I agree that would be my guess as well

Nice lineup.,but over the cap?. Tampa has to make one more move and Dominique and potentially someone like Ruttu. Need some in season space?

Maybe they will sign Erne for less, maybe Point signs a bridge deal (like 3x7), idk. This post is more about potential lines with Volkov on the team.

they could just run a 22 man roster and try to send martel, schenn or rutta through waivers

I don’t think Volkov would fit there, because he’s generally a shooter, and that’s Stamkos’ job. I don’t know if he would fit on the top line either, because Kucherov has a good shot (hence, the Stamkos-Kucherov pairing didn’t work as well as separating the two). I don’t know if Cooper trusts Joseph with top-six minutes; he’ going to have to demonstrate improvement over a little while before he’ll have that kind of trust. Cirelli and Joseph are fast playmakers who need a “finisher” as they had tons of opportunities that they barely missed, and that really could be the difference in a playoff series (some teams can maybe shut down two strong lines, but certainly not three). I think a Volkov-Cirelli-Joseph line could work (although I see Barré-Boulet making it over Volkov). Gourde can then be on the top line and get his chance to prove that he shouldn’t be trade bait, and Killorn would be relegated to what would have to be the best fourth line in the League if it ends up fitting together (and he becomes easier to part from when we have to move him). It would hurt his trade value for sure, though, which is a drawback, so the other option would be to put him into the top-six, increasing his trade value and our top-six’s size and physicality in exchange for speed. I don’t know who would move down, though; none of those players are big fourth-line physical grinders. Killorn at least comes close to fitting that.