3 Offseason Targets For Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning always find a way to bolster their team mid-season, but they never do too bad in the offseason either. There will be some areas where the Lightning require replacements after certain players head to free agency. While these new faces won't be huge difference makers, they will play a role in the success.

Brandon Saad

The Lightning should be looking for a third and fourth liner as Yanni Gourde and Luke Glendening are probably both headed to new teams in the summer. They also really need scoring from the bottom-6 to compete with teams like the Florida Panthers where they are outmatched in that area. Brandon Saad proved that his situation in St. Louis was holding him back and has played well in Vegas. He is a known goal-scorer, albeit an underrated one, and could play lower in the Tampa Bay lineup doing what Cam Atkinson couldn't this season for cheap.

Eric Robinson

Eric Robinson broke out this season and showed what he is capable of with more of an opportunity. It remains to be seen whether the Carolina Hurricanes will have the space to bring him back, but there will surely be a lot of suitors for the middle-aged forward this offseason if not. He could very well test his luck in free agency to at least see what's out there. The Lightning should be all over that as he can play center and the wing and he scored 14 goals this season. He won't be too expensive either and Tampa Bay needs that.

Dan Vladar

The Lightning have been stuck with Jonas Johansson the last few years and could really do with an upgrade. The goalies available in free agency at least are solid, but the starter position is where teams will have a hard time upgrading. From this season's stats, Dan Vladar is an upgrade to Johansson, and he performed better overall on a worse team. The Lightning need a pure backup goalie, not someone who is looking to start 30+ games. With Andrei Vasilevskiy as the starter, the other goalie won't get much playing time, but has to be able to come in and do his job on Vas' off nights.

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