Lightning make a splash, acquire rights to Carolina’s Jake Guentzel

TAMPA — General manager Julien BriseBois wasn’t kidding when he said the Lightning were going to use their newly acquired salary cap space to shop elsewhere in order to improve the club for next season.

A day after they traded away defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and all but said goodbye to face of the franchise Steven Stamkos, the Lightning acquired the rights to the top pending unrestricted free agent this summer, trading for wing Jake Guentzel of the Carolina Hurricanes. This move gives the Lightning exclusive negotiating rights to make a deal with Grentzel before Monday’s noon start of free agency.

In exchange for Guentzel, the Lightning gave up a third-round pick in the 2025 draft.

Guentzel, 29, seems to be a perfect fit for the Lightning, a player who provided scoring for years in Pittsburgh, playing with elite talent in a top line with Sidney Crosby and only improved his stock with a marvelous playoff run after moving to Carolina at the trade deadline.

Among the things that stand out most about Guentzel is the plus-25 ratio, which gives the Lightning the two-way forward that BriseBois indicated he needed to make them a better team defensively.

The Lightning still have to sign Guentzel, who reportedly could get an eight-year deal with an $8 million average annual value on the free-agent market.

But the Lightning presumably would have had an indication from Guentzel’s agent that he’d be willing to sign if they are trading for his rights a day before the market opens.

This story will be updated.

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