NHL free agency: 5 teams who need to sign Erik Karlsson
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
Listen, this is where Erik Karlsson is going. The sooner hockey fans accept the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to be his next team, the better. Remember, Karlsson was nearly traded there last summer before talks broke down.
The Lightning are going to need to add some pieces to their blueline this summer, and they’ll have some cap space to do it. Karlsson’s going to command an expensive deal, but Tampa has an ace up their sleeve – taxes. Or rather, the lack of them.
A big reason the Lightning are able to sign players to below-market deals is that the state of Florida does not have an income tax. Well, there’s always the whole “they have the difficulty setting set to easy” thing, but nothing can be done about that.
Furthermore, Karlsson is one of Victor Hedman’s best friends. Family and friends have always been a priority for the two-time Norris Trophy winner. And Tampa’s a pretty nice place to raise a family. The beaches are pretty darn nice, too.
While the Lightning will have to make some moves to make it work, Karlsson’s worth the effort. If they find someone to take on Ryan Callahan and maybe someone to trade for Tyler Johnson, they should be able to fit Karlsson’s salary into their system.
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Should he go to Tampa, he will likely not get a cap hit with eight digits to the left of the decimal point. But that might not matter to Karlsson, who will be where he has likely wanted to be all along.