TAMPA, Fla. — It's been a busy offseason for the front office of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The team's had to shuffle its roster to get under the $81.5 million salary cap.
Bolts general manager Julien BriseBois said goodbye to Barclay Goodrow, Blake Coleman, David Savard, and Yanni Gourde. But he's been just as actively trying to bolster the team with what resources he has available.
On Thursday, the Bolts signed 36-year-old winger Corey Perry to a two-year deal. Perry, the 2011 Hart Trophy winner, spent last season with Montreal. Perry has 386 goals in 16 NHL seasons. Tampa Bay will be his fourth team in four years (Anaheim, Dallas, Montreal).
The Lightning also brought back defenseman Zach Bogosian on a three-year deal. Bogosian, 31, won the 2020 Stanley Cup with the Lightning after coming over in a trade with Buffalo. He played last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"My wife is extremely excited. My kids were really excited," Bogosian said via video chat. "They were running around the house screaming 'Go Bolts!'"
Bogosian most likely could've pushed for a more lucrative deal on the open market, but he thought coming back to Tampa Bay was the perfect fit.
"There are certain boxes that you have that you want to check off as a free agent. Tampa was lined up with a lot of the boxes that we wanted to check off," he said.
BriseBois said players' agents are calling him to look for a chance to join a winner. He said playing alongside great players on a successful team is a huge draw.
"The wheel kind of spins itself, right? You’re a good team, players want to sign with you," BriseBois said on his media conference call. "You’ve got good players, you’re a good team, good players want to sign with you. Trying to keep the wheel going."
The Lightning signed center Brayden Point to an eight-year extension on Wednesday. Barring trades, the remaining core of the 2021 Stanley Cup champions will be under team control for the next three seasons.
