Daily Charge
Tracking the Lightning off-season – signings with analysis of each move
By Erik Erlendsson | 
@Erik_Erlendsson | 
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July 7, 2017
The offseason is in full swing.
Lightning summer prospect camp has been completed and the players are all back home for off-season training to prepare for the start of training camp in September.
But while the Lightning settle in to the offseason, there remains plenty of activity to keep track of with player signings and movement around the organization. We’ll track off of it here from trades, trade speculation, free agent signings and restricted free agent status, including arbitration situations while offering some insight on the impact each move has on the organization.
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July 18 – Michael Bournival signs one-year, two-way contract. Analysis: After suffering concussion issues that cost Bournival a year off, he re-established himself last season as a player who can contribute at the NHL level. He earned some call up time with the Lightning last season and provided a spark when the team went through some of their more difficult stretches. Bournival finished with 19 games in Tampa Bay last season, picking up two goals and three points and made an impact with Syracuse, picking up nine goals and 19 points in 38 games while adding eight goals and 15 points in 22 postseason games helping he Crunch reach the Calder Cup Final. At this point in his career Bournival might be a tweener, someone who floats between the NHL and AHL while having a difficult time landing a regular spot in an NHL lineup when there is a full healthy roster. But he can provide strong depth, which Tampa Bay has built this summer with the re-signing of both Cory Conacher and Gabriel Dumont, who both received two-year contracts as pending UFAs earlier this summer. Bournival was a restricted free agent and had little leverage in negotiations, but has another chance to prove his worth as he tries to rekindle his game from where it was prior to the concussion issues.
July 14 – Ondrej Palat signs a five-year, $26.5 million contract. Analysis: Another win for both sides here as Palat gets locked in to a long-term deal while the $5.3 million annual average value (salary cap hit) again falls in line with the expected value (see July 5 entry below) and falls in range with what the Lightning needed for their cap situation. Palat is a rare type of player, a two-way winger that is capable of scoring 20 goals, 55 points and will garner some Selke Trophy consideration as one of the top defensive forwards, a recognition that is almost exclusively reserved for centers in today’s game. Palat plays a text-book, 200-foot game, rarely makes mistakes with his reads and decisions all while contributing offensively. Like his longtime linemate, Palat has the type of two-way game teams covet and want in the lineup on a nightly basis as the coaching staff can throw him and his line out against any matchup and feel comfortable the job will get done at both ends of the ice. The $5.3 million cap hit is nowhere near out of line for a player of his caliber. To have him locked up for five years is a significant factor in the Lightning making more deep playoff runs.
July 10 – Tyler Johnson signs a seven-year, $35 million contract. Analysis: Good news to see Johnson in the fold and the situation never comes close to an arbitration case as the two sides agreed on a new deal long before a hear date was even announced. As predicted (see below) the salary cap hit comes in at $5 million per year, which was on the low end of what I figured it would be. But the reason it’s at $5 million per year is that the term of the deal is longer that I would have expected. But there is a give-and-take from both sides on this situation and this is where things end up. Tampa Bay gets a cap hit that fits right in line with the expectations to keep the cap in line while Johnson gets longer security in the contract that will take him in to his early 30s. With a modified no-trade deal at the back end of the deal, it also gives the Lightning flexibility to be able to explore roster flexibility at that time. In the end the seven years is longer than you might like for an undersized center who plays the game as hard as he does. Johnson takes a lot of punishment and injuries have slowed him the past couple of years, which is a bit of a concern. But after speaking to Johnson the day he signed the new deal, Johnson has altered some aspects of his training and nutritional needs, which shows a dedication and focus to do everything in his power to push past the injuries. But the one thing I’ve always respected about Johnson is he is a winner and his style of game is the type teams want on their roster. So although the term may be a little longer than anticipated, everything else about the deal falls in line and should be considered a win for both sides.
July 5 – Restricted free agents Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat file for salary arbitration: Analysis.
But if either case does go through to a hearing, it means the team can elect either a one- or a two-year deal and I’d venture to guess if it does come to an award that you are looking at something in the $5.2 to $5.5 million range from an arbitrator. That would signify to me that if/when a deal is struck before arbitration it will come in the $5-5.5 million range depending on the term. I don’t know that both fall in to the category of Alex Killorn, who filed for arbitration last year and wound up signing a seven-year contract that brought the salary cap hit below $5 million, which he probably would have earned in an arbitration hearing. I can’t see either getting that type of a term on a new contract, which should make for an interesting negotiation, particularly after both Johnson and Palat signed identical three-year contracts with the same cap hit ($3.3 million) the last time through the negotiation process.
July 5 – Defenseman Jake Dotchin signed to a two-year, one-way contract with an annual salary cap hit of $812,500. Analysis: Interesting that Dotchin got longer term and more money than Koekkoek in this situation. But it certainly indicates that the team believes that Dotchin’s unexpected strong showing upon his recall last season is not a flash in the pan but more of a sign of things to come. But he still has a lot to prove and show as his good half-season of play was still just a half-season showing from a player that didn’t jump out as a top level prospect to this point.
July 5 – Center Matthew Peca signed to a one-year, two-way contract with an NHL salary and cap hit of $650,000. Analysis: Peca is knocking on the door of reaching the NHL level on a regular basis, something he showed during his 10 games up with the Lightning last season. He was also a strong presence for Syracuse in the run to the Calder Cup Final this season as a strong two-way player. The two-way deal is not a surprise for a player coming out of his entry level deal, which most likely includes a raise in his AHL salary.
July 3 – Defenseman Slater Koekkoek signed to a one-year, one-way contract with a salary cap hit of $800,000. Analysis: The ultimate “prove it’’ contract for the former first-round draft pick. Koekkoek was expected to have made an impact with the Lightning three years after turning pro. His showing during the 2016 run to the Eastern Conference finals put him squarely in the spotlight but he was unable to build on that in training camp and early in the season and spent the rest of the second half of the season with Syracuse, where he paired with Dotchin on the top defensive duo en route to the Calder Cup Final. While this does not constitute a “make or break’’ season for Koekkoek as some have suggested – remember his shoulder surgeries early in his career had an effect on his development – but it is an important year for the former 12th overall pick.
Syracuse head coach Benoit Groulx had high praise for how Koekkoek handled himself this year and his belief that better things are ahead.
“I think it was tough on him at first to be sent down, but he’s a great skater a very good individual and wants to get better,’’ Groulx said at the recent development camp. “He’s the type of guy who is not afraid to stay on the ice late to work on his skating and his game. So for us, with the young group of defensemen we had on our team, he got a lot of ice time and (played) in every situation, whether it was power play or PK, at the end of the game. So I think he gained a lot of confidence and I think he’s a player that is going to come here and play a simple game and use his skills to get the puck out of the zone, especially with his speed and I think he’s a good player.’’
July 1 – Signings designated for Syracuse – RW Alex Gallant, D Mat Bodie, D Jamie McBain. Analysis: Gallant will provide some toughness to the Crunch lineup as the AHL veteran comes over from the San Jose organization. Bringing in Bodie and McBain offers some veteran presence on the backend after Syracuse lost Matt Taormina and almost certainly will be minus Dotchin and Koekkoek for next season.
July 1 – Goaltender Michael Leighton signed to one year, two-way contract with NHL salary cap hit of $650,000. Analysis: Leighton is the perfect fit for the team right now, a veteran who has played NHL games and capable of providing some experience in the event injury forces Tampa Bay to make a callup to the Lightning. It also gives Syracuse an experienced starter in net to start the season as the No. 1 for the Crunch while helping to groom in-coming rookie Connor Ingram, who turns pro this season.
July 1 – Defenseman Dan Girardi signed to a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $3 million. Analysis This can be found here and here.
July 1 – Left wing Chris Kunitz signed to a one-year contract with a salary cap hit of $2 million with bonus clauses that could add up to $1 million more. Analysis: A low risk signing to help fill out the top nine forward group that brings scoring potential and a two-way presence capable of playing both on the power play and penalty kill. He’s a hard play against, something pointed out by general manager Steve Yzerman when the signing was made.
July 1 – Goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis traded to the New York Islanders for center Carter Verhaeghe. Analysis: Not a huge surprise to see Gudlevskis depart the organization, though there was plenty of speculation that it would be in the form of heading to Europe to play. Instead, Tampa Bay moved him to the Islanders as it was apparent that after four years he head not progressed as hoped and did not find the consistency in his game the team had hoped to find. With Connor Ingram coming in to the organization this season and ear-marked for Syracuse, the Lightning opted to all but part ways with Gudlevskis and made that official by dealing the netminder for Verhaeghe, who is still considered a project at forward. Drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round of the 2013 Draft, Verhaeghe has yet to establish himself as a regular in the American Hockey League. In two years with the Islanders – he was acquired by New York in a deal that sent Michael Grabner to Toronto – Verhaeghe has split time between the ECHL and the AHL. While the scouting report on Verhaeghe indicates a high hockey IQ with some offensive upside after he finished with a combined 28 goals in 61 games, he is at the point where he needs to start to establishing his game. Given the history the Lightning have in recent seasons of picking up so-called projects (Jonathan Marchessault and Yanni Gourde), it’s a worthwhile risk to bring in a player who still has room to improve in exchange for a player the Lightning were not planning on bringing back.
June 28 – Center Gabriel Dumont signed to a two-year hybrid contract with the first year a one-way deal and the second year a two-way contract with an NHL salary cap hit of $650,000. Analysis: Dumont earned this contract after he came up and provided some quality minutes when he was called up late in the year. He was a reliable faceoff performer at a time when Tampa Bay was lacking centers because of injury. Dumont gives a strong, honest effort and is a perfect fit for a fourh-line center role if other moves are made to open up a clear spot for him.
June 28 – Right wing Cory Conacher signed to a two-year hybrid contract with the first year a one-way deal and the second year a two-way contract with an NHL salary cap hit of $650,000. Analysis: Conacher returned to the organization last season and proved he still has something to give. He may not be the breakout player he was as a rookie in 2013, but he provides valuable depth capable of contributing at the NHL level while being a standout in the AHL, where he led all players in postseason scoring with the Crunch last season. Conacher was rewarded for that showing with a multi-year deal and getting one-way salary in the first year of the contract is a big incentive.
June 26 – Center Yanni Gourde signed to a two-year, one-way contract with an annual salary cap hit of $1 million. Analysis: Quite frankly, Gourde forced his way in to this contract with not only how he played for the Lightning down the stretch, scoring some huge goals for Tampa Bay, but for his full year. Gourde led the Crunch in goals during the regular season despite playing just 54 games in Syracuse and was named team MVP. He the finished second in postseason scoring, second behind only Conacher, as the Crunch reached the Calder Cup Final. Gourde is a classic hard-worker who was looking for a chance to prove himself. Tampa Bay gave him that chance and he thrived. He earned this deal.
June 26 – Defenseman Andrej Sustr signed a one-year contact with a salary of $1.95 million. Analysis: There were some eyebrows raised at this contract as there was some speculation that Tampa Bay could not issue a qualifying to Sustr and allow him to become a free agent. But the Lightning have invested a lot in developing Sustr and likely didn’t want to completely walk away while hoping Sustr, who is coming up to the 300-games played plateau, a common marker for defenseman to find their stride. There is a lot to like about the way Sustr played two years ago as he took a big step forward. Last year was a step back and the Lightning are clearly hoping he takes that next giant step forward.
June 22 – Goaltender Peter Budaj signed a two-year contract with an annual salary cap hit of $1.025 million. Analysis: No surprise here as Budaj is a perfect complimentary backup to play behind Andrei Vasilevskiy. Budaj rekindled his game last season as he was thrust in to the starters role in Los Angeles when Jonathan Quick was injured. Having a veteran behind Vasilevskiy who not only can handle the role of playing every 7-10 days but step up in the event of injury is a valuable player to have on the roster.
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