The Lightning are discussing a trade with the Kraken that would see them acquire forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde from Seattle, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The deal is nearing the finish line and will see Tampa send two first-round picks to the Kraken as part of the return, Friedman adds.
- Angotti

Must be the 2026 and 2027 picks from TB. All TB first round pick are belong to us - but not anymore I guess. Seattle is dumping a lot of players, wonder about the outlook for them. Guess they are in the McKenna sweepstakes now.

I like 2026 better Kaprizov Eichel Necas OConnor. I would prefer the trade this offseason if we want a bigger name. Don't ask me who though

- bhawks2241

Not a bad thought at all. It'll be interesting to see who is available via trade this offseason.

One thing that is going to be key for KD is properly understanding which of the kids is ready to play in the NHL. I think he overcompensated (especially on defense) this year because he got burned the year prior and needed to sign guys off waivers.

Nazar is a lock. I think Slaggert is too (especially slotted properly). We'll see what the college kids bring to the party. Then there is always a surprise or two from camp.

Think that will be the price if they want to get one of them though. Cap's going up, got to pay to play. Bedard will be in that range also.

Marner 7y x 15 m
Bedard 6y x 12 m

Could skip the higher priced free agents and crowdsource with a bunch of 5-8m guys. Bedard will have to get paid though. Without expensive FA there will be a longer wait.
- totem

I'm just saying to me, if I was an owner and my GM gave Mitch Marner 7x15M, I would probably fire him.

McDavid, Kucherov, MacKinnon, Draisatl, Pastranak, Matthews, I would say, fine, put them up near that 15M (or more). To me, Marner is a step down from those guys, he probably never bests his 35 goals career year and may never actually crack the 100 point plateau. IMO, his production drops down if he isn't playing with one of the best goal scorers of this generation. I know the cap is going up, but right now there are exactly 3 players making 12+ M for this season. I don't see the logic in giving a lesser player a big jump over those guys current AAV.

Rantanen is a bit more intriguing to me, but again, hasn't exactly been hitting the ground running since moving on from playing with MacKinnon. There will be a lot of teams looking for his services and likely it's going to be an overpay to get him. Is it worth it?

We do need some star players, but we also need depth around them. The cap crunch can come back in a real hurry and even if he had Marner or Rantanen, we wouldn't be a playoff team.

Bedard has a lot of potential, no question, but he is ~60th in NHL scoring and that is with a bit more help this season. The coach is pretty much trying to get whomever is going on his line. He sits about 150th in Even Strength points for the year. Is that enough to get him 12+? He doesn't yet have a very complete game, defensively very much a work in progress. Faceoffs, very much a work in progress. Puck battles, very much a work in progress. He might reach that very elite/generational potential, but he also might not quite get there. It would be his first real contract and he is RFA, so I could see it being more reasonable as a "show me" bridge to his bigger payday.

This is all very much IMO, but to me Bedard hasn't really broken out yet. I like his potential, his work ethic and character. He can get there, but he is still very young and has gaps to fill. It's not just that he needs better linemates. He has growing to do yet still.

Full TBL-SEA-DET trade here:

https://x.com/NHL/status/1897390009939870197

Full TBL-SEA-DET trade here:

https://x.com/NHL/status/1897390009939870197


- MartiniMan

I was in the car listening to this trade and they were talking that Toronto is talking to Chicago about Donato and Murphy. They didn’t know who would go the other way but speculated Toronto would want to move Domi because he hasn’t played well this season.

Seattle retains 50% on Gourde and gets 2026 and 2027 first, plus 2025 second. Detroit also retains on Gourde and gets a fourth. Both firsts are top ten protected. I’m thinking that this adds value to Donato if he’s indeed traded.
- Angotti

In a year or two when thoughts of another championship are gone Tampa will have minimal good prospects and very few draft picks. Exactly the same trap Bowman found himself in 2017.

I was in the car listening to this trade and they were talking that Toronto is talking to Chicago about Donato and Murphy. They didn’t know who would go the other way but speculated Toronto would want to move Domi because he hasn’t played well this season.
- paulr

That would require a very good return. Not sure I’d want to get rid of Murphy at this time, would have to be a very nice return. Can’t have all kiddies on the backend.

I was in the car listening to this trade and they were talking that Toronto is talking to Chicago about Donato and Murphy. They didn’t know who would go the other way but speculated Toronto would want to move Domi because he hasn’t played well this season.
- paulr

If both Murphy and Donato - that's interesting but seems hard to do as TOR has no cap space.

Maybe Domi and Kampf coming back? Domi has 3 yrs left, Kampf 2. Need a Dman - Benoit?

Need a good young player or two to from TOR go for that.

In a year or two when thoughts of another championship are gone Tampa will have minimal good prospects and very few draft picks. Exactly the same trap Bowman found himself in 2017.
- paulr

Yep, unless they win it all this year, they’re playing well right now and have a world class goalie, you never know.

If both Murphy and Donato - that's interesting but seems hard to do as TOR has no cap space.

Maybe Domi and Kampf coming back? Domi has 3 yrs left, Kampf 2. Need a Dman - Benoit?

Need a good young player or two to from TOR go for that.
- totem

These talking heads just make poop up. What was funnier is when they opened the phone lines and Maple Leaf fans are almost crying about everything especially Tampa making a big move and Toronto didn’t.

In a year or two when thoughts of another championship are gone Tampa will have minimal good prospects and very few draft picks. Exactly the same trap Bowman found himself in 2017.
- paulr

Or are they doing the Vegas model and instead of keeping players as they age, they trade them and bring in younger (out this year Martinez, Marchessault, Reilly Smith, in: Hannifin, Barbashev, Hertl

Or are they doing the Vegas model and instead of keeping players as they age, they trade them and bring in younger (out this year Martinez, Marchessault, Reilly Smith, in: Hannifin, Barbashev, Hertl
- LAHawk

Either way eventually neither team will have any top end prospects or draft picks.

Or are they doing the Vegas model and instead of keeping players as they age, they trade them and bring in younger (out this year Martinez, Marchessault, Reilly Smith, in: Hannifin, Barbashev, Hertl
- LAHawk

Yeah, with the cap going up, it is less restrictive for that model. Vegas tends to reload "assets" in the offseason so they have ammunition for the TDL. The problem is that you can only have so many teams in the league that do that. There has to be teams that want/need draft picks as well as player assets that other teams want.

Yeah, with the cap going up, it is less restrictive for that model. Vegas tends to reload "assets" in the offseason so they have ammunition for the TDL. The problem is that you can only have so many teams in the league that do that. There has to be teams that want/need draft picks as well as player assets that other teams want.
- Chunk

I heard an interesting conversation on NHL Radio over the weekend, that the cap going up significantly is going to alter what the cap was put in for - parity. Some teams (Toronto obviously, Rangers, etc.) will always spend to the cap, but some markets that do not have the revenue stream will not be able to afford to spend to the cap and have a internal salary cap that is lower than the max.

With current exchange rates, puts the Canadian teams at a financial disadvantage.

I’m not a fan of offer sheets because they can come back to bite you. Once a team is built up to contend, such team most certainly will be up against the cap. With all these draft picks, one day it will be almost impossible to keep them all. That’s when a team will pounce on one of your RFA’s.
- Angotti

Your assumption is that when you get to that point, and not have used the Offer sheet route, no on will do it to you.

If its the right guy, at the right time, you do what's best within the rules to build your team.

At least in my opinion.

I really think MacTavish would be good for Bedard, I've always hated the Ducks and those stupid uni's, so i don't care if they are butt hurt.

I have no doubt that is the mindset that KD has for this offseason. They have absolute boatloads of cap space, and draft picks/prospects. They can make smart acquisitions by a number of different methods and still maintain cap and roster flexibility.

Not to be forgotten, Rockford will be even more interesting to watch next year.
- Chunk

You ain't lying. Seeing at the NHL level what Sorensen did with players in the AHL I think I'd kinda like to see him coaching down there next yr.

And, just a friendly PSA puck drop v OTT is 6:30 tonight.

Your assumption is that when you get to that point, and not have used the Offer sheet route, no on will do it to you.

If its the right guy, at the right time, you do what's best within the rules to build your team.

At least in my opinion.

I really think MacTavish would be good for Bedard, I've always hated the Ducks and those stupid uni's, so i don't care if they are butt hurt.
- vabeachbear

MacTavish is a beast. 225lb, 22 yr old centerman, drafted 3rd overall, been in the Bigs since he was 19, 207 NHL games, .6 pts per game........ Beast and a gamer.

If both Murphy and Donato - that's interesting but seems hard to do as TOR has no cap space.

Maybe Domi and Kampf coming back? Domi has 3 yrs left, Kampf 2. Need a Dman - Benoit?

Need a good young player or two to from TOR go for that.
- totem

Fraser mintenn

Fraser mintenn
- Scott1977

The gem in Toronto’s system is Easton Cowan.

MacTavish is a beast. 225lb, 22 yr old centerman, drafted 3rd overall, been in the Bigs since he was 19, 207 NHL games, .6 pts per game........ Beast and a gamer.
- Mr Ricochet

What does the Hawks have that Anaheim would want in exchange for mctavish?

Boy did i pick a poopty day to fly to Chicago, damn near got whiplash on that landing, swear the cloud ceiling is 5 ft

Full TBL-SEA-DET trade here:

https://x.com/NHL/status/1897390009939870197


- MartiniMan

Wow, either TB got fleeced or it's a sellers market.

What does the Hawks have that Anaheim would want in exchange for mctavish?
- Scott1977

An offer sheet.

Bamford has the same lineup going as last game except Soderblom gets the call.. Knight coming in is fantastic but I think it's great for Soderblom too. He's gonna go head to head every day competing with Knight for starts. If Soderblom has more in him right now competing against Knight will bring it out.

Sorensen is making the right move here. Soderblom deserves the right to compete with Knight for starts. Was a great mate last yr when he stunk out loud, went to work over the summer and came back the most improved hockey player I may have ever seen...... Love to see him get pushed cuz this guy has something different to come back from last yr without PTSD.

Let em compete for starts.

An offer sheet.
- paulr

Yeah, but with their cap space, why wouldn’t they match? If you’re going to offer sheet someone, it pretty much has to be a cap strapped team, and with the cap going up, that will be more challenging for a bit. Didn’t mean to rain on the parade, but unfortunately that’s what I see.