Lightning shift focus to signing Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat

TAMPA-- The Tampa Bay Lightning will shift their focus to signing four restricted free agents, including forwards Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat, after adding two veterans with short-term contracts on the first day of free agency.

The Lightning signed defenseman Dan Girardi to a two-year, $6 million contract and forward Chris Kunitz to a one-year, $2 million contract Saturday to provide NHL salary cap flexibility to keep Palat, Johnson and defensemen Jake Dotchin and Slater Koekkoek.
"It's hard to make long-term commitments," Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman said Saturday. "We can only do that with so many players. We've done that with a few of our guys. And we're looking at contracts for Palat and Johnson, and not too far away is right wing Nikita Kucherov] and after him is [goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy]. So you have to keep those things in mind. In the interim we needed some players on shorter-term contracts and that was the direction we went here."
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Girardi, 33, played the past 11 seasons with the New York Rangers. He had 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 63 games last season. New York bought out the final three years of his contract on June 15.
Kunitz, 37, had 29 points (nine goals, 20 assists) in 71 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. He has won the Stanley Cup four times, including three with the Penguins (2009, 2016, 2017) and once with the Anaheim Ducks (2006).
"I believe by bringing in Chris Kunitz and Dan Girardi we're a harder team to play against and I'd expect us to be an improved team defensively," Yzerman said.
The Lightning were looking to add a forward after trading Jonathan Drouin to the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman prospect Mikhail Sergachev on June 15.

"Obviously Chris Kunitz is a different type of player than Jonathan Drouin, but he's a player that can bring a lot to our team that can help us," Yzerman said. "He's played with the top players in Pittsburgh and he's very effective in a defensive role as well. And on the power play he's very effective in front of the net. So he gives us a lot of flexibility, and we believe he's got a lot of hockey left in him."
Kunitz, who often played left wing on a line with Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin with Pittsburgh, said he will work to fit in wherever Tampa Bay needs him in the lineup.
"They didn't say, 'You're going to be in this role'," Kunitz said. "It's something that you come in as a top-nine [forward] and they move their guys around as they see fittingly. But I think there's always chances. Unfortunately, there are injuries throughout the year. I've been a guy able to move up and down the lineup on previous teams. I don't really tag myself as doing one thing really well; I try to do a couple things that can help my team win. Wherever they need me to slot in and try to fill that role, I'll definitely welcome that challenge."
Kunitz joins a forward group that likely will include Johnson and Palat, each 26. Johnson, a center, had 83 points (33 goals, 50 assists) in 135 games the past two seasons after getting 72 points (29 goals, 43 assists) in 77 games in 2014-15. He finished a three-year contract that had an annual salary cap charge of $756,667, according to CapFriendly.com.
Palat, a left wing, had 52 points (17 goals, 35 assists) in 75 games last season, the last of a three-year contract that had an average annual value of $575,000.

Kucherov, 24, finished tied for fifth in the NHL with a career-high 85 points (40 goals, 45 assists) last season after signing a three-year, $14.3 million contract on Oct. 11. He can become a restricted free agent after the 2018-19 season. Vasilevskiy, 22, signed a three-year, $10.5 million contract on July 1, 2016, and can become a restricted free agent after 2019-20.
"We want to sign those players," Yzerman said. "I'll do whatever I have to do."