![]() ![]() All five of the UFAs are in their mid-to-upper 30s. In addition, Ross Colton and Tanner Jeannot are arbitration-eligible restricted free agents. Lightning Roster May Get YoungerĪfter Essyimont, the Lightning now face five unrestricted free agents (UFAs) that could hit the market: forwards Alex Killorn, Corey Perry, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, defenseman Ian Cole and backup goaltender Brian Elliott. Wasting no time with this signing may indicate that the Lightning may significantly alter their roster’s makeup for the 2023-24 season. His most impressive performance came in Game 5, as he tallied a goal and an assist in the Lightning victory. The Littleton, Colorado native skated in 15 regular season games with the Lightning, posting a goal, two points, and 22 penalty minutes. His play late in the season was rewarded when head coach Jon Cooper inserted him into the lineup in Game 5 of their playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.Įyssimont was rewarded for his play with a $50,000 raise, but the contract is cap-friendly for the Lightning as they signed him to the two-year, one-way contract worth an average annual value (AAV) of $800,000 on Tuesday (May 2). The 26-year-old impressed Lightning management late in the season by bringing speed and energy to the roster. Something’s gotta give, so this feels like the year the Leafs make it out.After being eliminated from the NHL playoffs last week, the Tampa Bay Lightning wasted no time assembling their roster for next season by re-signing Mikey Eyssimont to a salary cap-friendly two-year deal. Now they have Ryan O’Reilly to make it essentially four captains on the roster (Matthews, Tavares, ROR, Mark Giordano). Leadership at the top has always been an issue for the Leafs. If any goalie can steal a game or two, it’s him. If the Bolts can figure out things on defense, leaning on Vasilevskiy is a path to victory. ![]() If Toronto’s goaltending can hold up, the Leafs matchup better against the Lightning defense. While the Lightning are the Lightning and have advanced to the Cup three straight seasons, this isn’t the same team. This does feel like the year the Maple Leafs finally get over the hump. The Leafs are favored in this series with home-ice advantage. This year not having Palat and McD could hurt more. Ryan McDonagh was also around to solidify the blue line. Last season, it was Ondrej Palat and Corey Perry. ![]() Someone else on the roster is going to need to step up for the Bolts to advance. Victor Hedman still anchors the defense and Mikhail Sergachev should be ready to contribute again. Tampa Bay is top-heavy with the trio of Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point. If either falters, it could be the Maple Leafs coming out on top this season. The Lightning are very much built for the postseason but rely too heavily on two things: Andrei Vasilevskiy and the power play. This is perhaps the weakest Lightning team in recent memory, yet they’ll enter the postseason with hopes of a fourth straight Stanley Cup Final berth. This is as stacked a Leafs roster as we’ve seen the past few seasons. Rookie Matthew Knies is also expected to play after finishing his season for the University of Minnesota. The Leafs were very aggressive at the deadline, acquiring Ryan O’Reilly, Jake McCabe, Erik Gustafsson and Sam Lafferty. Auston Matthews hasn’t missed the playoffs in his NHL career yet has very little to show for it. Another first-round exit and you’ve got to think Toronto will consider breaking up this core to some extent. This may be one of the most important series for the Maple Leafs in franchise history. The Leafs are looking to avoid another first-round exit, which would be their seventh straight. ![]() The Lightning were able to sneak past the Leafs 2-1 in Game 7 to advance, eventually going on to lose the Stanley Cup Final to the Colorado Avalanche. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning meet again in the playoffs after last year’s seven-game series. ![]()
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