The 40-17-5 Tampa Bay Lightning added a depth defenseman that they believe will help them make a long playoff run in Zach Bogosian yesterday, signing him to a 1-year, $1.3 million contract. Bogosian had his contract terminated on February 21^st by the Buffalo Sabres, who are currently 29-25-8, with 66 points in 62 games.

In 19 games with the Sabres, Bogosian scored one goal and added four assists for five points. His analytics, however, are very underwhelming. In his 19 games this season, Bogosian has a 5:1 penalty taken/drawn ratio and a 10:2 giveaway/takeaway ratio with an even 0 +/- number. His career AB score of -4.40 over a 12-year data sample is far below average, as he has only registered one positive AB season (his rookie year). Bogosian is coming off eleven straight negative AB seasons. Bogosian’s ice time this season has also taken a hit, as he is averaging almost five minutes less than his previous career average of 21:42. As a 29-year old, Bogosian’s contract with the Lightning will expire at the conclusion of this season, making him an unrestricted free agent on July 1^st. Perhaps this opportunity with the Lightning could revitalize Bogosian’s career in a sense and earn him a decent payday this summer.

While we are not huge fans of this signing for Tampa Bay, we realize a move for a defenseman needed to be made, as defensemen Ryan McDonagh, Jan Rutta, and Erik Cernak are all currently injured for the Lightning. Tampa has some questions that need to be addressed on defense for next season, as they only have three under contract for next season (Hedman, Coburn, McDonagh). Kevin Shattenkirk, Cameron Gaunce, Luke Schenn, and now Bogosian, are all set to become UFAs on July 1^st. Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak are set to become restricted free agents on July 1^st.

This is Lightning GM Julien BriseBois’s 2^nd move this deadline season, as he traded Nolan Foote and Vancouver’s 1^st round pick for forward Blake Coleman. Coleman has played in two games for Tampa since the trade and has not registered any points. He is -1 +/- wise and took a penalty. For more information on that deal, see our article from Tampa’s side here.

With only a few hours remaining until the 2020 trade deadline, we don’t expect the Lightning to make any more significant moves, but it will be interesting to watch Tampa’s playoff push over the next few weeks. They trail the Boston Bruins by five points for the Atlantic Division lead and are 8-2 in their last 10 games. Much more to come, happy trade deadline day to all!