With Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman in for the long haul, Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman is doing his best to keep as many pieces of the band together as possible.
Winger Alex Killorn signed a seven-year, $31.15-million extension with the Lightning on Sunday, with Yzerman citing his desire to keep his team's core intact.
"We're very comfortable doing a long-term contract at the right cap number with Alex," Yzerman said Sunday, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. "He's been with us his entire career. He's a high-character young man, tremendously fit and part of the core of our team.
"We're trying to keep the core together as much as we can."
This is where things get a bit more challenging for Yzerman.
With Killorn signed, the Lightning have $8,529,167 in projected salary cap space for 2016-17, with restricted free agents Nikita Kucherov, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Nikita Nesterov still waiting on new deals.
On top of that, Tampa Bay has several players facing free agency in 2017.
| Position | Player | Age | 2016-17 Cap Hit | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | Jonathan Drouin | 21 | $894166 | RFA |
| F | Tyler Johnson | 25 | $3.33M | RFA |
| F | Ondrej Palat | 25 | $3.33M | RFA |
| F | Brian Boyle | 31 | $2M | UFA |
| D | Andrej Sustr | 25 | $1.45M | RFA |
| G | Ben Bishop | 29 | $5.95M | UFA |
Yzerman said Sunday that it's highly likely he'll have to make a move in order for the team to be cap compliant before the beginning of the season, but added that it won't come through another buyout, after having already used one on Matt Carle.
The Lightning were one of the NHL's youngest teams last season, and advanced to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals after losing in the Stanley Cup Final the year before.
It's no wonder Yzerman wants to keep the core together. How much of it will remain intact long term remains to be seen.
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