We get caught up in the players that are coming into the organization and often forget about those that are leaving. While some had a bigger impact on the Lightning than others, they all wore the uniform for at least a few games. So lets take a look at where some of Tampa Bay’s former free agents headed off to in the early days of free agency.
Steven Stamkos – Nashville Predators – 4 years, $8 million AAV
The Captain heads to Smashville to help them get back to the relevance in the Central Division. He’ll likely end up on the second line with old buddy Jonathan Marchessault. Colton Sissons just became a strong fantasy contender if he ends up centering those two. Stamkos will also join a power play 16th in the league last year.
Anthony Duclair – New York Islanders – 4 years, $3.5 million AAV
Duclair joins the ninth team of his career on a four-year deal at a pretty decent value. Much like Stamkos, Duclair is probably slotted for the second line to add depth behind Anders Lee, Bo Horvat, and Mathew Barzal. There is a connection with his new head coach as Duclair played for Patrick Roy during his junior hockey days.
Calvin de Haan – Colorado Avalanche – 1 year, $800,000
The veteran defenseman continues his tour of the NHL on one-year deals as he heads out west to add some depth to Colorado’s defense.
Phil Myers – Toronto Maple Leafs – 1 year, $775,000
The Maple Leafs were busy signing defensemen as they added Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Jani Hakanpaa in free agency. Myers heads up north to compete for a the seventh spot on their defense and to help out the Marlies.
Matt Dumba – Dallas Stars – 2 years, $3.75 million AAV
The Lightning’s deadline acquisition was able to parlay his one-year deal from last year into a little better situation as he heads to Dallas to shore up a defense that lost Tanev, Hakanpaa, and Ryan Suter. Dumba will find a spot on the second pairing for a team he spent a lot of time playing against when he was with the Wild.
Cole Koepke – Boston Bruins – 1 year, two-way, $775,000
Koepke signed a two-way deal with Boston in hopes of finding a quicker path to consistent playing time in the NHL. After Boston’s other signings, Koepke might find him in the same spot as if he had stayed in Tampa with too many other forwards to leapfrog.
Tyler Motte – Detroit Red Wings – 1 year, $800,000
A late addition to this list, Motte signed with the Red Wings on Tuesday night. He’ll bring some pretty nifty defensive play to Motown after a quietly solid season with the Lightning. It would have been nice for the Bolts to re-sign him at a similar contract as to what he signed in Detroit, but the Zemgus Girgensons addition pretty much ruled that out.
Felix Robert and Haydn Fleury still remain on the market as Day Three of free agency rolls on.
