Lightning Could Acquire Senators' Veteran

The possibilities for the Tampa Bay Lightning to upgrade at the trade deadline have expanded a ton recently. After Mikhail Sergachev worked very hard to get back to playing, he was injured again in the first game back. This injury should at least keep him out into the playoffs, so the Lightning have over $8 million to work with in not only addressing that hole on the back-end, but other areas in their lineup.

While a big name is expected to be added to the defensive group, some depth up front would also be welcomed. This could come in the form of Vladimir Tarasenko. The Ottawa Senators are not in the playoff race and have a couple of trade candidates, including pending UFA Tarasenko.

With a $5 million AAV cap hit, the Senators could retain half and the Lightning could easily take on the other half and add to their scoring. Like the Lightning's core, Tarasenko is also a Stanley Cup winner and has lots of playoff experience. Tampa Bay is known for making interesting and solid moves at the deadline in order to continue to give their team a chance at winning while the core is signed.

The Fourth Period noted the Lightning as a team that has been linked to Tarasenko. He has a full no-trade clause, but there's no indication that he wouldn't waive it to be dealt to a contender like the Lightning.

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