Steve Yzerman is clearing cap space for a big acquisition on July 1. There can be no doubt after the Tampa Bay Lightning made three trades on Sunday evening.
The first move saw Tampa Bay send Teddy Purcell to the Edmonton Oilers for Sam Gagner. The trade actually saw them take on 300k more cap space and for a second it seemed as though Tampa was planning to buyout the contract of Gagner upon acquisition.
Not even two hours later the Lightning flipped Gagner to the Arizona Coyotes alongside gritty forward B.J. Crombeen in exchange for a 6th round pick in 2015. In the deal, the Lightning will also retain 1/3 the cost of the remaining two years on Sam Gagners $4.8M/year cap hit.
The Arizona Coyotes get Sam Gagner, an offensive player who has struggled in recent years (in part because of injuries). Gagner is not a centre, and part of the reason for his struggles was that the Oilers were forced to play him as one. He was never good enough defensively, and his possession numbers didn't allow him to fight through that defensive deficiency. He can produce points though, and is great on the power play. He will be able to take some of the recently bought out Mike Ribeiro's offensive production and ice time. If the Coyotes pair Gagner with Martin Hanzal, they may have finally found someone to play on Hanzal's wing that is going to be good enough offensively. The lack of offensive production was a serious issue in Arizona this season, and the acquistion of Gagner could help revitalize this for them.
Yzerman wasn't done there, he then sent Nate Thompson to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a fourth and seventh round pick in 2015. This was a cap deal as well, as it got another $1.6M off the ledger for Tampa.
The speculation is that the cap space is being cleared for a costless agent winger like Thomas Vanek or Jarome Iginla, though there are also some big names on defense, including the newly bought out Christian Ehrhoff who Yzerman may be targeting. It would make perfect sense though as the Lightning are a team that could use some help to get over the hump in the Eastern Conference.
One thing is for certain, Yzerman is going to be active in costless agency. The Lightning already have a solid goaltender in Bishop, a superstar in Stamkos, and rising youngsters in Drouin, Palat and Johnson. If the developmental path of the young players continues as planned, the Lightning may be a couple moves away from challenging for the Eastern Conference Championship next season.