceptional player. He plays the game the right way and has the ability to rise to the occasion as he has done in the playoffs. But the Lightning have other young centers in the system and Brayden Point could be a replacement if Johnson were to move on.

Decided to throw this one in there, based off of what I wrote after the loss to Arizona.

A trade makes the most sense, there seems to be a sense of complacency on a roster that has seen very little turnover the past three seasons. And the best way to shake some of that is to make changes to the roster, inject some new life in to the locker room. As far as Bishop, hard to see them getting him signed to an extension with Tampa Bay’s salary cap situation moving forward. Not impossible, mind you, but hard to see how it would work unless more than a couple of players were moved out to make room.

Via email from Paul Turk: I’m still puzzled that 77 wears the “A” on a rotating basis, but 18 always wears it. I’ve got nothing against 18, but I find it borderline insulting to Victor Hedman that he not wear it more often. I know there are lots of factors in making this decision, but with 91 and 24 out, I feel 77 should always wear it and rotate amongst the others. I’d like to see 51 and 55 wear the “A” more than 18.

There certainly can be an argument made that Hedman, signed to an eight-year extension in the summer, should be part of the leadership group to serve as the alternate captain. He is part of the leadership group and he’s worn the A in the past.

But I think the reason the coaching staff has been hesitant to give him that responsibility right now is because he’s already putting so much pressure on himself they don’t want to add that to his plate. Hedman is a seriously competitive guy who really hates to lose – really hates to lose – and might take it harder if he were constantly wearing a letter on his jersey.

Certainly this makes sense on a couple of levels and would be very feasible. Both are in the final years of their contract and scheduled to be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. And as pointed out, the Lightning are struggling on defense and Shattenkirk is a Top 4 blue liner who would add a new dynamic to the power play. The Blues are having unforeseen issues in net as Jake Allen is struggline in net.

On paper is seems a perfect match and would be an easy swap. But that doesn’t always mean it works out.

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