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Meet the Buyers: The Lightning sit tied at the top of the Eastern Conference
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Photo credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Feb 15, 2026, 12:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 15, 2026, 08:27 EST
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It feels as if the Tampa Bay Lightning have been contenders forever.
After a pair of first round exits to the Florida Panthers in the last two post-seasons, the Lightning are primed for another deep run as their 37-14-4 record and 78 points are tied for the best in the Eastern Conference and second in the National Hockey League.
The Flames are on the other end of the spectrum, as their 23-27-6 record and 52 points have them fourth-last in the league. It’s not a matter of if, but when the Flames will be eliminated from playoff contention.  They’ve already started the sell off, trading Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights for two picks, a prospect, and Zach Whitecloud.
Mar. 6 is the trade deadline, and Whitecloud is one of a handful of players the Flames should be trading to help expedite the rebuild. Other players who could be traded are Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman, MacKenzie Weegar, and Ryan Lomberg.
That said, let’s take a look at which Flames players could be a fit for the Lightning, as well as what the Lightning have to offer.

Lightning’s needs and cap situation

When Anthony Cirelli and Brayden Point return to the lineup, the Lightning’s top six is pretty much solidified. It seems like the 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup champions are looking for a right-shot centre for their bottom six, as well as a penalty killer. Funnily enough, that’s also what the Flames are looking for in regards to their prospect pool.
The Lightning will need to make some moves for their cap. At the moment, they have about $3.844 million in cap space, but they’re currently over the cap hit once Point returns from the long-term injured reserve.
Before last season’s trade deadline, the Lightning reunited with Yanni Gourde, which makes me wonder if they’d have an interest in doing the same with Blake Coleman? The Flame has a cap hit of $4.9 million and a 10-team trade list.
Although Kadri is a centre, he shoots left-handed and his cap hit is probably too much for the Lightning to absorb in the middle of the season. The same is the case for Weegar, but you could argue that Whitecloud would be a fit for the Lightning.
As it stands, the Lightning have left-shot defenceman Declan Carlile playing on the third pair. Charles-Édouard D’Astous and Emil Lilleberg are both on the injured reserve, but both are left-shot defencemen as well. Whitecloud would solidify their bottom pair by giving them a right-shot defenceman on the right side. Whitecloud carries a cap hit of $2.75 million and is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2027-28 season.

What the Lightning have to offer

On top of the Flames having no real fits for the Lightning’s needs, the Lightning don’t have a ton to offer the Flames. They don’t have a first round pick in either the 2026 or 2027 draft, but they have their 2028 first, as well as their second-round pick for the next three seasons.
Because they’ve contended for as long as they have, the Lightning don’t have a ton in the way of impact prospects. According to Daily Faceoff, their best prospect is Canadian Sam O’Reilly, who the Lightning acquired from the Edmonton Oilers for Ike Howard during the off-season. The right-shot centre began his season with the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights and scored 12 goals and 28 points in 28 games before being traded to the Kitchener Rangers, where he has nine goals and 20 points in 15 games.
The rest of their top prospects were selected in the second round or later, and that group consists of Ethan Gauthier, Ethan Czata, and Dylan Duke. There’s a reason why their farm system is widely considered one of the worst in the league.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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