BRANDON, Fla. — Once the Lightning realized in the days leading up to free agency that they wouldn’t be able to retain forward Ondrej Palat and defenseman Jan Rutta, the team worked quickly to reshape its roster.
But by the end of the first day of free agency, it had signed three free agents — defenseman Ian Cole, forward Vladislav Namestnikov (both one-year deals) and defenseman Haydn Fleury (two-year deal) — for the upcoming season.
Those moves alone put the Lightning right up against the $82.5 million flat cap for next season, even with the $6.875 million of long-term injury exemption relief from retired defenseman Brent Seabrook’s contract. After trading defenseman Ryan McDonagh earlier this month, general manager Julien BriseBois said he has no interest in trading away another veteran contract for salary-cap space.
