As almost all hockey fans know by now, the Tampa Bay Lightning are in a fair bit of cap trouble. They will be competing for a Stanley Cup again and have a good shot at it the next few years, but they do have a few hurdles to overcome. First off is Steven Stamkos‘ health. He has a full no-movement clause and makes $8.5 million dollars for another four seasons while only playing two minutes in the playoffs, which he managed to score a very important goal. He is still a great goal scorer and leader. The odds he could waive his no move to go anywhere let alone to a far worse team are nonexistent.
The Lightning have four players who are on the slight decline or near it and make too much money that the New Jersey Devils could target. With the flat salary cap, at least one will need to be moved just to get under the cap this season. They also have to sign a key player in 23-year-old Anthony Cirelli, who is trending upwards and will be a part of the new younger core. They need to keep players like that to stay strong with guys like Brayden Point and newly re-signed defender Mikhail Sergachev.
While the Lightning are in a bind, only a few teams such as the Devils, Los Angeles Kings, and Detroit Red Wings can really help them out. Not many teams have space for a multi-year bad contract. Even the Senators will have to stay away as they have to pay player Brady Tkachuk. So who are the players, what would they bring to the Devils, and what would an ask be for a team who needs the help now to push for a cup while the window is wide open.