For days now it has seemed like Jake Guentzel would end up with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and after clearing cap space throughout the draft, the Lightning have now made it official.
In return for Guentzel's rights, the Hurricanes acquired a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, as the Lightning will now quickly work to lock up the veteran forward on a long-term deal.
This likely means that the career of Steven Stamkos is officially done in Tampa Bay, as the long time captain will now head into free agency and assess his options ahead of another Stanley Cup chase in 2024-25.
It's unclear what other moves the Lightning have up their sleeve this off-season, but after moving Mikhail Sergachev over the draft, they remain incredibly unpredictable moving forward.
