TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Lightning signed two NHL forwards, traded a veteran to Toronto and signaled that a Nikita Kucherov contract extension remains a top priority as general manager Julien BriseBois reshaped the roster on the opening day of NHL free agency.
The club signed left wing Ilya Mikheyev, 31, to a four-year deal carrying a $3.85 million average annual value and inked center Jeffrey Viel, 29, to a five-year contract at $2.5 million AAV. Mikheyev posted a career-best 36 points over 77 games with the Chicago Blackhawks last season, while Viel set career highs in games played (45), assists (7) and points (10) split between the Boston Bruins and Anaheim Ducks, accumulating 79 penalty minutes.
“The idea was to not make commitments that would prevent us from taking advantage of bigger opportunities that would move the needle even more in terms of improving odds of winning that might present themselves in the future,” BriseBois said, “and I think we did that with what we’ve done so far. Those contracts, I think, in the new NHL are going to age very well.”
Tampa Bay also sent forward Nick Paul to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for 24-year-old goalie Dennis Hildeby, a fourth-round pick in 2027 and a third-round pick in 2028. Hildeby was 5-7-4 with a .914 save percentage with the Maple Leafs last season — leading all Toronto goalies in save percentage and goals against average (2.86) — and is signed for two more seasons at a cap hit of $841,667. BriseBois said the Lightning plan to use Hildeby as the NHL backup.
“When we found out he was available, we said, ‘That’s something that’s worth exploring, because he’s 24 and did really well this year at the NHL level, has a track record of doing really well at the AHL level, has size, has a profile of goaltender that Frantz Jean, our goalie coach, really appreciates,’” BriseBois said. “We just think he’s ready to be an NHL backup, and then you factor in that he’s only going to get better and he’s on a great contract for the next two years, there’s a lot of value there.”
The Paul trade also reflected a changing roster. With Yanni Gourde’s return last season, Paul’s penalty-kill minutes decreased, and younger players stepped into larger roles during his injury absence. “We could see where the lineup was going, that his role was probably going to diminish within our roster, and timing was probably right for him to get a change of scenery and for us to go in a different route with players that maybe compliment some of the guys we have a little bit more at this point,” BriseBois said. The Lightning are working with goalie Jonas Johansson’s agent to find him a new NHL landing spot. “JJ has been great for us, is a great teammate, has won us a lot of hockey games, I’m fairly confident we’re gonna get him something that works for him and works for us,” BriseBois said.
The club also added defenseman Michael Callahan and goalies Mads Sogaard and Olivier Rodrigue on one-year, two-way deals. Rodrigue made his NHL debut in 2024-25 with the Edmonton Oilers.
On the Kucherov front — the reigning NHL MVP enters the final year of his contract — BriseBois said he has been in talks with agent Dan Milstein. “I’ll reiterate that we would like Nikita to stay here, he would like to stay here,” BriseBois said. “We’ve had chats. Just because there wasn’t a pressing deadline to accomplish something versus these free agents — if you don’t sign them today, they’re gone. These trade opportunities, if you don’t pursue them, they disappear — that kind of took precedent the last few weeks. We’ll circle back to his representative, and when we have something to announce we’ll make an announcement.”
BriseBois said he has full authority from ownership to spend to the salary cap and has just shy of $11 million in remaining cap space. He noted the Lightning are still exploring trades and free-agent signings, particularly for right-shot forwards and defensemen, between now and the start of the season.