Buyers or Sellers?
Neither, but that has nothing to do with Tampa's playoff outlook. The Lightning's top priorities should be finding a way to get rid of Jonathan Drouin and finding a way to free up more money with which to sign Steven Stamkos. But the Lightning hold the upper hand over Drouin since the team is not in a position where they need to dump Drouin, so GM Steve Yzerman has time to attempt to get something decent in return for the young forward. Otherwise, it likely will be a quiet deadline for the Lightning.
Team needs
Yzerman already said the Lightning will not be trading Stamkos, and the Lightning have plenty of decent players on offense. The biggest need, if Tampa chooses to make a move, would be on defense, where the Lightning could use a right-shot defenseman.
Key Players
Jonathan Drouin
The most obvious name on the market for the Lightning is Drouin, and there are plenty of teams who could be interested, but Drouin's desire to be traded is well known in the NHL and nothing has happened yet. Either Yzerman is holding out for the perfect deal for Drouin, or Drouin's trade request seriously drove down interest in the young player. Still, it seems strange that Drouin would still be part of the Lightning organization after the deadline.
Erik Condra
The winger appears to be on the outs with head coach Jon Cooper, as the Lightning have not really used Condra recently. Condra is barely into his newest contract, a three-year deal which has him signed through 2018. That is not appetizing for many teams looking to deal at the deadline. But Condra is still under 30 years old (he will turn 30 in August) and is a versatile player, so there is a chance he could be a draw for other teams should the Lightning decide they're no longer interested in the forward.
Arielle Aronson covers the NHL and special features for FOX Sports. You can follow her on Twitter @aharonson28.
