NHL Rumors: Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes, and Jake Guentzel

The Tampa Bay Lightning are going to need to clear some salary

Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times: Aside from re-signing Steven Stamkos, the Tampa Bay Lightning have some work to do.

They currently only have $5.335 million in projected salary cap space. That alone isn’t enough to re-sign Stamkos. They only have 18 players under contract.

Potential trade candidates are Tanner Jeannot ($2.665 million), Erik Cernak ($5.2 million), Nick Perbix ($1.125 million) and Conor Sheary ($2 million)

The Lightning don’t pick until the fourth round of the draft, so they could look to acquire some more picks.

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The Lightning only have 10 forwards under contract, so they’ll need to acquire some more depth.

Tyler Motte will have likely priced himself out of Tampa.

The Carolina Hurricanes may have offered Jake Guentzel just under $8 million. What might it take elsewhere?

Sekeres and Price: Frank Seravalli on the Sekeres and Price show talking about pending UFA Jake Guentzel, the Vancouver Canucks, what the Carolina Hurricanes may have offered him, and what it might take if a team can only offer him seven years.

Seravalli: “He doesn’t care about where he’s doing it, what jerseys wearing, how it works, how far away it is from wherever home base is. Not to say it doesn’t matter, he just wants the best fit.

And of course he wants to be paid appropriately but that’s going to happen no matter where that is.”

Matt Sekeres: “You don’t think the eighth year is a deal breaker then, because you can’t add the eighth year, right?

If you trade for …”

Seravalli: “No.”

Sekeres: “Okay.”

Seravalli: “I wouldn’t give up an asset to do it because I don’t think it’s going to materially change the AAV enough to do so.

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I believe the Canes offer is somewhere around eight years just under $8 million. So if that’s the case, just north of $60 (million), it needs to be in that seven times $9.5 (million) range to beat the eighth year. ”