The Tampa Bay Lightning and San Jose Sharks are in on the action as the two teams swapped players, the Sharks sent Michael Eyssimont to the Bolts in exchange for Vladislav Namestnikov to make this trade seem a little bit fairer, and Tampa did retain 50% of Namestnikov’s salary.
Tampa Bay acquired Eyssimont, who doesn’t have a ton of NHL playing experience with only 40 games under his belt, with his debut coming on April 11, 2022. Eyssimont has skated in 39 games this season, most recently with the San Jose Sharks when they picked him up off of waivers on the sixth of January. In 20 games with the Sharks this season, Eyssimont has three goals and assists, good for eight points. The 26-year-old forward was originally drafted by the LA Kings in the fifth round of the 2016 NHL Draft.
The Colorado native decided to play college hockey at St. Cloud State University, where he suited up for 115 games while racking 102 points (45G, 57A). Tampa is a great hockey team, and with this acquisition, I do personally think that Eyssimont will be able to grow and help his game with great teammates and Bolts’ legends such as Kucherov and Stamkos.
On the flip side of things, the San Jose Sharks acquired Namestnikov, who has lots more experience in the NHL, playing 610 games. Namestnikov, who was on his second stint with Tampa, has played in 57 games this season, scoring six goals and nine assists. In his first stint with Tampa, Namestnikov played from 2013-2018, racking up 53 goals and 70 assists in 263 games.
He helped the Lightning reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 2015, grabbing one assist in 12 games. The Lightning ultimately lost that series four games to two. The Russian forward has played with the Russian National Team, most recently in 2016-17, where he suited up for 17 games, grabbing seven points (4G, 3A).
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