'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The 5 worst contracts in Tampa Bay Lightning history, feat. Vincent Lecavalier
The Tampa Bay Lightning have been one of the most successful teams in recent history. The team won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021 thanks to its savvy financial and salary-cap management.
However, the Lightning have made some questionable contract decisions. So, here’s a look at the five worst contracts in Tampa Bay Lightning history.
The 5 worst contracts in Tampa Bay Lightning history
#5: Dan Boyle
Boyle was a mainstay on the Tampa Bay Lightning blue line for several seasons, including the team’s 2004 Stanley Cup run. He had put up multiple 50-plus-point seasons, including 15 goals and 53 points in 2005-06. As such, the Bolts locked up Boyle with a three-year, $10 million deal.
While Boyle was getting paid like a high-end defenseman at the time, his production didn’t follow suit. After his best season in 2006-07, his production fell off a cliff. The Bolts needed cap space, so they moved Boyle to the San Jose Sharks the following year. Boyle rebounded but never reached the same level.
#4: Ryan Malone
Malone had some good seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, registering a career-high 27 goals and 51 points in 77 games in 2007-08. So, the Bolts pounced on the chance to bring in a tough, gritty, top-six winger when he hit free agency.
Tampa signed Malone to a seven-year, $31.5 million deal, with an average annual value of $4.5 million. Malone performed up to his career averages during the first half of the contract. However, his play took a nosedive during the latter portion of the deal.
By 2014, the Bolts bought out the final year of Malone’s contract following his arrest for DUI and drug possession. Malone managed just 23 points in his last two seasons with Tampa. He played six games with the New York Rangers in 2014-15, failing to register a point.
#3: Matt Carle
Matt Carle was a promising defenseman with the San Jose Sharks. He put up 42 points in 77 games in his first full season in San Jose. Although he significantly regressed the following season, the Tampa Bay Lightning felt he was worth the risk.
The Bolts traded for Carle in 2007 but then dealt him to Philadelphia later that season. By 2012, the Bolts reacquired Carle from the Flyers, looking to bolster their blue line. Carle played reasonably well, so the Tampa Bay Lightning extended his contract.
That was a mistake, as the six-year, $33 million deal for a bottom-four defenseman failed to deliver. In the first year of the contract, Carle played in all 82 games, registering 31 points. However, the next season saw Carle register 18 points in 59 relatively inconsistent games.
Carle’s game dropped off even more the following year — he put up nine points in 64 games. By 2016, the Bolts bought out Carle, as the team needed cap space. He played six more games with the Nashville Predators, notching one assist.
#2: Ryan Callahan
Callahan had been a solid middle-six forward for the New York Rangers before joining the Bolts during the 2013-14 season. The complex deal allowed Tampa to get the winger they needed while pocketing some draft picks.
During the 2014 offseason, the Tampa Bay Lightning signed Callahan to a six-year, $34.8 million deal. The $5.8 million AAV paid Callahan like a top-line winger, though the production never materialized. Callahan scored 24 goals and 54 points in his first season, but that was it.
Callahan’s production dipped to 28 points in 2015-16. His inconsistent play landed him on the Bolts’ fourth line for the remainder of his contract. Callahan registered seven goals in the last year of his deal.
#1: Vincent Lecavalier
Lecavalier was Tampa’s first overall pick in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. He was instrumental in the Bolts’ 2004 Stanley Cup-winning run, eventually reaching a career-high 108 points in 2006-07. He followed that up with another 92-point campaign the following year.
So, the Bolts wasted no time in signing their captain to an 11-year, $85 million deal in 2008. The deal started alright, but it didn’t end well. Lecavalier’s point production gradually dipped to 32 points in 39 games during the lockout-shortened 2013 season.
Needing cap relief, the Tampa Bay Lightning moved Lecavalier to the Philadelphia Flyers. Unfortunately, Lecavalier never regained his form. This contract may be one of the reasons NHL teams pushed hard to set term limits on contracts, as 10- and 11-year deals rarely worked out well.
Trending
