By Taylor Landau
From left to right, Tanner Jeannot, Cal Foote, Mikey Eyssimont, and Vladislav Namestnikov.
Now that we’re a little over a month out of the trade deadline, new trade acquisitions are starting to settle into their teams, and everyone's getting a clearer picture of whether or not they fit with their new lineups. The Tampa Bay Lightning made a few waves at this trade deadline having acquired two new forwards, Tanner Jeannot and Mikey Eyssimont, to add some depth to the bottom six. Let’s take a look at how the newest Lightning players are doing along with the two additional players they gave up, Cal Foote and Vladislav Namestnikov. I’ve given the trades a letter grade, and then I asked my Twitter followers to do the same.
Tanner Jeannot
Forward Tanner Jeannot (photo via Raw Charge).
The Lightning acquired 25-year-old forward Tanner Jeannot from the Nashville Predators in a trade that shocked the hockey world. Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois gave up defenseman Cal Foote and four draft picks in exchange for some bottom-six grit. He had a fantastic rookie season last year in Nashville with 24 goals, 17 assists, and 41 points in 81 games while spending about 15 minutes on the ice every night. In 19 games with the Lightning, Jeannot has 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 points, -6, and averaged around 12 minutes of ice time bouncing back and forth between the third and fourth lines.
There's been lots of debate back and forth as to whether this trade worked out for Tampa. Lots of Lightning fans argue in favor of the trade saying that Jeannot was never brought in to be a major goal scorer but rather somebody who would make it harder to play against. Jeannot practically knocked out Buffalo Sabres defenseman Riley Stillman during the Lightning's loss on March 4th. He’s a player nobody wants to mess with, so he’s doing what’s asked of him in terms of physicality.
On the flip side, however, his impact on the scorecard isn't great. According to his statistics via Evolving Hockey (which are ranked out of 100), his offensive score ranks in the 9th percentile, defensively he ranks 14th, and his overall score is 2. He also ranks towards the bottom of the team's game score average with 0.08. The way I see it, if a GM is willing to give up that much in exchange for one player, there was probably an expectation that he would be racking up some points.
With Jeannot’s future uncertain after his recent injury against the New York Islanders, it’s hard to say whether or not he would’ve made a big splash in the playoffs. Many Bolts fans were hoping he’d be a physical pariah against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he still may be depending on the severity of his injury. Jeannot has the potential to be an essential player to the team, but I think it’s a bit of a stretch to say he’ll be the next Brandon Hagel. Not to mention, with the core of the Lightning getting older, Tampa may be wishing they had some of those draft picks down the road.
Without taking his injury into consideration, I’d rank this trade about a C for the Lightning. It wasn’t a bad pickup, but I’m still not sure if it was justified to give up that much. My poll on Twitter amassed 115 votes with a B grade just barely winning over D (31.3% of voters voted B, 30.4% voted D).
Cal Foote
Defenseman Cal Foote (left) during his time with the Tampa Bay Lightning (photo via Raw Charge)
Cal Foote was sent packing to the Nashville Predators along with four draft picks in exchange for Jeannot. He spent most of the season for Tampa slotting in and out of the lineup, more often than not being one of two odd defensemen out (the second typically being Haydn Fleury). In 46 games split between the Lightning and the Predators, Foote has 2 goals, 4 assists, 6 points, and a +4 having spent about 14 minutes on the ice a game. One of those goals and two of those assists came from his time with the Predators.
Originally a first round pick, most fans hoped Foote would be the sturdy defenseman the Lightning were looking for, especially in the absence of key players like Ryan McDonagh and Jan Rutta. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case. As mentioned earlier, Foote was pretty consistently a healthy scratch, including in previous seasons. The same sentiment extended to the postseason as well. While Foote was on the team for the 2021 Stanley Cup run with the Lightning, he didn’t actually get to play in the playoffs until last year, where in 13 games he had 2 assists.
With Nashville, Foote is getting consistent playing time generally on the third defensive pair. His increased time on ice seems to have led to at least a couple more points for him, but his average game score is among the lowest on the team sitting at -0.18. According to Evolving Hockey, Foote ranks in the 48th percentile offensively, 30th defensively, and 22nd overall. Most Predators fans don’t seem to love him, but it’s hard to complain when the team is seemingly entering a rebuild. At the deadline, Nashville ended up selling and started acquiring draft picks where they could, like the four picks they acquired from the Lightning.
In a tight playoff race, having someone like Jeannot could be helpful, but in terms of looking toward the future, I’d say the Predators made the right call. It's hard to argue against what looks to be such a lopsided trade, especially considering how much those four draft picks will help in a rebuild. With everything considered, I would probably give this trade a B, only because Foote’s mediocre play probably isn’t what Predators fans were looking for when they sent off Jeannot. In an overwhelming response on Twitter, 55.6% of voters gave the trade an A for the Predators.
Mikey Eyssimont
Forward Mikey Eyssimont (photo via The Hockey Writers).
Right before the trade deadline hit, the Lightning acquired 26-year-old Mikey Eyssimont from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forward Vladislav Namestnikov. Eyssimont originally began the year with the Winnipeg Jets before being put on waivers, and he was eventually picked up by the Sharks. Combined between all three teams, Eyssimont has 4 goals, 10 assists, 14 points, and a +3 with one of those assists coming from his time with the Lightning.
Eyssimont is generally all over the ice (in a good way), and there’s a lot of fight in his play. Lots of fans have compared him to former fan favorite Yanni Gourde in terms of his playing style. Despite all of this, the only time Eyssimont has made a mark on the scorecard as of late was his assists in the team's 7-4 loss against the Ottawa Senators. It's not for a lack of trying, though, since he has 26 shots on goal in 12 games. While it’s still a small sample size, Eyssimont is at the bottom of the Lightning’s game score average with a -0.04, but his Evolving Hockey stats are actually better than I expected (offensively in the 24th percentile, defensively 79th, and overall 40th).
There’s something a bit strange about this trade that I haven’t been able to put my finger on. It seems a little odd to trade someone who played nearly every night in the lineup for a less expensive benchwarmer, especially since he’ll be a UFA by the end of the season. When the trade first happened, I initially thought the team was trying to get something for Namestnikov instead of just letting him walk at the end of the season. If not that, then I assumed the team was just dumping Namestnikov’s whopping $2.5m salary to make room for another pricey acquisition. But if Eyssimont is also a UFA and is getting less playing time than Namestnikov was, then what was the point of the entire trade? Eyssimont may end up getting more playing time in the potential absence of Jeannot, but up until this point, the trade seems a little odd to me.
It’s hard to say exactly what the Lightning are planning for Eyssimont. If they re-sign him in the offseason, then I’d say it was a well-done trade, especially since Eyssimont and Namestnikov have similar styles of play but vastly different price tags. I would give this trade a B if the team re-signs him and a C if they let him walk. 32.6% of voters on Twitter gave this trade a B.
Vladislav Namestnikov
Forward Vladislav Namestnikov (photo via Illegal Curve).
Vlad Namestnikov is something of the Lightning’s “prodigal son” so to speak. He was drafted in the first round by Tampa and spent four years with them before being traded to the New York Rangers in 2018. He then signed a one-year $2.5m contract for the 2022-2023 season, but never really found his footing the second time around. It seemed like the 30-year-old wasn’t offensively working with the rest of the team, at least not until right before he was traded. When he was with the Lightning, he scored 6 goals and notched 9 assists for a total of 15 points in 57 games while playing about 11 minutes on the ice on the fourth line.
The Lightning eventually sent him to the Sharks at the deadline for Eyssimont, who then immediately flipped him over to Winnipeg Jets. Namestnikov's luck seems to have turned around since joining his new club. In 17 games with the Jets, he’s added 2 more goals and 8 more assists to bring him to a grand total of 25 points on the season while averaging about 15 minutes of ice time. He’s established himself as a versatile member of the team bouncing between just about every line. As of late, he's been playing on the second line with Nikolaj Ehlers and Blake Wheeler while getting time on the powerplay. Namestnikov also has the second-highest game score average on the team at 0.91, just behind Pierre-Luc Dubois. He ranks in the 28th percentile offensively, 87th defensively, and 52nd overall via Evolving Hockey.
Maybe I’m a bit biased, but I think this was an excellent pickup by the Jets. In the absence of key players like Sam Gagner and Cole Perfetti, they needed some extra forwards who could slot into the lineup wherever asked and help with their last playoff push, which is what they got in Namestnikov and their other acquisition, Nino Niederreiter. Fans were originally unhappy with the pickup mainly because they were hoping for a defenseman like Jakob Chychrun. They had also seen Namestnikov's less-than-ideal stat line from his season with the Lightning, but I think it's safe to say that he's exceeded expectations since then. Fans have generally been enjoying Namestnikov’s gameplay and are hoping the Jets can re-sign him at the end of the season for another season or two. The team managed to get a solid two-way forward for the small price of a fourth-round draft pick, so I think the team did pretty well with the trade overall. I ranked this trade as an A, and exactly 50% of voters on my Twitter poll voted B.
So what do you think about the Lightning's trade deadline? How would you rank these trades? Let me know in the comments!
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