I was going to comment at least it wasn't 8-8.5M
Whew looked at Tampa's cap situation. When people say they have to win THIS year, nothing is more true than with the Lightning this year...not next or the year after...THIS year.
- Glak18
It looks grim, but there is some wiggle room if the cap grows as currently expected.
Callahan will be bought out or traded with some salary retained.
One or more of : Palat, Johnson, Killorn, or Gourde will be traded.
Stralman, Coburn, and Girardi will be off the books as UFA.
Not only will Tampa be fine, but it's also worth noticing that Karlsson has not signed an extension or long-term contract in San Jose. They are all-in to win this season. Karlsson is a rental and he plans on signing in Tampa after this season. That is the story nobody is talking about yet. And that is when the cap-crunch will hit and hard decisions will need to be made.