The NHL Draft is today, and the only drama for the Tampa Bay Lightning is whether they will trade Ross Colton to get back draft picks ahead of the free agent market opening up.
And while as it stands now Tampa does not have a first-round pick, and won’t have one for the foreseeable future, it is the price the Bolts had to pay to achieve its recent success.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Sitting this one out
As a result of of a number of trades the Lightning have made, Tampa doesn’t get to pick until the 6th round of this years’ draft:
- First Round – Traded to Chicago to acquire Brandon Hagel
- Second Round – Traded to Chicago so they would take Tyler Johnson
- Third Round – Traded to Nashville for Tanner Jeannot
- Fourth Round – Also traded to Nashville in the Tanner Jeannot deal
- Fifth Round – Hey, you guessed it, traded to Nashville for Tanner Jeannot
On top of not having draft picks this year, Tampa won’t have their first-round or second-round pick in 2024 (Hagel and Jeannot), as well as not having a first-round pick in 2025 (Jeannot).