The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenseman Calvin de Haan to a one-year, $775K contract.
de Haan, 32, was an unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of his one-year, $850K contract that he signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. He sees a $75K decrease in AAV from his previous deal, with this contract being the lowest cap hit of his NHL career.
de Haan spent all of 2022-23 with the Hurricanes after making the team on a professional tryout, getting 2 goals, 10 assists, and 12 points in 53 regular season games.
He didn’t make it into any playoff games for the Canes, falling out of favor in the lineup after they had acquired Shayne Gostisbehere at the trade deadline.
de Haan was the 12th overall pick of the New York Islanders in 2009, and spent the first six seasons of his NHL career with them. He then signed a four-year contract with the Hurricanes in 2018, but was dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks a year into it, and then re-joined the Canes last season after the conclusion of that deal.
de Haan joins a crowded blueline in Tampa Bay, although more in quantity than quality these days. There’s already eight NHL defensemen under contract on the team, with Victor Hedman, Mikhail Sergachev, and Erik Cernak likely being the only consistent locks.
The Lightning have had a mostly quiet offseason as they continue to navigate their salary cap situation. They were forced to move on from Ross Colton and Corey Perry in trades, and didn’t make any big signings in free agency, with Conor Sheary being the lone player signed to a seven-figure cap hit at $2M.
They’re currently almost $4M over the salary cap, although that also includes Brent Seabrook’s contract that will go on long-term injured reserve at the beginning of the season.
The Lightning will look to rebound from a season that saw them lose in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2019, coming in seven games at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs. They finished third in the Atlantic Division with a 46-30-6 record.
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