Lightning May Serve as a Potential Landing Site for Upcoming Predators
Might the Lightning try to bring these inexpensive predators forward to bolster their offensive line?
It’s no secret in the hockey world that the Tampa Bay Lightning want to bolster their defense.
Given that Mikhail Sergachev is a key member of their blue line and is out of commission indefinitely, it makes sense.
It would not hurt, though, if they added a forward prior to the deadline.
Tommy Novak of the Nashville Predators is a forward, and Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean has mentioned the Lightning as one of his most likely destinations.
According to Daugherty, the Lightning might benefit from having a reliable backup scorer like Novak because of the huge decline in forward depth they experienced after losing their best players.
Daugherty stated the following in regards to the situation:
Although Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, and Steven Stamkos are all potent goal scorers for the Lightning, the group’s offensive depth is deficient.
Their greatest choices at center are Luke Glendening and Tyler Motte; Novak would be a huge improvement over both of them.
Novak, 26, is scoring 12 goals and dishing out 32 points in 50 games this season for the Predators.
Without a doubt, the Lightning’s forward corps would gain from having a player of that caliber.
Novak would be a great addition to the Lightning as a second- or third-line center.
He would also be a great choice for their power play because of his ability to create engaging plays.
As Daugherty points out, Novak is a guy that the Lightning could easily squeeze in with his modest contract ($800,000 cap hit).
However, there are good reasons the Bolts should think about pushing for Novak in the coming week. From here, we’ll have to wait and see if they follow through on that.
