Lightning Karlsson 2020-21

Team: 2020-21 Tampa Bay Lightning

Initial Creation Date: May 31, 2019

Published: May 31, 2019

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Obviously fitting Karlsson in without losing any major stars would be quite an impressive feat, but this is the most realistic stimulation I could come up with to do it. You could, of course, argue that some of these contracts are very low, however, the whole premise of the idea of Karlsson coming to Tampa is that players like Point and Karlsson have to be willing to take a discount. If Point wants $9m, he can probably have it and the Lightning wouldn't sign Karlsson, which would give them the breathing room they need to avoid being forced into these trades. But if Point and Karlsson decide that, especially with the tax situation and the quality of life in Tampa, they'd rather be contributors on a team poised to win a Cup than make the extra bit of money they can make elsewhere, they'll take the discount.

The Islanders this year played defense wonderfully, but desperately need some secondary scoring to complete the team. Miller would provide that, and though Pelech played a solid role for the Islanders defense, especially if the Lightning are adding picks, it's easy to see them agreeing to make the trade to fill a need. For the Lightning, Pelech would be a very good fit as a third-pairing defenseman, and Miller doesn't really fulfill an area of need on the LIghtning.

The Avalanche have, from my understanding, struggled to develop Jost, and are a team that wants some secondary scoring. Since they have no cap issues, the added cap shouldn't be a concern to them. Palat, despite his massive step back this season, plays a responsible defensive game, and is a good playmaker with playoff experience. He can compliment just about any line well, and considering the Avalanche's trajectory right now, I wouldn't call it an impossibility that he waives.

The Hurricanes have, if I recall correctly, expressed interest in Johnson before. They're a really good team that would benefit tremendously from stable goaltending and a couple of depth scorers. Killorn and Johnson provide playoff experience, can keep up with fast players, and (especially Killorn) do add some element of physicality to the game. I don't see why Killorn would include Carolina on his no trade list. Convincing Johnson to waive for the Hurricanes would be no easy task, but it's not as though it would be unprecedented for a player to waive when his team needs it and management tries to put pressure on him. I'm not sure if Martinook is considered a major contributor to the Hurricanes' lineup, but based on his stats, I don't see why it would be that crazy for the Hurricanes to move him, and he would definitely fit on the fourth line. If not, we do have players like Stephens that we can re-sign, perhaps for cheaper.

I'm not going to lie, I think a lot here is unrealistic. Sergachev is worth more than he got. You could probably make the same case for Cernak and Cirelli. Sergachev hasn't shown as much promise this season as he did last year, and that played into my assessment here. All three signings are intended as bridges. Kucherov agreed to a bridge for under $5m, I really don't see why Cirelli and Cernak would each feel entitled to more. Sergachev, in my opinion, has a lot to prove before he's worth a contract higher than what I gave him on a team like this; if he wants more, there are 30 other teams that would give him that. While Point and Karlsson have said they'll take discounts, these are very team-friendly contracts they sign. But on the bright side, remove Karlsson from the equation and we have plenty of breathing room to add a touch more to some of these contracts or retain some players included in trades.

Let me know what you think.

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