The Tampa Bay Lightning decided to take a chance on young defenseman Matt Gilroy, signing the NCAA grad to a 1-year, $1 million deal on Saturday morning. Gilroy was not qualified by the Rangers to become a restricted free agent, which left him to roam in the open market. It didn't take too long for a team to snap him up, probably still contemplating his potential. 
Gilroy did not have a productive 2011 season, scoring only 3 goals and 8 assists in 58 games for the Rangers, also spending some time in the AHL, trying to hone his craft. There is a reasonable chance that the Rangers were not a good fit for him and he might be able to do something more with a different team, but we will have to wait and see on that.
Gilroy becomes the eighth defenseman placed on the team table, so the Lightning are bulking up their blueline, much like the Canucks in the West. Along with eight forwards, two goalies and two buyouts, I have the team's projected cap number at $48.3 million. With five forwards, including Steven Stamkos, yet to be signed, the team does have a good cushion, not to mention likely knocking the cap hit down a bit if one of those defensemen get sent down to the minors early on in the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment