Much has been said about the cap casualties that the Tampa Bay Lightning have had to put up with over the past few years. There have been so many great players to come out of the Lightning locker room, and of course, not all of them have been able to stay as long as they might have liked to. What happened to all of those players, though? Where are they, and what have they been up to? Let’s take a brief look at what has become of some of these former Lightning players.
Ryan McDonagh
Ryan McDonagh was arguably the heart of the Lightning defense. Every night, he gave his all, and there is no doubt that without him, the Lightning would not have been back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. Even if he was not the offensive defenseman that is so highly valued in today’s game, he played a level of defense that few players in the league could achieve. He blocked shots and put up big minutes consistently. McDonagh did the dirty work to grind out wins.
Unfortunately, his $6.75 million average annual salary was a bit more than the Lightning could afford, and before the start of the 2022–23 season, he was traded to the Nashville Predators. Last year, McDonagh looked like the same player that the Lightning very much valued. He put up a respectable 20-point season and played over 21 minutes a night. With 165 blocks and 47 takeaways, he had the second-best season of his career in those two categories. This season has seen the 34-year-old defenseman continue to get big minutes, and while his age is starting to show, he has played well enough when he has been healthy.
Blake Coleman
The forward known as “Pickles” from Plano, Texas, quickly became a fan favorite with the Lightning. Blake Coleman was known for having some speed and some grit, along with a scoring touch that added some dangerous depth to the team. His playoff highlights will not be forgotten anytime soon, and his time with the Lightning springboarded him to his first big payday in his career.
He is currently making $4.9 million a year with the Calgary Flames, and while it remains to be seen if he is worth the six-year contract that expires after the 2026–27 season, his scoring ability is still there. In the 2021–22 season, he put the puck in the net 16 times, and then he did it 18 times the next season. Those are currently his highest totals since the 2019–20 season. Last season was actually a career year for Coleman, as the 38 points he recorded were a career-high. This information will likely be outdated soon, though, as Coleman has 17 goals and 32 points midway through the current 2023–24 season. It will be interesting to see what the second half of the season brings for him and if this season is just an outlier or if he has another level to his game.
Alex Killorn
If all of the Lightning players had left Tampa Bay recently, Alex Killorn was the one who had been with the organization for the longest. He was drafted all the way back in 2007 and played 805 games in a Lightning jersey. Plenty of amazing players have had to depart due to the cap crunch, but none of them have been as impactful on the Lightning’s history as Killorn. He was a competent and proficient player who could always be counted on in big moments in the playoffs. During the regular season, he was the kind of forward who was never going to be the team leader in points but could almost always be a safe bet for a solid 40 points.
It was a tough choice for Killorn to say goodbye, but last offseason, he finally did just that and jumped ship for the Anaheim Ducks. He signed a four-year, $25 million contract, and it’s hard to blame him. Unfortunately, he was injured during the preseason, so he missed some time. But he has since recovered and has been able to get his first season with the Ducks started; through 30 games, he has four goals and 13 assists. Towards the end of his time with the Lightning, he was starting to become a bit of a streaky player, but this feels a bit extreme. This is certainly not the start Killorn was hoping for in Anaheim
Ondrej Palat
Ondrej Palat remains a great example of how deep in the draft, NHL-caliber players can potentially be found. In 2011, the Lightning picked him in the seventh round. During his time with the Lightning, he blossomed into a great role player who consistently performed and elevated those around him. The Lightning forward was, of course, a member of “the triplets,” one of the most electric lines that the Lightning have ever had. Even if he only surpassed the 20-goal mark once, he was still a very reliable forward who was good for at least 35 points in a season.
After leaving the Lightning, he signed a five-year, $30 million contract with the New Jersey Devils. Similarly to Killorn, it has not gone according to plan thus far. Last season and this season have both been marked by injuries for the Czech forward. When he has managed to get on the ice, production has been down. Last season, Palat had eight goals in 49 games, and this season, he has five goals in 35 games. He is 32 years old, so there could still be some gas left in the tank to turn things around, but this has undoubtedly been a frustrating chapter in what has otherwise been a great career.
Barclay Goodrow
Not too many people knew who Barclay Goodrow was when he came to the Lightning. They certainly would not have been true when he left. He was a pivotal member of the Lightning’s third line that would become feared around the league. Whereas Coleman and Yanni Gourde provided some firepower, Goodrow had some solid defense to balance things out. His specific but critical role got him some attention from other clubs, and he eventually got paid.
Goodrow is currently in the middle of a six-year deal with the New York Rangers that will see him make $21.85 million by the time the contract is up. Interestingly enough, in his first two seasons with the Rangers, he produced a fair number of goals. In 2021–22, he had 13 goals and posted 11 in the season after. That might not sound like a staggering amount, but for someone whose previous career high was eight goals, that’s pretty good. This season, Goodrow appears to have regressed toward the mean, but he still does the dirty work he has become renowned for. Anything beyond that is gravy, so the Rangers have to be fairly happy with the deal so far.
Yanni Gourde
Whenever a new team is announced, the expansion draft is soon to follow. The Lightning were in a position where they would lose someone good to the Seattle Kraken, and it just so happened to be Gourde. Even though the organization wanted to keep him, his contract and the nature of the expansion draft ensured that he would get taken. Gourde had three 20-goal seasons in a Lightning uniform, along with plenty of memorable playoff performances.
The former Lightning forward is currently in his third season with the Kraken and is one of their most important players. Like in Tampa, he is a staple of the third line that creates an extra punch for the Kraken’s offense. He could stand to provide a few more goals, but all in all, he is the same well-rounded role player the Lightning fans fell in love with.
Kevin Shattenkirk
Kevin Shattenkirk only played a single season with the Lightning, but it was quite a season. He recorded 34 points in the regular season and got his name etched on the Stanley Cup. After winning the Stanley Cup, he decided to cash in and go to the Anaheim Ducks. He posted some pretty good offensive numbers, but those Ducks were a team in transition, so the defensive stats were subpar.
He is on a one-year “prove it” deal with the Boston Bruins. At 34 years old, Shattenkirk is trying to show that he can stick around and maybe win another Stanley Cup on his way out the door. So far this season, he has 12 points, so there is still some offense left in his game. But he is averaging 16 minutes a game, which is a career low.
Ross Colton
Ross Colton was once seen as the next young player who would step up and become a big-time player for the Lightning. While that is not exactly what happened, he was still a useful and skilled player who helped the team. His biggest moment with the Lightning is, without question, when he scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory against the Montreal Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup in 2021.
Related: 3 Reasons the Lightning Should Sign Corey Perry
Today, Colton is with the Colorado Avalanche, and it is still too soon to tell what the rest of his career is going to look like. He is, after all, still in his 20s, and this is only his third full season in the NHL. So far, though, it appears that he is a dependable but not elite forward, as his numbers with the Avalanche are not as dissimilar to the ones he posted with the Lightning. That might not sound flashy, but the Lightning could use someone like that right now.
Who Could Be Next?
The flat-cap era has come to a close, and it is hard to imagine that the Lightning will have to deal with the same level of turnover in the future, but that does not mean everyone will be safe. The rising cap over the next few seasons might solve potential future problems for the Lightning. However, at present, they are still in a bit of a bind.
With the cap constraints on the organization and the team’s level of play declining, it feels as though something has to give. Will the team try to move on from underperforming players on big contracts like Anthony Cirelli or Erik Cernak? Will they move on from veterans towards the end of their careers like Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman? Maybe they will go a different route and do something nobody expects. It is really quite hard to say. The only thing that is certain is that, once again, general manager Julien BriseBois has some tough choices to make.
