Sport DFW
FanSided

Dallas Stars: Here’s What Kucherov’s Extension means for Dallas’ Erik Karlsson Chase

By Avery Klatsky

TAMPA, FL - DECEMBER 10: Erik Karlsson #65 of the Ottawa Senators avoids a check from Nikita Kucherov #86 of the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Amalie Arena on December 10, 2015 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - DECEMBER 10: Erik Karlsson #65 of the Ottawa Senators avoids a check from Nikita Kucherov #86 of the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Amalie Arena on December 10, 2015 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Kucherov just signed a huge deal with Tampa Bay. Here is what that means for the Dallas Stars and their pursuit of Erik Karlsson.

On Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Lightning extended all-star forward Nikita Kucherov for a massive 8 year, $76 million contract. Kucherov will get about $9.5 million per year. Here is a breakdown of Kucherov’s contract:

Tampa’s deal with Kucherov leaves them with only about $3.5 million remaining in cap space.

So, in other words, probably not enough to trade for Erik Karlsson directly. This may boost the Dallas Stars chances of landing the elite defenseman. However, Tampa could move out big-name players on their roster to make space for him.

As of right now, Tampa Bay has seven players locked down until the 2022-23 season, all with big money deals.

Steven Stamkos ($8.5 million), J.T. Miller ($5.25 million), Tyler Johnson ($5 million), Kucherov ($9 million), Alex Killorn ($4.45 million), Victor Hedman ($7.88 million), and Ryan McDonagh ($6.75 million) are all under contract until the end of the 2023 season (at least).

Along with that, there are seven Lightning forwards that are under contract past the 2019-20 season who are getting paid at least 4.45 million dollars per season.

Despite all of this, Tampa Bay is not out of the running for Erik Karlsson, but they would have to move more pieces around to get him.

Realistically, Tampa could move forward Ryan Callahan ($5.8 million) and/or defensemen Braydon Coburn ($3.7 million) or Dan Girardi ($3 million) to free up space. Callahan becomes a UFA after the 2019-20 season, and Coburn and Girardi become UFAs after the 2018-19 season.

More from Dallas Stars

Tampa’s assets when trading for Karlsson

Tampa has two big assets in terms of pushing for Karlsson.

The first one is that they are easily one of the best teams in the East. Karlsson (like every player in the NHL) wants to win the Stanley Cup. If he joins Stamkos and company in Tampa Bay, they would be one of the biggest contenders.

The second is that Karlsson (supposedly) has good relationships with some players on the team. If they pulled some strings, they could help sway Karlsson to want to be traded to the Lightning.

Tampa’s liabilities when trading for Karlsson

The Lighting does have a few issues when trying to trade for the Swede.

Primarily, they have little to no cap space. They would have to make either a three-team deal (like the Avs-Preds-Sens deal last season) or give some big names back to Ottawa.

Another “speed bump” they have is that Senators GM Pierre Dorion most likely won’t want to deal Karlsson to a team in the same division. The Lightning and Senators are both in the Atlantic Division and play against each other several times each season.

Conclusion

Did this deal hurt Tampa Bay in the Erik Karlsson sweepstakes? Maybe. Should Dallas Stars fans get super excited and freak out? No. Does this mean that Dallas’ chances of getting Karlsson went up? Possibly.

Next: Dallas Stars: This Season Could Be Jim Nill’s Last in Dallas

Stars fans should reserve judgment until a deal is set in stone. It may be possible that Karlsson will become a Dallas Star. However, Tampa Bay still might have a horse in the race.

Home/Dallas Stars