Welcome to Last Word on Hockey’s 2022 summer series, exploring the best and worst free agent signings for each NHL team of the post-lockout, salary cap era. With this past offseason seeing some big splashes (and potential gambles) like Johnny Gaudreau, Claude Giroux, John Klingberg, and others, it’s time to take a look at how teams have boosted and stunted their progress in recent history. Today, we take a look at the Tampa Bay Lightning free agent signings history.
Tampa Bay Lightning Free Agent Hits and Misses
Best Signing: Anton Stralman
#TBLightning sign defenseman Anton Stralman to five-year contract. Release: http://t.co/3pQcoo1PsV pic.twitter.com/Ghc5tNsFSd
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) July 1, 2014
In the summer of 2014, the Tampa Bay Lightning signed former New York Rangers defencemen Anton Stralman. The deal was for five seasons and worth $22.5 million dollars. The Lightning got a premiere defenceman to pair alongside Victor Hedman. The results paid off instantly.
After being a force for the Rangers in their cup run in 2014, Stralman came to Tampa and was sensational. In his first season, he had a career year for himself. He finished with nine goals, 30 assists, and 39 points. Stralman finished with a +22 and was solid on the first pair. Playing alongside Hedman, they had 29 goals for and averaged 3.91 goals for per 60 minutes. The pair would be solid in their Stanley Cup run in 2015.
The Impact
Anton Stralman was the best of the Tampa Bay Lightning free agent signings. He was a solid top-pair defenseman that was good at both ends of the ice. Even though he wasn’t part of the eventual cup wins, he was part of the group that was coming through for his tenure. He hit the 30-point mark in his first two seasons, before seeing his play take a dip. Overall a very good signing for the club.
Honourable Mention Tyler Johnson
Tyler Johnson is arguably one of the most underrated players to have played with the Lightning. He signed in 2011 as an undrafted free agent. Johnson would become one of Steve Yzermans best diamonds in the rough.
Johnson went on to be the center of the famous triplets line which included Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov. The line would be pivotal in the 2015 playoffs for the club. He went on to light the playoffs on fire that year scoring 23 points in 26 games. Johnson put up 50 points in his first full season and was nominated for rookie of the year. He followed that up with a career-high 72-point season. Johnson has played in 600 games for the Lightning and has produced countless memories for the fan base. One of his greatest was scoring a hat trick at Madison Square Garden in the Eastern Conference Final.
Unfortunately, we live in a salary cap world and the team had to ship him off to the Chicago Blackhawks. At the end of the day, he is a two-time Stanley Cup Champion. Not bad for an undrafted free agent.
Worst Signing Matt Carle
Free agent defenceman Matt Carle signs a six-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning: http://t.co/qisZaDgW
— theScore (@theScore) July 5, 2012
This was the worst of all the Tampa Bay Lightning free agent signings. On July 4, 2012, the Lightning would bring back a familiar face. Brought back on a second stint with the team, Carle signed a six-year deal worth $33.5 million dollars. The deal carried a $5.5 million dollar AAV. Carle did everything in his power to earn the lucrative deal. Carle would be one of the additions the team made to upgrade the blue line.
Prior to joining the Lightning, he was a member of the Philadelphia Flyers. And he lit up the score sheet. In three seasons with the club, he tallied 35, 40 and 38 points. In the playoffs, he managed to put up six points in 11 games. His best postseason came in 2008-09 where he had 13 points in 23 games.
Carle could not reproduce that offensive output with Tampa. Making matters worse, he was not so reliable in his own end. If you are an offensive defenceman that is not putting up points and struggle defensively, you are not long for the NHL. While the Lightning did make deep post-season runs with him on the back end, fingers were pointed at Carle and his contract for the lack of depth that the team needed to truly compete. To make matters worse, the Lightning had to eat the final two years of the deal via a buyout.
Honourable Mention: Mattias Ohlund
You cannot pick on Mattias Ohlund. The guy had a remarkable hockey career, especially with the Vancouver Canucks. Looking back at the time of his contract, he had the task of being a mentor to Victor Hedman who was coming into his own at the time.
To summarize, the deal was for seven years, but he was 32 years old in 2009. However the issue was not the money because a guy of his calibre is worth it, it was the term. That was a hefty term to give out to a 32-year-old.
Unfortunately for Ohlund, he was only healthy for two of the seven years of his deal. The veteran defencemen suffered through multiple knee injuries and his contract came to an end after the 2011 season. He is on this list for the simple fact that he did not play the majority of his deal, but his presence is a bit greater than Carle.
Lightning’s Anton Stralman could return for tonight’s Game 2: https://t.co/AyNkvMZwpM #StanleyCup #NHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/iTtCv0fRAH
— Tampa Bay Times (@TB_Times) May 16, 2016
