The Tampa Bay Lightning have a habit of making big moves at the trade deadline, but whether or not they will do so this year remains a mystery.
Tampa Bay is in a dogfight with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers at the top of the Atlantic Division, and they have been playing very well lately with a 9-1 record in their past 10 games.
However, the Lightning are a very top-heavy team, and whether or not their depth is good enough to make them a true contender this year is up for debate. Their depth was a huge reason for their back-to-back Stanley Cup victories in 2020 and 2021, so the fact that they've lost so much of it over the past few years has led to many doubts from fans and pundits.
Apparently, though, general manager Julien BriseBois and co. don't plan on slowing down this year. NHL insider Chris Johnston named the Bolts as a team that could make some serious noise ahead of Friday's trade deadline.
"If you're looking for a team that can upend this deadline, I would point you no further than Tampa," Johnston said on TSN's Insider Trading. "I've had a couple other executives around the league point out that Tampa has been running with a lean roster coming out of 4 Nations. They've had just one extra player, that being Cam Atkinson, and he was put on waivers on Tuesday."
"So the Lightning will be able to accrue cap space, they have about $6 million, give or take, to acquire a forward as they're out there shopping right now, and given Julien BriseBois' track record, I'd suggest he's going to use that," he continued.
Tampa's most logical target would be a middle-six forward, as it hasn't gotten too much production out of its third line this season. Someone like Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch, who the Lightning have been commonly linked to, would fit that bill well.
The Bolts also have a surprisingly decent amount of assets to work with. Yes, they don't have their first and third-round picks in 2025, but they do have two second-round picks to work with (neither of which are their own, funnily enough). They also have all their draft picks in 2026 and 2027, save for a 2027 fifth-round pick. That said, their prospect pool isn't especially deep.
With roughly 48 hours before the trade deadline, it will be interesting to see what BriseBois and co. could have cooking.
