Let me finish taht sentence for you.

Tampa....says no to that trade.

Why would Lightning trade a defined player for a bust?

Tampa is over the cap with Cirelli and Cernak unsigned.
Any team could offer sheet Cernak at $3 million and only have to give a 2nd rounder for compansation.
They would accept that trade 10 times out of 10

Tampa would easily match at 3 million, and the 2 million he's getting in this agm us around what he'll get to stay on a better team. Tampa easily declines that trade. They can still spend another 6.25 before being at the upper limit of the offseason cap, so for 3 million Cernak would be going nowhere.

Why would Cernak sign for 2 x $2,000,000 in high taxed Canada? When he can get the same money from Tampa and take home more.