On the Tampa Bay Lightning …
Joe Smith: As reported earlier, Lightning prospect Nikita Gusev is expected to a sign a contract extension with his KHL team. There are no plans for him to come over to North America for a few years.
Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times: One of GM Steve Yzerman’s top priorities for next season is to find some more offsense from his blueline.
“I’d like to get more production out of our blueline,” Yzerman said. “Whether that’s with the group we have or look to change, we’ll see what we can do. I can’t make any guarantees or promises. But we’d like to generate more shots, more scoring chances.”
Lightning fans should be watching the Nashville Predators – Anaheim Ducks series as both teams could make a defenseman available after their season is over and before the expansion draft.
Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis could be made available.
The Lightning tried to trade for Kevin Shattenkirk before the trade deadline and rumors had Jonathan Drouin being involved as part of the package. Shattenkirk would be a pricey free agent option, and he’s said he’s looking to be a No. 1 defenseman. thinks he could end up on Vegas.
Trade route is more likely for the Lightning. The Predators have a top-four defense group of Ellis, P.K. Subban, Roman Josi and Mattias Ekholm. The Ducks have Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen and Cam Fowler. Brandon Montour could be available if they can’t get Kevin Bieksa to waive his no-movement clause.
“It’s my responsibility to go out and look at all areas,” Yzerman said. “I can’t sit here and say I’m trying to trade for this or trade for that, because I don’t know what is out there. But we’ll explore it. I can’t guarantee we can do anything, but we’ve got to find out what options are out there, we’ve got to find out what the cap is, and make decisions based on that.”
