The thing is, keeping Johnson wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. He's not useless and is still a capable middle-six winger. It's just that his contract has not aged well - a common problem around the league when GM's hand out too much term and NTC's like candy.
The most commonly mentioned possible cap casualties are Gourde, Palat, and Killorn. Gourde is already gone. Palat and Killorn have value and Briesbois could move them for assets and jettison payroll that way. Moving Palat or Killorn won't require any substantial sweeteners, if any. So, if Johnson is unmovable, then trading Palat or Killorn solves that issue. In the end, we would lose Gourde and either Palat or Killorn to keep Johnson. It's not an ideal situation, but it's not the worst thing in the world.
I don't see Briesbois giving one of them away just to move Johnson. Plenty of teams would give a light return (low pick) straight up for Palat or Killorn - despite Tampa having no cap leverage. They are desirable players, unlike Johnson. So even if the return is peanuts, it won't require much sweetener to get a deal done on those guys - Tampa's main return would be cap space.
Not to mention, without Johnson, the Lightning's center depth is a lot more shallow if Point or Cirelli gets hurt.
- GalacticStone
Agreed, if the price is too high to move Johnson, just run him as the 3C/4C and move Killorn or Palat if cap space is needed.
