3 awesome suitors for Sean Walker at the trade deadline

The Tampa Bay Lightning could use one more defenseman in their latest quest for the Cup

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s best days may be behind them, but they remain legitimate playoff contenders for at least one more season. Better yet, Tampa has shown they can win by outscoring even the toughest defensive teams in the NHL. The problem, however, is that the Lightning have struggled all season in stopping opponents when they don’t control the puck. 

Through 57 games, Tampa has allowed an eye-popping 193 goals, which is 27th in the NHL as of February 21st. While starting the season without goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has been a major reason behind this, the 29-year-old has yet to play like the consistent perennial Vezina contender we have come to know him as. 

His backup, Jonas Johansson, hasn’t stepped up in most outings despite posting two shutouts. And while Tampa could instead opt for one more goaltender, it may not help as they are allowing nearly 30 shots on goal per game. This shows us that the goaltenders may not be the complete issue, but instead, it’s more likely that they need at least one more skater in the lineup who can play sound defense. 

Walker would bring a two-way approach to Tampa

Enter Sean Walker, who remains on pace to land career-highs in categories like blocks (87) and hits (75). He already has 29 takeaways, and that number will continue to trend north. Further, his possession metrics at even strength and 5-on-5 imply he’s good at finding ways to get the puck up-ice and to help set up scoring opportunities. 

This is reflected in his offensive zone starting percentage, which sits at 53.3, plus a respective Corsi and Fenwick For Percentage of 52.7 and 54.9. For Tampa, they would land a blueliner in Walker, who may help take pressure off of the goaltending duo, leading to more wins.