What comes next for the Tampa Bay Lightning after their historic failure?

The Tampa Bay Lightning are fresh off the worst collapse in NHL history, but they still have a season ahead of them next year. What do they have to do this off-season to avoid this failure next season?

The Tampa Bay Lightning just won 62 games this regular season, tying the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for most wins in a single regular season.

They were 2-to-1 favorites to walk through the playoffs en route to the easiest Stanley Cup win in NHL history and they got matched up with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round.

Columbus had never won a playoff series in their history; what chance could they possibly have against the best team of the salary cap era?

The Columbus Blue Jackets swept the Tampa Bay Lightning in a four-game domination.

After blowing a 3-0 lead in Game 1 of the series, the Lightning were outscored 19-5 by the Blue Jackets and became the first President’s Trophy winner to be swept in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Everything went right for Columbus and EVERYTHING went wrong for the Lightning.

So, after an historic season that will be buried underneath the most historic collapse in NHL history, what could possibly come next for the Tampa Bay Lightning this offseason and next season?

For one, the Lightning don’t get to just give it another try with this team next year. It’s not up to them.

They have several key free agents this season and will have Nikita Kucherov, Yanni Gourde and Ryan McDonagh getting significant raises on already signed extensions, ending their team-friendly discounts.

Anthony Cirelli and Adam Erne are also up for new contracts, but are restricted free agents. Tampa also has Anton Stralman, Brayden Coburn, Dan Girardi and Jan Rutta on expiring contracts as unrestricted free agents which will lead to some turnover on the defense.

Getting restricted free agent Brayden Point re-signed is priority No. 1 for the Lightning this offseason and it’s not going to be cheap.

The 23-year-old winger posted a 92-point season and even though he only posted one goal in the playoffs, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll take much of a discount, at least not enough that they can afford to keep the whole team for next season.

Tampa should keep an offer sheet from another team in mind though and should lock him up before July 1 in order to ensure nobody can mess with their cap situation.

In order to make room for Point and others this offseason, somebody will likely have to go and they’ll have to get creative in order to prevent trading any of their important depth pieces.

The most obvious course of action is to find out what to do with Ryan Callahan, who will make $5.8 million against the cap next season.

To trade Callahan, Tampa Bay would have to attach a valuable asset to him in order to entice a team to take his contract or they could forgo that and buy out the contract.

According to Capfriendly, a buyout of Callahan’s contract would save them $3,133,333 on the cap for next season, and cost them $1,566,667 against the cap next season. That is very easy to work with and not worth attaching a decent asset to Callahan to get rid of the whole cap hit.

Lightning fans shouldn’t worry about losing Point with the amount of money that will be leaving and they can afford to pay him whatever he wants. Even if trimming the fat doesn’t clear enough space, there are other moves they can make in order to clear the space they need.

The most popular trade candidates that get brought up are the likes of Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn and Ondrej Palat, since they are seen as the most expendable pieces on Tampa’s offense and are signed long-term.

All three carry no-trade clauses on their contracts, so every move would have to go through them should Tampa Bay decide to try and move them.

Once Point is locked up, Tampa Bay will have their core locked up for the foreseeable future until at least 2024-25, when Steven Stamkos’ contract expires.

Outside of pure logistics and cost control, should the Lightning make a change for the sake of making change after their embarrassing defeat? There’s no easy answer for that. Should they shake up a team that won 62 games in the regular season?

They don’t really need anything, especially on offense, but I think they need a fresh face or two in the room in order to help wash out the stench of this years playoff choke job.

Stars like Kucherov, Stamkos and Victor Hedman should absolutely be untouchables and there should only be a move if it absolutely benefits the weaknesses of the team.

Finding a cheap free agent that can bring some stability to the locker room is something that several of the last Stanley Cup champions have done, notably Devante Smith-Pelly with the Capitals last season, and the Lightning could benefit from the same.

Jon Cooper likely won’t be fired this offseason after signing an extension , but even despite his multiyear contract extension, he should be kept on a short leash next season.

If Tampa can’t get it done in the playoffs again next year, some heads will have to roll and Cooper will almost certainly be the first to go if nothing changes next season.

All in all, the Lightning still made history as one of the best teams in NHL history regardless of their collapse, and the answer is more likely than not in the room.

Outside of their impending cap crunch, no serious turnover is needed and the Lightning window to win a Stanley Cup is still wide open. A choking label is impossible to shed without winning a Stanley Cup and it’s going to be a long offseason and regular season for Lightning fans.