TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Lightning want to sign pending unrestricted free agent forwards Nicholas Paul and Ondrej Palat and defenseman Jan Rutta, general manager Julien BriseBois said Tuesday.
“I’ve already been in touch with all three of their agents and had preliminary discussions over the past 36 hours,” BriseBois said. “I know all three would like to stay here and we’d like to keep them.”
BriseBois addressed the media two days after the Lightning saw their dream of a third straight Stanley Cup championship end with a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday.
“I’m trying to put on a brave face, but no one gets to the Stanley Cup Final not to win the Cup,” BriseBois said. “You get to the Stanley Cup Final to bring home the Cup, especially this year when we had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win three straight Stanley Cups.”
BriseBois said his focus the next few weeks will be focused on the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bell Centre in Montreal on July 7-8, the start of NHL free agency July 13 and managing the NHL salary cap ($82.5 million next season). BriseBois said he has some flexibility with the cap, which should help him keep Paul, Palat and Rutta.
Paul was acquired by the Lightning in a trade with the Ottawa Senators for forward Mathieu Joseph and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft on March 20.
Paul had 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 21 regular-season games with Tampa Bay, and nine points (five goals, four assists) in the playoffs, including both goals in a 2-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round.
“I think we had a good read on him as a player,” BriseBois said. “I think him getting to play in NHL playoffs, which he hadn’t done before, allowed him to showcase how much of a gamer he is.
“If anything, that’s probably the quality that stands out to me. He’s a big-time gamer. He fought through a lot of injuries for a long time and still performed at a very high level through Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. Very impressive.”
BriseBois said Paul played through a sprained AC joint in his shoulder.
Paul, who signed a two-year, $2.7 million contract ($1.35 million average annaul value) with the Senators on Oct. 14, 2020, said he wants to stay in Tampa.
“Obviously I love it here,” the 27-year-old said. “I’m a free agent this summer, but Tampa is definitely a spot I really enjoyed. I like the guys on the team. I’m speaking to my agent right now and he knows my thoughts. We’ll see.
“Everything about this organization is first class. I definitely got a first-row seat to that with how I was treated and how my family was treated. And the other thing is the group of guys in that room. The leaders they have in there all the way down to the staff is unbelievable. All they want is success. Everyone is all together. Everyone has a voice.”
Palat, selected by the Lightning in the seventh round (No. 208) of the 2011 NHL Draft, has played his entire 10-season NHL career with Tampa Bay. He had 49 points (18 goals, 31 assists) in the regular season, and had 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in the playoffs, including the game-winning goal in Games 3 and 5 of the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers and Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
He has 12 game-winning goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which is third among active NHL players behind Joe Pavelski of the Dallas Stars (14) and Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins (13).
He signed a five-year, $26.5 million contract ($5.3 million AAV) with the Lightning on July 14, 2017.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper has described Palat as someone with “the ability to play that blue-collar game with white-collar players.”
Rutta was acquired by the Lightning in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks for a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and defenseman Slater Koekkoek on Jan. 11, 2019.
He had 18 points (three goals, 15 assists) in 76 games this season and five points (one goal, four assists) in 17 playoff games. Rutta often has played as Victor Hedman‘s defense partner in Tampa Bay.
He signed a two-year, $2.6 million contract ($1.3 million AAV) with the Lightning on Dec. 22, 2020.
BriseBois believes the Lightning’s championship window can remain open for the next several seasons, and the moves he makes this offseason will be with the hopes of winning another Cup.
“I don’t think we’re done chasing Stanley Cups here,” BriseBois said. “We’re set up to be a really competitive team for the foreseeable future and hopefully stars align again for us at some point and we get to bring back the Stanley Cup to Tampa Bay.”
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