On Friday, the Tampa Bay Lightning continued shaping up their roster for the upcoming 2021-22 NHL season. Despite trading Tyler Johnson before the start of free agency, the Lightning remained in serious cap crunch. After signing of Corey Perry and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare a day before, it was obvious that the Lightning needed to move some pieces and Mitchell Stephens ended up the odd man out. As a result Tampa Bay traded him to the Detroit Red Wings for a sixth round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
Not the worst outcome for Stephens, who will definitely get more opportunities with the Red Wings and will have a chance to reshape his career, as former Lightning player Adam Erne did in Detroit.