Lightning forward ‘a name to watch’ in trade talks

The Lightning made one of the most contentious moves in recent memory prior to the trade deadline last year when they acquired middle-six winger Tanner Jeannot from the Predators in exchange for five draft picks and defensive prospect Callan Foote. He seems to be back on the market following a dreadful stint in Tampa, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, who made this announcement on “32 Thoughts: The Podcast” on Monday.

In the upcoming weeks, Friedman referred to him as “a name to watch” as the Lightning increase their financial space in an attempt to prevent captain Steven Stamkos from becoming eligible for unrestricted free agency. So far, he hasn’t specifically mentioned any clubs that are associated with Jeannot. He did, however, disclose that a number of interested parties feel that his 24-goal performance from two years ago in Nashville, Tennessee, is a better indicator of his long-term potential than his fourth-line play in Tampa. While naming the Flames as a potential trade destination, he and co-host Jeff Marek of “32 Thoughts” refrained from expressing their interest in Jeannot.

The 6’2′′, 207-lb power forward only managed one goal and three assists in 20 games following his arrival in 2022–23, indicating he never really clicked with the Bolts. He only made three appearances with no points and a -2 rating in their first-round loss to the Maple Leafs due to injuries.

This helped the Lightning, who have been short on salary cap space for the majority of their recent championship contending window, as it reduced his worth when he was up for a new contract last summer. Then a restricted free agent, he signed a $5.33 million, two-year contract. If general manager Julien BriseBois decides to put him on the market seriously, they will step up their efforts to sell him by the 2024 NHL Draft at the end of next month. He has a 16-team no-trade list that goes into effect on July 1.

Tampa would gain an extra $2.665MM in cap space by trading Jeannot without regaining any NHL roster players, increasing their anticipated cap space for the upcoming season to $7.7MM. That should be sufficient room to re-sign Stamkos provided he accepts a reasonable reduction. With their present cap predicament, it is necessary to expect him to sign a season extension at closer to $4MM, which undercuts his market value by about 50%.

Teams won’t be willing to trade Jeannot, even if they think he can return to his 20-goal, 40-point ways. In 55 games this season, he managed just seven goals and fourteen points with a -10 rating. He is now in the final season of his contract and will become a UFA when it expires. That won’t matter much, though, because BriseBois is relocating him as a straight-up cap dump. The team had a similar predicament two offseasons prior when they dealt defenseman Ryan McDonagh to the Predators in exchange for two minor league players. They re-acquired McDonagh last week.

Wednesday is Jeannot’s 27th birthday. Having signed with Nashville in 2018 as an undrafted free agent, he has played in 227 games since his debut in 2021 and has 42 goals, 38 assists, 80 points, a -9 rating, and 314 PIMs.

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