When you look at the first five years of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s general manager (GM) Julien BriseBois’ trade history, you see one of the more remarkable stretches of success for a relative newbie in that role. After taking over as GM in the summer of 2018, BriseBois stood pat at the 2019 trade deadline, saw his historic regular-season team flame out in the first round of the playoffs, and then decided to never rest on his laurels again.
Since this inaction, BriseBois has been one of the most active GMs in the league, where he has aggressively (and creatively) pursued top talent at the deadline to put his team over the top while shedding salary in the offseason to stay compliant in a flat-cap world. With all this hard work, he helped the Lightning secure back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, reached the Final again in 2022, and kept his team in contention despite a rotating cast of players taking on new roles in their lineup each season.
This led us to the 2023 Trade Deadline, where BriseBois placed one of his biggest bets yet. He traded Cal Foote and five draft assets to the Nashville Predators for forward Tanner Jeannot. At 24 years old, Jeannot is the type of player that can be worth overspending on, as he was an absolute force on the ice during his rookie season in 2021-22 when he finished seventh in Calder Trophy voting after posting 24 goals and 41 points along with 318 hits.
BriseBois’ Bet on Jeannot Didn’t Pay Out
Yes, this was a massive overpayment, but it was for a young, restricted-free agent (RFA) that gave the team control over his short and long-term future. It felt like BriseBois managed to find his man once again, and typically when he has his man, they find success on the ice shortly after joining the Lightning.
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Of course, success is not what followed Jeannot. In the 20 games played following his acquisition, he struggled to find his place with the Lightning, as he only posted one goal and four points while seeing his ice-time slip to just under 12 minutes each night. On top of that, he suffered a serious injury heading into the 2023 playoffs that limited him to three games where he looked like a shell of the player he could be.
Now, it’s not uncommon for a player to be traded mid-season, start slow with their new team, and then eventually find their footing in the postseason in order to prove why their acquisition was vital. For example, when Blake Coleman was acquired by the Lightning, he only posted one point in nine games played before going on to be one of their most impactful players during the 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup runs. So, it’s very possible that Jeannot’s injury prevented him from making an impact when it mattered most which could have helped justify the overpayment.
There’s also the thought that part of the reason why BriseBois gave up so much for Jeannot was the fact that he was an RFA at the end of the season. Given the slump he was experiencing, it felt likely that the Lightning may be able to re-sign him to a short-term bridge control under $2 million to help save the team some needed cap space while they look to take another run at the Stanley Cup.
Lightning Continue Missing With Jeannot’s Extension
So, with all of this laid out, I think it is understandable that many, myself included, were a bit aghast when it was announced on July 15th that the Lightning re-signed Jeannot to a two-year, $2.665 million extension.
Now, it’s worth noting that I am a fairly big fan of Jeannot. I believe he has flashed the potential to be one of the best power forwards in hockey, and that it is not uncommon for players with his playstyle to suffer sophomore slumps before breaking out again and establishing themselves in the league for the next decade-plus.
However, regardless of how you feel about the player, that contract isn’t it. For a team that has been forced to shed salary, see fan-favorite players depart the franchise to sign richer contracts elsewhere, and watched future assets be thrown into the void for young, cost-controlled players who can help you win now, overpaying for Jeannot is a short-term loss that can snowball into a much bigger issue.
Even if the salary cap increases as much as it is projected to over the next two seasons, by overpaying Jeannot, BriseBois has set a standard for future negotiations that he might come to regret. For example, if he is worth $2.665 million, that means 30-goal scorer Brandon Hagel is worth at least $5.5 million, if not more. For an aging team whose window is quickly shutting, you have to extract every last bit of value out of these re-signings to have enough left to compete while your superstars are still superstars.
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Now, it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom around Jeannot’s future. I still believe that he can justify the hefty price BriseBois paid for his services, especially if he can get back to the 20-goal-scoring power forward that he can be. It’s just that this is the first time in a while that the Lightning feel like they are obsessed with a player, and they aren’t making the smart choices we are used to seeing them make when it comes to their future with the franchise.