Just mere minutes after the NHL free agency period started Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Lightning jumped in the pool.Looking for a veteran defenseman to help tutor rookie Victor Hedman, the second overall pick in the NHL Draft last weekend, the Lightning apparently found their target quite quickly. They had to head all the way to Vancouver to do it, but they have signed Mattias Ohlund away from the Canucks, according to multiple reports.
USA Today's Kevin Allen was first to break the news, as he reported a deal was one on his Twitter feed. From there, we got word from TSN's Bob McKenzie that Ohlund is being paid quite handsomely to move from the west coast of North America to the west coast of Florida.
McKenzie says Ohlund got a seven-year deal worth $3.75 million annually.
Yes, the Lightning just gave a 33-year-old defenseman a seven-year deal.
With the salary cap expected to fall next year, this kind of deal actually makes some sense. Ohlund is likely to make more than $3.75 million in the first few years of the contract. While the cap hit is stretched out over seven years, the team's out-of-pocket expense will probably fall in the last couple years of the deal.
Of course, the Lightning may very well regret this when they're stuck with a $3.75 million cap hit for a 39- or 40-year-old.
Hilariously, all of this comes after general manager Brian Lawton told Erik Erlendsson that the team would be cautious in free agency. If by "cautious," Lawton meant "insane," then he was absolutely right.
