The Tampa Bay Lightning are in the Eastern Conference playoffs at the halfway point of the season. Their run of three straight conference titles is over but they are still contenders for the Stanley Cup. The NHL trade deadline is less than two months away and the Lightning have a glaring need. They must call the Sharks and make a deal for defenseman Mario Ferraro at the deadline.
The Lightning have made plenty of moves in their competitive window to save cap space. A big one came this summer when they traded Mikhail Sergachev to the Utah Hockey Club. While he was a top-two defenseman for Tampa and is for Utah, the move was necessary for the cap. But now they should replace him with Ferraro at the trade deadline.
Ferraro is one of many players the Sharks are looking to trade, including defensemen Cody Ceci and Jan Rutta. But the 26-year-old Ferraro has one extra year of control and has a reasonable cap hit of $3.25 million. That means the Lightning would have to pay up for the defenseman but they have shown they will in the past.
Their moves for Brandon Hagel and Tanner Jeannot worked to varying degrees but were both similar moves to a Ferraro deal. They were players the Lightning liked, had team control, and they paid up to get them. If they like Ferraro they will pay whatever the price is. But after the Jeannot disaster, they might pause at sending more than a first-round pick.
The Lightning have a hole on defense and are in a great division that will provide a tough first-round matchup. That makes a big deal at the deadline more likely and Ferraro would be a logical fit.
Where else could the Lightning look at the NHL trade deadline?
The Sharks will be one of the very few sellers at the upcoming NHL trade deadline. Because of the soft Eastern Conference, many teams are still in contention despite poor starts to the season. And even if the New York Islanders or Philadelphia Flyers decide to sell, they do not have impactful defensemen to move. The Lightning could pay less to extract Ceci or Rutta from San Jose.
The Buffalo Sabres are the only team in the Eastern Conference guaranteed to sell at the deadline. Henri Jokiharju is 25 years old and a pending unrestricted free agent. He could be on the move for a decent package at the deadline. They likely won’t trade Bowne Byram even though he is a pending RFA, but the Lightning could snag veteran Connor Clifton.
Another veteran defenseman with term the Lightning should look to add is Jamie Oleksiak from the Seattle Kraken. He is 32 years old and has a $4.6 million cap hit. If Seattle retains salary on that deal, he could fetch a big return from a team looking for a defenseman. Tampa will be in on that if he is on the block. But considering they have aspirations for next year, there is no guarantee the Kraken trade Oleksiak.
The Lightning should make a move for a defenseman and their top target should be Mario Ferraro. He is the young brick they need to build the back end of their blue line around. The trade may cost a first-round pick but that should be no problem for a team trying to stay in their competitive window.
