Tampa Bay Lightning add veterans Girardi, Kunitz and Leighton in free agency

By Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
July 1, 2017

TAMPA – Tampa Bay did not make a big splash on the first day of NHL free agency.

But they sure did cause a big stir.

In one of the worst kept secrets around the league, the Lightning landed veteran defenseman Dan Girardi to a two-year contract that carries an annual salary cap hit of $3 million. Girardi, 33, was recently bought out of the final three years of his contract with the New York Rangers.

Another veteran, four-time Stanley Cup champion forward Chris Kunitz, was signed to a one-year contract for $2 million with bonus clauses that could pay him up to another $1 million.

Tampa Bay also signed veteran goaltender Michael Leighton to a one-year, two-way contract while bringing some depth defensemenin Mat Bodie and Jamie McBain, both on one-year, two-way contracts along with forward Alex Gallant, also on a one-year, two-way deal.

There was also one trade pulled off as the Lightning sent goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis, an unsigned restricted free agent, to the New York Islanders for forward Carter Verhaeghe, a former third round pick in 2013 by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

But it’s the deal that brought in Girardi that has caused a bit of an uproar.

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In the age of analytics, Girardi is far from an advanced stats darling. And many of the analytics put the long-time Ranger near the bottom of defensemen around the league.

While that might have been part of the reason the Rangers executed the buy out on the final three years of his deal, Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman said on Saturday there is still plenty of value in bringing Girardi in to the mix.

”We use our own analytics and the things we were looking for improvement in, he fit that criteria,’’ Yzerman said. “We watched him play this year and we’re confident that he can play against the best players in the league.’’

A veteran of 788 career games, in addition to 122 playoff games, Girardi’s role has declined. He was a Norris candidate in recent years, finishing sixth in voting in 2011-12 when he finished with 29 points and a plus-13 while average over 26 minutes of ice time per game. He was somewhat of an ironman, appearing in all 82 games five times in his first seven full seasons in the NHL (not counting the lockout shortened season) and missed just five games from 2007-2015.

In the past two seasons Girardi has missed a combined 27 games while his ice time has dropped below 20 minutes per game.

For Yzerman, by bringing in Girardi, the general manager feels it adds versatility and flexibility to the Tampa Bay blue line.

”I can envision him playing anywhere,’’ Yzerman said. “I can see him being a great partner for (Victor) Hedman if needed. He can play with (Braydon) Coburn and also be a great partner for Slater (Koekkoek) or Mikhail (Sergachev) as well. Is he going to have to play 23-24 minutes? No. Do we want him to do that? No. He might on some nights though. Knowing the person and knowing everyone I talk to about him that’s what he’s going to want to play.

“But again he’s gives us so much flexibility and options and I believe we’re a better defensive hockey team today and we needed to be a better defensive hockey team. And it’s not just our [defensemen], it’s the way we play. We need to tighten up defensively as an entire team.’’

That is part of the reasoning behind bringing in Kunitz, as well. While a longtime linemate with Sidney Crosby for the past nine seasons with Pittsburgh, Kunitz offers a versatile two-way game that stands up to all areas of the ice.

Though he may not be the same top-line scorer who has reached the 20-goal mark seven times, he can move up and down the lines and play on both special teams. He also proved he can score in the clutch, notching the double-overtime winner in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals against Ottawa this season, helping Pittsburgh become the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champion since 1997-98.

But he is also defensively responsible and can be tough to play against.

”He’s played with the top players in Pittsburgh and he’s very effective in a defensive role as well,’’ Yzerman said. “And on the power play he’s very effective in front of the net. He’s a left winger. He can be used on the right side. He can play on the power play. He can play up and down the lineup. So he gives us a lot of flexibility and we believe he’s got a lot of hockey left in him.’’

With a team that was among the youngest in the league last season following the trade deadline, adding over 1,600 games of experience is a boost to the roster.

”High character people, they play hard and they are hard to play against,’’ Yzerman said. “They both defend well. They compete extremely hard. Although Dan hasn’t won the Stanley Cup in his Rangers days they played a lot of playoff hockey. Chris Kunitz has won four Stanley Cups, Olympic Gold medals, they’re pros. Whether they are verbal leaders or not, the way they play the game they are leaders and I think their competitiveness and work ethic will elevate the competitiveness of our entire group.’’

Tampa Bay addressed another area of need by bringing in Leighton, an experienced netminder to serve as the No. 3 goaltender on the organization depth chart as well as an experienced starter at the American Hockey League level who can help serve as a mentor for first-year pro Connor Ingram this season.

Leighton, who played in the Carolina organization last season, has appeared in 110 career NHL games in addition to 16 playoff games, including the 2010 Stanley Cup Final with Philadelphia. He has a career record in the AHL of 171-144-29 with a 2.34 goals against average and .918 save percentage.

”He’s got a lot of NHL experience and should we have reason to recall a goaltender he’s played in the NHL,’’ Yzerman said. “He’s a pro, very professional in his work ethic, attitude. He knows the role he’s coming in. With Connor Ingram going to Syracuse, it’s nice to have him paired with a veteran and a high-quality veteran that can help him in his first year.’’

Yzerman did address Tampa Bay’s interest in Kevin Shattenkirk, who eventually signed with his hometown New York Ranges on a four-year contract with a salary cap hit of $6.7 million.

”I did have some conversations with his agent,’’ he said. “Just our situation with our cap and what not, we weren’t able to kind of meet some of the needs they might be looking for. But we really didn’t get that close to anything.’’

With the first day of free agency in the books, the Lightning will take a small step back to evaluate the roster and determine if there are other moves that make sense moving forward. The includes getting down to the task of trying to negotiate new deals for restricted free agents Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Slater Koekkoek and Jake Dotchin.

”We’ll get to that,’’ Yzerman said. “With the draft last week and everyone’s tied up with unrestricted free agency. So we’ll get back right away after free agency settles down.’’

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