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How Bolts could fit Erik Karlsson under cap

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Mike Carlson

Over the last few hours, it’s been reported that the Tampa Bay Lightning were one of the favorites to land franchise defenseman Erik Karlsson from the Ottawa Senators. For that to happen, Bolts GM Steve Yzerman would have to get creative because he has to find a way to create cap space.

As of right now, the Lightning only have $3.446 million in cap space. Even if we forget about Karlsson’s extension, which would start next year, they still have to find some money to make it work. If anyone can pull this off, it’s Yzerman. He’s managed to pull rabbits out of his hat before (see this year’s trade deadline).

So, how can Yzerman make this work? There’s a few different ways. Let’s take a look.

• Find a taker for Ryan Callahan

Trading Callahan is going to be easier said than done. The 33-year-old is currently the second-highest paid forward on the team at $5.8 million per year for the next two seasons. Callahan put up five goals and 18 points in 67 games last season and he also has a long injury history. To make matters worse, he underwent shoulder surgery in late May. He’s expected to be sidelined for five months.

Still, there are teams that won’t be competitive that could take on the final two years of this contract if the Lightning make it worth their while. The Montreal Canadiens were willing to take on Steve Mason’s contract from Winnipeg (they eventually bought him out). The Habs still have cap space. Could they be part of a deal?

The one thing the Lightning can’t do is retain salary. They’ll need money next year to pay Karlsson and Nikita Kucherov and they already have Matthew Carle’s dead money ($1.83 million) on the cap.

• Unload Dan Girardi and Brayden Coburn

These two veteran defenseman combine to make $6.7 million (Coburn earns $3.7 million, Girardi earns $3 million). It’s not like the Lightning don’t have youngsters that can step into that role right away, either. Both Slater Koekkoek and Jake Dotchin were regularly scratched at the end of last season because there was no room for them.

Yes, losing Girardi and Coburn would hurt you in the leadership department, but it’s a small sacrifice to make if they’re going to add Karlsson to their current group of defensemen.

Even if they’re forced to give up Mikhail Sergachev to the Senators, they’d still have a top four of Karlsson, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh and Anton Stralman. That’s as good of a top four as there is in the NHL right now.

• Get Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat or Alex Killorn to waive their NTC

This all depends on what their going to give up to get Karlsson. If they have to unload a center like Brayden Point, then they’ll want to keep Johnson because he’s a natural center. If Yzerman finds a way to keep point, Johnson could become expendable.

Of course, if they wanted to trade Johnson, it would have been easier to do so before July 1st when his no-trade clause kicked in. But maybe they didn’t realize how motivated Ottawa was to trade Karlsson in the summer.

Johnson has six years remaining on his contract at a cap hit of $5 million per season, while Palat has four years left on his deal at $5.3 million. Again, either player would have to accept to be moved, which might complicate matters. Maybe either one of these players could be headed to Ottawa in the trade. They’re still both just 27 years old, so the Sens could have an interest in them.

Moving Killorn’s deal may be a little more difficult. He has five years left at $4.45 million.

• Make Senators retain salary

As if this would ever happen.

Karlsson is set to earn $6.5 million this year. Convincing the Sens to eat some of that contract would help the Lightning fit him under the cap this season, but again, it’s unlikely that the Senators will be interesting in going down that route for obvious reasons.

MORE:

No prospect should hold up an Erik Karlsson deal

Five logical landing spots for Erik Karlsson

What would Erik Karlsson mean for Stars?

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.