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The Tampa Bay Lightning returned to the playoffs for an eighth straight season. They have lost in the first round for three straight years, falling to the Florida Panthers each of the past two campaigns. This past season, the major issue was defense in their series with the Panthers. Now, the Lightning need to make a trade in this 2025 NHL offseason to help them get past Florida next year.
General manager Julien BriseBois has had a slow summer with the Lightning. They opened up the offseason by re-signing Yanni Gourde to a six-year deal. They also brought in Pontus Holmberg as a free agent, while also adding Jakob Pelletier. The major move in the trade market was moving a prospect. They traded away former Hobey Baker award winner Issac Howard to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for prospect Sam O'Reilly.
The Lightning are in a difficult cap situation as well. They have just $320,000 in cap space left this upcoming season. This will limit trade partners, as they need to find a team that can retain salary or bring on a large salary dump from the Bolts. Still, the team needs to find defensive depth for the playoffs. In the regular season, they were fourth in the NHL in goals against per game, while also sitting sixth on the penalty kill. In their series with the Panthers, they allowed 19 goals in five games, with 18 of them coming in the four losses. Further, they allowed 20 goals in the five games with the Panthers in the 2025 postseason.
The Bolts should make a trade with the Sharks
One of the first requirements for the Lightning to make a deal is to find a team with cap space. Currently, teams like the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, and Chicago Blackhawks have some of the most cap space in the league. Second, there needs to be the right player for Tampa to acquire. Most of the Ducks' options on the blue line are young. A player like Radko Gudas could be attractive, though. They could inquire about Connor Murphy from the Blackhawks as well. He also played on the right side and has a $4.4 million cap hit, which could be partially offset by the Blackhawks. Still, the best option may come from the Sharks.
The Sharks currently have $25.4 million in cap space, meaning they have more than enough space to retain part of a contract or take on a bad contract for the right situation. They also just signed Dmitry Orlov, giving them seven defenders under contract, with four on the left side. Further, they have Jack Thompson as a restricted free agent. The Bolts have been connected to Mario Ferraro as a potential trade connection.
Ferraro was the 49th overall pick by the Sharks in the 2017 NHL Draft. He would break into the NHL with the Sharks in the 2019-20 season, playing in 61 games that year. While he has not played 82 games in a season in his NHL career, he has played 60 or more in every non-shortened season. Further, he has missed just eight games in the last two seasons.
The Canadian defender has been solid the past two seasons. In 2023-24, he scored three goals and added 18 assists, while having five goals with 12 assists this past campaign. Meanwhile, his advanced stats show a growth in his defense over the past two seasons. He is coming off his best two seasons in shots blocked, takeaways, and hits of his NHL career, while his penalty kill numbers have also improved.
The blue liner is under contract for just one more season, but he comes in at a cost of just $3.25 million. If the Sharks could retain some of the salary while taking on a contract, the Lightning could easily make this trade. He is in the last year of his contract, though. That could put him in line for a raise next year if he plays well, but that is worth the risk for the Bolts. He would slide onto the second defensive pairing. This would be just behind Victor Hedman. If Ferraro were to move to the right side, he could pair with Hedman. This would allow Tampa Bay to move JJ Moser down a pair and potentially shelter his minutes.
Defensive depth is something that has been missing in Tampa in recent years. Further, Ryan McDonagh will turn 37 this year and is a free agent at the end of the season. A deal for Ferraro could potentially give the team a replacement for the future. Regardless, this is a deal that will help both teams. The Sharks can get assets in return, while the Lightning get depth and a future replacement for McDonagh.
