The Bolts buyout Malone
The Tampa Bay Lightning have used their last remaining compliance buyout on veteran winger, and fan favorite, Ryan Malone. The Lightning used their first buyout last off-season on former captain, Vincent Lecavalier. Unlike Lecavalier’s buyout, Malone has been dropped by the Lightning due to his issues both on and off the ice. Malone was arrested on April 12, 2014, for driving under the influence and possession of cocaine. He has since pleaded not guilty to the charges and will be having his next court date in July.
Malone signing autographs.
Photo: Robert Bridenstine
While his particular off ice issues are enough for the Lightning to contemplate dropping him, Malone’s ability on the ice has been limited as well in the past two seasons. In the past two seasons, Malone has only appeared in a combined total of 81 games. He only managed to score 5 goals and 15 points in the 57 games he played in this season. Malone had started the season with on the first line, with Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis, but ended his season on the fourth line and was occasionally a scratch for games, due to his poor play.
At 34, Malone had only one year left on his current contract with the Lightning and the front office took advantage of anopportunity to cut an aging player with health and legal issues, at two-thirds the cost. These actions will leave Ryan Malone as an unrestricted free agent, and will have the opportunity to be signed on by any of the other 29 teams in the league.
Malone played 342 regular season games in a Lightning sweater, managing to light the lamp 92 times with 102 assists, and managed to tally 201 points. Malone was not a part of this season’s playoff squad, but was part of the 2010-2011 postseason team, playing in 18 games,with 3 goals and 3 assists, totaling in 6 points.
Extend Callahan for long haul
This past season marked a changing of the guard in the Lightning organization. The team started the season without their long time star and captain, Vincent Lecavalier, and saw the trading of fan-favorite and NHL iron man, Martin St. Louis (he played all 82 games in 7 seasons with the Lightning, 5 of which were consecutive). The Lightning then had to deal with a season ending injury to their Vezina caliber goalie and the arrest of one of their veteran wingers due to a DUI (see above). However, what Lightning fans did get to witness a trade that brought Ryan Callahan to the team, whose grit and physical play is praised around the league.
Photo: Chris O’Meara/AP
The right winger was in the last year of his contract with the New York Rangers and were in the middle of negotiations to extend his contract, but neither side could agree to terms before the trade involving St. Louis. At the end of the season, Lightning GM, Steve Yzerman, made it known that he had every intention of signing the 29-year old winger to a long-term extension.
Yzerman’s intentions came to fruition today, when both sides were able to come to an agreement on a six-year deal, worth $34.8 million (a $5.8 average annual value). This is a lower price than the six-year and $36 million that the Rangers offered Callahan, according to the New York Post. The buyout of Ryan Malone’s contract saved the Lightning $4.5 million and allowed the team to apply that money towards the re-signing of Callahan.
Establishing the foundation of the future
The Callahan extension was just one key off season move Yzerman has secured since the Lightning were swept in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season. Yzerman started the off season with extensions for Tyler Johnson (23) and Ondrej Palat (23), both valued at three-years and $10 million. Both rookies were finalists for the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year), but lost to last year’s 1st overall pick, the Colorado Avalanches’ Nathan MacKinnon.
Yzerman continued his flurry of contract extensions with a two-year extension for Alex Killorn (24). The center’s new contract is worth $5.1 million, and after today’s re-signing of Callahan, Yzerman inked winger, J.T. Brown (23) to a two-year, one-way, contract that is believed to be $1.9 million, according to NBC Sports’ James O’Brien.
Yzerman says that he’s not done yet and is looking to acquire some young defensive talent through a trade. With lack of young top-tier talent at the blue line, most teams would be hard pressed to trade away their young defensemen. The Lightning do have two first round picks in this year’s draft and a conditional pick in the first round of next year (acquired in the Callahan/St.Louis trade), and Yzerman could very well trade away one of those for some talent.
Lightning fans could see another youth movement this year. With needs on the blue line, fans could see the NHL debut of the 10th
The future of the franchise skating during practice.
Photo: robert Bridenstine
overall pick in 2012, Slater Koekkoek. Fans could also see also see the likes of last year’s 3rd overall pick, Jonathan Drouin. Drouin was a finalist for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League player of the year. Both players will be evaluated on their performance during the Lightning’s annual development camp that will be held at the Brandon Ice Sports Forum, from July 2-6. It is free and open to the public.
One way or the other, Steve Yzerman has a large task at hand to make sure that they improve off of a successful run to the playoffs, however; he needs to make sure they do not get swept in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs again.
Take A Knee 