from Diana C. Nearhos of the Tampa Bay Times,

Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois has not shared any details of his meetings with Point’s agent Gerry Johannson, other than their beverage choices (tea for the GM, coffee for Johannson). But he has consistently called them productive conversations.

Reportedly, Montreal inquired about submitting an offer sheet to Point before signing Carolina’s Sebastian Aho instead, another Johannson client. If Point or his agent indicated he wouldn’t sign an offer sheet, it means he wants to stay here.

So what’s the issue? In short, the delay is because contract negotiations are tricky.

The Lightning doesn’t have much cap space. It has $5.6 million available, per CapFriendly, but can exceed the cap up to $5.8 million if Ryan Callahan is placed on long-term injured reserve. Right now, that’s the likely scenario. So, Tampa Bay can spend up to $11.4 million.

The next question revolves around the length of the deal. Point is five years from unrestricted free agency, thus making that the ideal term. Unrestricted free agency works out in players’ favors (see: Artemi Panarin’s $81.5 million deal with the Rangers).

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