The Tampa Bay Lightning have made the first “big” pre-draft trade of the offseason, acquiring former Nashville backup Anders Lindback in exchange for Sebastian Caron and several picks.
The move is one of those “Yes, but…” moments for fans watching the goaltending market. Lindback has the tools to take over the starting role in Tampa Bay, and probably could have done so here in Columbus, but it’s doubtful that Nashville would have seriously consider trading him to a divisional opponent.
As much as I’d love to claim the Predators‘ depth will be affected in net they A) have Pekka Rinne and B) still have Mitch Korn as their goalie coach.
What is a potentially good development for the Blue Jackets is that Tampa is likely out of the running for someone like Roberto Luongo, and might well be less likely to pursue possible free agent options like Josh Harding.
It doesn’t entirely clear the decks for Columbus to make a move – several other teams would like to upgrade their goaltending, too. But Tampa was probably the team with the second greatest need in net after the Blue Jackets, and hopefully this will provide Scott Howson with a little more maneuvering room.