Tampa Bay Lightning expected to make major changes due to the salary cap

Inherent in competing for three straight Cups is having players over performing their contracts, and moving on to new teams who can afford to pay them. Last year, Tampa Bay lost their entire dominant third line in Yanni Gourde, Barclay Goodrow, and Blake Coleman. This year, it looks like they'll lose Nick Paul, Ondrej Palat, and Jan Ruuta.

The Lightning simply don't have the salary cap to afford these players, according to hockey insider Kevin Allen. All these players are currently on good value contracts, who will demand raises the Lightning cannot afford to pay.

The team has been adept in the past with adapting to the constraints of the salary cap, so they'll likely do so again next year. With the promotion of Ross Colton, and the acquisitions of Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul, the Lightning were able to quickly re-construct a dominant bottom six.

With a team of this pedigree, they can never be counted out. The Lightning, despite losing these players, will still be cup contenders next year.