The Lightning will be in a continuous state of cap crunch over the next few seasons. Excellent drafting combined with a few ill-advised free-agent overpays has resulted in the Lightning having too many players and not enough money. Jonathan Marchessault was the first casualty of the Lightning’s glut of forwards, and he will likely not be the last unless General Manager Steve Yzerman can find a way to work some magic. While I don’t want to underrate his magical powers, we can look at one realistic approach if his magic goes awry.
The Lightning are currently hampered by three big long-term contracts to aging veterans.