The Tampa Bay Lightning have been active since the NHL Draft. Out with Steven Stamkos and Mikhail Sergachev, in with Jake Guentzel, Ryan McDonagh (again), Conor Geekie and Cam Atkinson. Just to name a few.
The Lightning aren’t close to being done trying to compete for the Stanley Cup. However, they could use another impact player at the forward position. A potential name is Anaheim Ducks winger Frank Vatrano.
No credible source links the Lightning to Vatrano at this time. It’s just social media buzz. But it begs the question. Would a deal for him even make sense for the Lightning? With the right deal, it certainly would.
What Vatrano Would Bring and Where Does He Fit?
The Lightning heavily lacked scoring depth last season. They made moves at the deadline to remedy this, such as acquiring Anthony Duclair. But the moves weren’t enough to get the Lightning past the first round, and they chose not to bring back their deadline additions amid their roster shuffle.
In 82 games last season, the 30-year-old winger had 37 goals and 23 assists for 60 points. He also produced in the clutch with 20 points on the power play, three shorthanded goals and seven game-winning goals.
There’s some greater potential here that Vatrano could bring to the Lightning. These are the numbers he put up on a Ducks team that scored the third-fewest goals in the NHL. Put him on a team that scored the fifth-most goals in the league, and see what happens.
The Lightning struggled at 5-on-5 last season. That needs to be taken into account. Vatrano could help fix the even-strength struggles. One-third of his total points came on the play. To put that into perspective, Stamkos had almost half of his points come on the power play. So, perhaps Vatrano would be an improvement in that area.
Now, where to fit Vatrano is the question. He’s a left-shot at the left wing position. The Lightning already have Jake Guentzel on the top line with Nikita Kucherov, and Brandon Hagel on the second line. A solution could be the Lightning pencil in Vatrano at the right wing position to partner him with Hagel and Anthony Cirelli on the second line.
Salary Cap Situation
The golden topic when discussing any Lightning deal. The cap hit.
What would be ideal for the Lightning is the cap hit that Vatrano comes with. According to Spotrac (RIP CapFriendly), he has a year left on his current contract with a cap hit of $3.65 million. The Lightning still have $5.75 million in cap space. If they move another player, or two, his cap hit would be a non-issue.
Who could they move to make room? One option is Conor Sheary with his $2 million cap hit over the next two years. The Lightning could trade him to Anaheim in a deal for Vatrano or buy him out to clear cap space. I went and did a buyout simulation on Spotrac to see what the situation would be if the Lightning bought out Sheary:
Sheary would be on the books for a few years, but the dead cap would be minuscule, especially with the cap increasing again. It’s a viable option if the Ducks don’t want him in a trade.
Even though I’ve already named him as an extension candidate previously, another option is Nick Perbix. His name came up in that aforementioned so-called “rumor” about a Vatrano trade. There’s no evidence to believe this specific rumor is true outside of “trust me, bro,” but Perbix is still a legitimate trade piece in this hypothetical deal.
If not Sheary, Perbix might be the odd man out. An NHL player would likely need to be moved in this deal, and he’s the only player with a cap hit over $1 million that the Lightning would be willing to move and has a cap hit the Ducks would be willing to take on.
Our Hypothetical Trade
So, what could a Lightning trade for Vatrano look like? Let’s take a look. I teamed up with Anaheim Ducks writer at THW Charlie Hiller to negotiate a hypothetical one. This is what we agreed on
Lightning acquire:
Ducks Acquire:
Here, the Lightning add offensive depth, while the Ducks gain defensive help along with assets to build for the future.
Would this be the exact trade that would pan out? No clue, but this could be close. Under the right circumstances, the Lightning could gain an impact forward as the roster restructures for future success.
