The Lightning re-signed defenseman Nikita Nesterov Monday, leaving it with just one (but important) restricted free agent left:
Nikita Kucherov.
Nesterov, like Kucherov, was playing with Russia at the World Cup, and is set to rejoin camp in the next week. Nesterov was signed to a one-year, $725,000 deal.
That doesn't leave a lot of room for Kucherov, who could command $6 million or more per season. After Nesterov signing, Tampa Bay has between $5-$5.5 million of salary cap space remaining this season, per CapFriendly.com. Even if you temporarily put Ryan Callahan on long term injured reserve, it won't save a ton, plus he's expected to return by mid-November.