Tampa Bay Lightning trade Barclay Goodrow to New York Rangers

Prior to Saturday’s roster freeze, there were a flurry of moves around the NHL as teams shuffled their rosters prior to submitting their final expansion protection lists to the NHL offices. The Tampa Bay Lightning made two deals, first signing Fredrik Claesson to a one-year, two-way deal, then trading pending unrestricted free agent Barclay Goodrow to the New York Rangers for a 2022 seventh-round pick.

Claesson was a pending unrestricted fee agent as well, and his signing keeps a little depth to the organization on the left side of the defense. He was acquired at last year’s trade deadline from San Jose in exchange for Magnus Chrona and then appeared in two regular season games for the Lightning. He might be in contention for a role on the third pairing if Ryan McDonagh is traded or taken in the expansion draft. Should McDonagh stay with the organization, Claesson will likely find himself fighting for the seventh defenseman spot or shuttling back-and-forth to Syracuse.

Goodrow, also acquired in a trade deadline with the Sharks (all be it a year earlier), played a key role on the Lightning’s third line over the past two seasons. In 63 regular season games with Tampa Bay over the past two seasons Goodrow put up 22 points (6 goals, 16 assists) while adding another 12 points (3 goals, 9 points) in 43 postseason games with the Bolts.

His strong defensive play likely priced him out of the Lightning’s ability to re-sign him this offseason and now the Rangers will have an extra week or so to negotiate a contract with him. Tampa Bay now has five seventh-round picks over the next two drafts.

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