Yzerman has chips to land needed defenseman
/The Tampa Bay Times takes another look at the Martin St. Louis-Ryan Callahan trade between the Lightning and New York Rangers.
The Lightning received a 2015 first round pick in the deal and because the Rangers made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, the 2014 second round choice included in the trade turned into a first rounder.
So, with Tampa Bay having two first rounders this summer and next year too, GM Steve Yzerman has some options. The article points out that the Lightning needs a top-four defenseman and Yzerman now has more bargaining chips for a potential trade.
"We're happy to have two first-round picks, two this year and two next year," Yzerman said. "We feel with all four of those we have the potential to get four very good prospects that will help us in the future. Obviously it gives you the opportunity to use those picks to trade up and trade down, or to use those picks to acquire a player that may help us sooner. Using the picks to acquire players, we'll see between now and the draft if there's any possibilities out there, but it's definitely something to consider."
Source: Joe Smith, Tampa Bay Times