Getty Carolina Hurricanes forward Jake Guentzel.
The Tampa Bay Lightning stole most of the headlines coming out of the 2024 NHL draft and it wasn’t because of their selections.
The Lightning completed two trades on Saturday, June 29 opening a lot of cap room ahead of the start of free agency on July 1.
Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet reports that the Lightning are “poised to do big business as free-agency approaches” with a No. 1 target in mind.
“Tampa’s believed priority target is Jake Guentzel, coming off a 30-goal season in Pittsburgh and Carolina,” Friedman wrote on June 29 after the draft. “What happened between the Hurricanes and Guentzel is still being determined.”
According to ‘multiple sources’ speaking to Friedman, Guentzel asked the Carolina Hurricanes for an eight-year contract worth $64 million, which they met on Thursday, June 27.
Friedman, however, notes that Guentzel made his request some time ago, with the two sides grinding away in negotiations since then.
“The Hurricanes agreed to meet those terms and were prepared to discuss structure. Several teams said they heard the winger was staying in Carolina. But, with July 1 approaching, those same sources indicated Guentzel decided that the longer it took, the more he thought about testing free-agency, as is his right.”
Friedman also floated an idea that has been around for quite some time since he reported earlier in June that Carolina made Guentzel’s negotiating rights available for a mid-round pick.
“It’s possible Guentzel’s rights are traded prior to Monday,” Friedman wrote on June 29. “There are other teams who want to talk to him, to gauge his interest.”
Tampa Bay Opens Cap Room With Surprising Trades
The Lightning entered the two-day draft with barely $5 million in cap space but exited the event with more than $15 million available.
As of June 30, PuckPedia projects the Bolts to enter free agency with $15.6 million in cap space and 17 players under contract.
The aforementioned increase in cap room was possible thanks to the two trades competed by Tampa Bay general manager Julien BriseBois on Saturday, June 29.
BriseBois got things going by trading 26-year-old superstar defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to the new Utah Hockey Club. The GM completed a second trade involving forward Tanner Jeannot sending him to the Los Angeles Kings.
Sergachev’s exit opened a monster $8.5 million in Tampa Bay’s books while Jeannot helped the Lightning open an extra $2.6 million. In return, Tampa Bay acquired a 2025 2nd-round pick and a 2024 4th-round pick from the Kings, and JJ Moser, Conor Geekie, a 2025 2nd-round pick, and a 2024 7th-round pick from Utah.
Sergachev has seven years left on the eight-year, $68 million deal he signed with Tampa Bay on July 13, 2022. He scored 2 goals and added 17 assists for 19 points in just 34 games throughout the 2023-24 season.
Jeannot contributed 7 points and 7 assists in 14 regular-season games in 2024. He is under contract through the 2025 season after signing a two-year deal worth $5.33 million with the Lightning in July 2023.
Hurricanes ‘Have Not Given Up Hope’ On Re-Signing Guentzel
As much as Tampa Bay is positioning itself to make a run at Guentzel if he reaches the market on July 1, the Canes still are in the best position to sign the pending free agent.
Carolina can offer Guentzel one more year in term than any other franchise thanks to having his negotiating rights. As Friedman reported, the franchise is offering an eight-year, $64 million contract to Guentzel.
Chris Johnston and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reported on June 29 that the Hurricanes, “as of Saturday afternoon, had not given up hope on re-signing Guentzel.” Moreover, the insiders reported that the franchise’s owner and Guentzel’s GM met at the draft.
“The Hurricanes this week offered Guentzel an eight-year, $64 million deal. But as every hour ticks by, it seems more likely that Guentzel wants to see what’s out there,” the two reported. “Would Carolina be willing to take part in a sign-and-trade? That could allow Guentzel to get eight years out of it and the Canes to get an asset back in return. It’s a difficult thing to pull off in such a short time frame.”
LeBrun and Johnston doubled down on Friedman’s speculation about the Lightning’s moves and interest in Guentzel. Consequently, the couple mentioned Tampa as one of the main pursuers of Guentzel entering July 1.
“Tampa Bay is now a real option. And all along, there’s been interest from the Vancouver Canucks, among other teams,” they wrote. “It’s a huge market for Guentzel.”