from Michael Traikos of the National Post,
Winning the Stanley Cup this year is obviously a priority for the Tampa Bay Lightning. But it isn’t a necessity.
Despite going all-in at the trade deadline and acquiring defenceman Ryan McDonagh and forward J.T. Miller from the New York Rangers for a package of prospects and draft picks, the team’s window of opportunity extends beyond this year.
That’s because with the exception of fourth-line forward Chris Kunitz and third-pairing defenceman Andrej Sustr, most of the players on the roster today will be back for next season. After that, it gets a lot dicier.
McDonagh’s and Miller’s contracts both expire at the end of 2018-19. That’s the same time when Nikita Kucherov will be looking for a significant raise from his US$4.7-million contract, while forwards Brayden Point and Yanni Gourde, and defencemen Anton Stralman, Braydon Coburn and Dan Girardi become free agents.
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