The Tampa Bay Lightning cleared plenty of cap space Saturday, but apparently not to re-sign captain Steven Stamkos.

General manager Julien BriseBois said the team and Stamkos have decided to let the Lightning star hit unrestricted free agency on Monday. That’s after two trades on Saturday at the NHL draft that opened up significant salary cap space, as the Lightning sent defenseman Mikhail Sergachev ($8.5 million average annual value) to Utah and forward Tanner Jeannot ($2.665 million AAV) to the Los Angeles Kings.

CapFriendly now projects the Lightning to have $16.5 million in available cap space. There was plenty of speculation that the increased cap space was earmarked for a new contract for Stamkos, but that wasn’t the case.

BriseBois said he spoke with Stamkos’ agent, Don Meehan, on Saturday after the trades were made but did not increase the team’s offer to its star forward. Multiple reports claim that the Lightning have made a long-term offer to Stamkos but with an average annual value of only $3 million.

“The plan is for Steven to test the free agent market. Our respective positions haven’t changed following today’s trades. I understand that when you get this close to free agency it can be tempting to see what the market has to offer to you. That was a risk I was taking when I didn’t go to Steven a year early to try to lock him up and get a contract done,” BriseBois said.

The general manager also told Meehan that “it’s the best interest of our organization to explore all options in the coming days, whether it be via trades or by getting into free agency.”

There was heavy speculation at the draft in Las Vegas on Saturday that the Lightning could target Carolina Hurricanes winger Jake Guentzel in free agency, who is five years younger than Stamkos. The Hurricanes have been attempting to retain Guentzel but have yet to ink him to a new contract.

“We have this cap space. We can allocate it in different ways by either getting volume or quality. I don’t know yet how we’re going to do that. I know the priority is going to be to address our forward group,” BriseBois said.

Stamkos, 34, had been a key part of that forward group since the Lightning selected him No. 1 overall in the 2008 draft.

Stamkos has spent 16 seasons with the Lightning and is the club’s career leader in goals (555), points (1,137) and games (1,082). He has won two Stanley Cups (2020, 2021) with the franchise and has 50 goals and 51 assists in 128 playoff games.

This past season, Stamkos had 40 goals and 41 assists in 79 games. It marked the seventh time he has scored 40 or more goals. A seven-time All-Star, Stamkos also authored his first career four-goal game this past December.

Stamkos came close to becoming a free agent in 2016 before signing an eight-year, $68 million deal just before the start of free agency. But this time, he’s headed to the market.

“We have to see what’s best for the Lightning organization and Steven has to do what’s best for him, his career and his family,” BriseBois said. “So unless something changes between now and July 1 — and it doesn’t look like it will — then we will get to July 1.”

The Lightning also are hopeful of working out a contract extension with defenseman Victor Hedman, who has one season left on an eight-year, $63 million contract. Hedman, 33, had 13 goals and 76 points in 78 games this season, his 15th with the club.

“We’ve had discussions with Victor’s agents about an extension,” BriseBois said. “In his case, we have more runway before we have to get a deal done, as he still has one year left on his current agreement. That being said, the plan remains to be in a position to announce an agreement on a new contract for Victor in the coming days.”

Information from Field Level Media was used in this report.

The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired the signing rights to defenseman Chris Tanev in a trade with the Dallas Stars on Saturday, in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round draft pick and prospect Max Ellis.

Tanev, 34, is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, and by grabbing his rights now from Dallas, the Maple Leafs have an exclusive opportunity to sign Tanev before he hits the open market.

Toronto rightly anticipated Tanev would have several suitors as a free agent. The veteran is a coveted right-shot defender who would instantly take on a top-pairing role for the Maple Leafs. Toronto has been desperate to match Morgan Rielly with a new partner and Tanev could be the right fit as a one-two punch with Rielly on the Maple Leafs’ back end.

The Maple Leafs had interest in getting Tanev at the March trade deadline as well but weren’t able to get a deal done. Tanev was instead traded from Calgary to Dallas, where he collected one goal and five points in 19 regular-season games while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game.

Toronto general manager Brad Treliving has a history with Tanev from their time together with the Flames from 2020 to when Treliving left Calgary’s general manager post in 2023. Treliving spoke about his team’s acquisition from the NHL draft in Las Vegas on Saturday, saying the Leafs wanted to “jump the queue” when it looked like Tanev wouldn’t be re-signing with the Stars.

“He’s an elite defensive player,” Treliving said. “He’s an absolute warrior. He’s a culture carrier for your room. I know the player well. We’ll get to work on [a contract] now and I’m at least excited to have an opportunity to speak directly with him.”

The Maple Leafs would be able to sign Tanev — who hails from the Toronto area — to a maximum seven-year deal.

Jeff Skinner‘s time with the Buffalo Sabres is over after general manager Kevyn Adams told reporters Saturday the club will buy out the veteran winger.

Skinner had three years remaining on an eight-year contract he signed in 2019 as a free agent that saw him earn $9 million annually.

Once the buyout has been completed, it will result in the Sabres having dead cap space on their books for six seasons. It will cost the Sabres $1.44 million in cap space in 2024-25, according to CapFriendly, a figure that will rise to $4.44 million in 2025-26 before increasing another $2 million to $6.44 million in 2026-27. It will then cost the Sabres $2.44 million over the next three years until coming off the books after the 2029-30 season.

With the buyout, the Sabres head into free agency, which kicks off Monday, with $31.743 million in available cap space.

The decision to buy out Skinner comes as the Sabres are trying to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2010-11 season when they lost in the first round to the Philadelphia Flyers.

One of the reasons why the Sabres signed Skinner to that eight-year deal was the belief he could help them get back into the postseason. A six-time 20-goal scorer who also had three 30-goal seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo hoped Skinner would give them a consistent goal-scoring threat.

He was just that in the first year of the deal. Skinner scored a career-high 40 goals while tying his previous career high of 63 points in 82 games. But the next few seasons would prove challenging as Skinner scored just 21 goals and 35 points over 112 games between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

He bounced back to score 30 goals and 63 points in the 2021-22 season and another 35 goals and a career-high 82 points in 79 games during the 2022-23 season.

But the 32-year-old finished the 2023-24 season with 24 goals and 46 points for his third-fewest goals in his career when playing more than 64 games; his 46 points were the second fewest in a season in which he played more than 64 games.

Although the Sabres bought out Skinner, his production at a lower cost could result in him becoming an attractive option for a Stanley Cup contender in need of scoring depth at a certain price.