As a franchise attempting to keep their Stanley Cup window wide open, the Tampa Bay Lightning have suffered cap casualties in order to stay compliant while still icing a team that can win it all. The 2021 offseason was particularly brutal, as the Lightning saw fan favorites like Tyler Johnson, Blake Coleman, and Barclay Goodrow depart due to cost constraints. These were players the franchise certainly wanted to hold onto, but simply couldn’t as the cap bore down on them.

In 2022, it’s looking like another franchise favorite could be the next cap casualty. That is none other than the Lightning’s best seventh-round draft pick of all time, Ondrej Palat.

Heading into the 2021-22 season, Palat was in the final year of a five-year, $5.3 million per year extension he signed in 2017. By all metrics, the previous four years were a rousing success for both parties, as he went on to be a key player on the top-line of their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. Not only that, but he is a player that is truly beloved by the fanbase. His story is remarkable, as his hard work and determination to reach this level of success are impossible to deny.

Despite this, with the cap hanging heavy over the Lightning, they might once again be forced to say goodbye to another fan favorite in the 2022 offseason.