Steve Yzerman sent waves thorugh the hockey world yesterday, as his Tampa Bay Lightning dealt forwards Teddy Purcell, B.J. Crombeen and Nate Thompson in separate deals.
Purcell and his $4.5-million cap hit were sent to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for forward Sam Gagner, who was then immediately flipped to the Arizona Coyotes with B.J. Crombeen for a sixth round pick. The wheeling and dealing didn’t stop there, as Yzerman then traded Nate Thompson to the Anaheim Ducks for a 2015 fourth round pick and a 2015 seventh round pick.
The news didn’t come as much of a surprise, as the Lightning’s GM had indicated earlier in the week that he wanted to clear salary cap space heading into free agency and next season.
#tblightning Yzerman said he doesn't "need" to move forward salaries, but could explore it to give more cap room for FA. At $64 million now
— Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) June 29, 2014#TBLightning Yzerman said he's reached out to potential free agents, has an idea of who is interested and what it will take.
— Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) June 30, 2014Overall, it’s hard not to like what Yzerman managed to pull off. While the Lightning will retain one third of Gagner’s $4.8-million salary, they’ve also opened up a bunch of space to make the moves and promotions that could turn them into a serious contender as early as next season. More cap space, more draft picks for Al Murray and his staff to work with, and more ability to promote deserving young players – getting those three things seems to be a priority for Tampa’s management team.
Thanks to Nate, B.J., and Teddy for all the memories.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.