The Tampa Bay Lightning got a head start on free agency by acquiring the rights to winger Jake Guentzel on Sunday.
The Lightning sent a 2025 third-round draft pick to the Carolina Hurricanes. The move allows the Lightning to sign Guentzel before he hits the open market on Monday.
He has scored 30 goals this past season for the Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins, his fourth time reaching that mark in an eight-year career that has included him reaching 40 twice. Guentzel, who turns 30 in October, won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2017 and is a near point-per-game playoff player in the NHL.
This means everything for the Lightning, who won everything back to back in 2020 and ’21, reached the final in ’22 and want to keep the competition window open as long as possible. To do this, general manager Julien BriseBois and his team planned to transfer resources from a strong left side in defense to the forward group.
This is all part of this process. The trade of defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to Utah and forward Tanner Jeannot to Los Angeles on Saturday freed up more than $11 million in salary cap space over the next two seasons.
“We have this limit (and) we can allocate it in different ways, getting volume or quality,” BriseBois said on Saturday. “Now, is that player getting most of that cap space? Are there two players sharing everything? Three players sharing everything? It’s too early to say at this point.”
Guentzel should fill a good chunk of it, with a little left over for the Lightning to sign another free agent while also signing key defenseman Victor Hedman to a long-term contract extension.
That money will not, at least not immediately, go toward re-signing Steven Stamkos, the longtime captain and face of the franchise expected to test free agency. BriseBois and Stamkos’ agent, Don Meehan, confirmed Saturday that their positions on reaching an agreement on a new contract have not changed.
“Steven has earned the right to test free agency,” BriseBois said. “I didn’t look for him last season to close a deal. I reached out to him quickly after this season, and in doing so I ran the risk of us ending up here, and now here we are.”
Tampa Bay became the second team to acquire the rights to a pending free agent, after Toronto sent a late 2026 draft pick to Dallas for the ability to trade exclusively for 34-year-old defenseman Chris Tanev.
“He’s just an elite defensive player,” Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving said of Tanev, whom he previously signed while managing the Calgary Flames. “Listen, I know how old he is, but I think even last year he showed that he’s one of the best shutdown defenders, one of the best defenders in the league.”
New Jersey continued to rebuild its defense by signing Johnathan Kovacevic from Montreal for a 2026 fourth-round pick. The Devils traded John Marino to Utah on Saturday and are expected to target longtime Carolina defenseman Brett Pesce in free agency .
The acquisitions that began on Sunday will also free up cap space.
The Buffalo Sabers have finalized the contract purchase of forward Jeff Skinner, ending the tenure of the highest-paid player on their roster. GM Kevyn Adams was unable to trade Skinner, who with a no-movement clause had complete control over where he went.
Edmonton, which lost to Florida in seven games in the final, placed goaltender Jack Campbell on unconditional waivers to redeem the remainder of his contract. The five-year, $25 million contract the Oilers signed him in 2022 was a bust, with Campbell being sent to the minors last season.
A couple of defensemen were also exempt from buyouts on Sunday: Winnipeg’s Nate Schmidt and Columbus’ Adam Boqvist. Brother Jesper Boqvist, previously under contract with Boston, was among the players who will also become free agents after not receiving a qualifying offer, a list that includes Buffalo’s Jacob Bryson, San Jose’s Filip Zadina and Dallas’ Nils Lundkvist – less than two years since the Stars traded a first-round pick to the Rangers for him.
Also ineligible were the four NHL players accused of sexual assault in the case involving members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior Team: Carter Hart of Philadelphia, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of New Jersey, and Dillon Dube of Calgary . This was expected after the league did not grant these players’ teams any special exemptions given the ongoing legal issue in London, Ontario.
