Four Notable Forwards Left Unprotected By The Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning have decided to protect four defensemen for the Expansion Draft, so they now will have some interesting forwards left exposed. Alex Killorn, Ondrej Palat, Yanni Gourde and Tyler Johnson are all now potential options for the Kraken. It seems likely that they will end up choosing one of them. All four of them have spent their entire careers in Tampa Bay.

Official #TBLightning protection list (4-4-1)

Protected: Cirelli, Kucherov, Point, Stamkos, Cernak, Hedman, McDonagh, Sergachev, Vasilevskiy.
Available: Gourde, Palat, Johnson, Killorn, Joseph, Rutta.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 18, 2021

Killorn is coming off a very solid season. In 56 games, he scored 15 goals and recorded 33 points. He was particularly effective during the postseason, as he had 17 points in 19 games. He has two more seasons left on his current deal and it has a $4.45 million cap hit.

Palat has been heavily praised for his effective two-way play, so he is a very alluring option for the Kraken. He had a marvelous year offensively, too, as he had 15 goals and 46 points in 55 games. He has a $5.3 million cap hit and one year left. If they want a player who has some term, Palat won't be there guy.

Gourde is another play who could intrigue them. He was a very effective player on the Lightning's third-line this season. He not only contributed well offensively, but played with a real edge, too. In 56 games this season, he had 17 goals and 36 points. He has four years left on a contract that carries a $5,166,666 cap hit.

Johnson is an interesting option because he was born in Washington. Although he was put on waivers last season, he worked perfectly as a bottom-six forward for the team this season. In 55 games played, he had 8 goals and 22 points. He does have a $5 million cap hit and three years left on his deal, so that may keep them away.

Nonetheless, there sure are some pretty intriguing players for the Kraken to consider from Tampa. It'll be fascinating to see who they officially choose.