Tampa Bay Lightning sign two, issue qualifying offers – analyzing what it all means

By Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
June 26, 2017

Tampa Bay Lighting general manager Steve Yzerman got a jump on the summer checklist on Monday, ensuring two players were brought back under contract .

The team also issued qualifying offers to nine players while option not to qualify three other players, including one mild surprise.

There is still plenty of work to be done to round out the roster and prepare for the start of training camp in September to open the 2017-18 season. But Monday’s work likely gets the ball rolling.

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Tampa Bay re-signed defenseman Andrej Sustr to a one-year contract work $1.95 million. Sustr was scheduled to be a restricted free agent on July 1 after completing a two-year deal that carried a cap hit of $1.45 million. A former undrafted free agent from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Sustr has appeared in 274 career games, all with Tampa Bay, with eight goals and 56 points to go with a plus-2 rating while averaging just over 17 minutes of ice time.

Analysis: There was certainly a large group of voices among the fan base that were looking for Sustr to not receive a qualifying offer, let alone a new contract. A lot of that stems from that season he had in 2016-17 where it felt like he took a step back in his development, highlighted by a minus-10 rating. At times he certainly struggled with his decision making and appeared out of position. But Tampa Bay has invested a lot of time in to developing the 6-foot-9 defenseman and are obviously not ready to walk away from the investment. By signing a one-year deal, it’s not a make-or-break season for Sustr, who is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and will be playing for his next deal – whether that’s with the Lightning or elsewhere.

The Lightning also signed winger Yanni Gourde to a two-year contract worth $2 million, which carries a salary cap hit of $1 million per season. Gourde, 25, was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Gourde burst on to the scene late in the season, becoming a key contributor down the stretch for Tampa Bay scoring some key goals among the six he finished with, notably an overtime winner against Chicago. He was also the regular season MVP for Syracuse in the American Hockey League while finishing with a league-high 18 assists during the Calder Cup playoffs, finishing second in points with 27 in 22 playoff games.

Analysis: One year after seeing Jonathan Marchessault walk away as an unrestricted free agent to the Florida Panthers where he became a 30-goal scorer, the Lightning were not going to let that happen twice. So inking Gourde to a one-way contract for two years still gives Tampa Bay flexibility among the top nine forwards while giving Gourde the chance to prove he’s not a flash in the pan for his good end-of-the-season run. It’s a safe signing that doesn’t cripple the salary cap and rewards a player for the hard work put forth to get to this point in his career. Gourde has climbed the ranks the hard way, going from undrafted to two stints in the East Coast Hockey League to being let go by the San Jose Sharks organization before being let go and latching on with Tampa Bay as a free agent. Now, even with the security of a one-way deal, Gourde will continue to be a sparkplug for the Lightning, most likely in a top-nine role.

Now, on to the qualifying offers. And just as a refresher as to what the qualifying offers mean. By issuing them to a player, Tampa Bay retains the rights to the player as a restricted free agent. Should another team sign any of the restricted free agents, the Lightning would have the right to match any offer or be eligible to receive draft pick compensation based on the contract.

Players who received qualifying offers: Slater Koekkoek, Jake Dotchin, Kristers Gudlevskis, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Tye McGinn, Michael Bournival, Matthew Peca and Tanner Richard.

Ananlysis: No major surprises here. Bournival showed he’s on the path back to being an NHL player again after dealing with concussion issues while a strong presence in Syracuse during the season and playoffs. Same for McGinn, who saw some time in the NHL the previous season and battled injuries last season. While Gudlevskis and Richard, the later of which was not part of the Crunch postseason run despite making his NHL debut earlier in the season, are most likely heading to Europe, Tampa Bay will retain their rights.

Players who were not issues qualifying offers: Dylan Blujus, Jonathan Racine and Henrik Ikonen.

Analysis: Blujus is the biggest surprise here as the former second-round pick not receiving an offer. He was enjoying a solid third season in the organization before suffering an injury midway through the season and by all accounts would likely have been the callup over Dotchin at the time. A return is never ruled out, but Tampa Bay has more depth at defense after the acquisition of Mikhail Sergachev and drafting of Cal Foote. Ikonen was knocking on the door to the NHL in his fourth season, but with so many forwards turning pro this season, Ikonen – who has already signed in Europe – is the odd-man out. Racine, acquired from Montreal in January, was a playoff performer for Syracuse, but see the comment above on Blujus.

Now the biggest thing to keep an eye on are new deals for Johnson, Palat, Dotchin and Koekkoek. Have to figure that Johnson and Palat – both of whom have arbitration rights – come in on new deals in the $5 million range. Koekkoek and Dotchin are going to be interesting to keep an eye on. Both are products of the 2012 draft, Koekkoek the 10th overall pick and Dotchin was a sixth-round pick. Yet Dotchin has passed Koekkoek on the depth chart after a strong finish to the season. The two were also a pairing in the postseason with the Crunch. As both are coming out of their entry level deal, they require waivers to be sent to the AHL, so you can put both down – barring any trades – for the opening night roster at the start of the season. But at what type of a contract? Most likely some sort of a bridge deal, but the numbers will be interesting. Do they get the same deal hoping that it pushes both to be better, creating some sort of internal competition.

The rest of the contracts for the restricted free agents should be pretty cut and dry.

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