The Athletic’s Max Bultman and Joe Smith discuss possible trade scenarios in which the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning work together to alleviate the Bolts’ salary cap crunch this morning:
Joe Smith: I think you have to start with Johnson. The Lightning approached him early in the offseason on working with them on his full no-trade list, and the former All-Star center should get a lot of credit for being accommodating. Johnson gave Tampa Bay a list of eight to nine teams he could get dealt to. But the Lightning got a pretty good feel for the market when they put Johnson on waivers and nobody picked him up.
Killorn is another candidate, coming off a career year (26 goals), and he offers some flexibility with a modified no-trade clause (a list of 16 teams he can’t get traded to). He took a significant step as a leader this past season, so I don’t think Tampa Bay wants to move him, but it will have to be considered. There’s value there.
As for other names, I know captain Steven Stamkos’ name popped up earlier this offseason when it was reported that he wasn’t on the team’s “untouchables” list. But I think it’s highly unlikely that Stamkos, the face of the franchise who has a full no-move clause, is going anywhere.
Continued (paywall)
