The Tampa Bay Lightning are already one of the NHL's best teams, but that won't keep them from making a couple of deals aimed at further cementing their status as Cup Contenders.
General manager Steve Yzerman is apparently interested in adding a top-line left winger to pair with captain Steven Stamkos and Ryan Callahan, per a report from TheFourthPeriod.com. The two have developed a fairly fantastic chemistry to this point in the season and the team would like to add another permanent piece to put them over the top.
Tampa Bay's Director of Player Personnel, Pat Verbeek, has been doing quite a bit of traveling and scouting in recent weeks to eye potential trade partners in the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers.
The left wing spot on the top line has been a bit of a revolving door this season for the Bolts.
Alex Killorn has been seeing time with Stamkos and Callahan recently, and has seven goals and seven assists in 23 games this season. But he's limited skill-wise and the thought in the organization is that a better player would have much higher production than Killorn.
Callahan has 11 goals and 12 assists thus far this season. Stamkos has 17 goals and 17 assists.
"You look at Stammer, he's a gazelle, he gets up and down the ice, but somebody has to get him the puck," coach John Cooper said, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. "Somebody has to stand in the blue paint. And every player needs someone to complement them. With Callahan, he does all the quote-unquote grunt work and that's why guys love to play with Callahan. Who wouldn't? It's bad enough nobody stands in front of Stammer's shots and now you get a guy who will? They just have really good chemistry."
The team would also like to add a bottom-six, two-way forward.