Tampa Bay Lightning
This feels like a little bit of a cop-out, but this is where Goodrow found the most success in his career, so perhaps there is a justification to move him back to the sunshine state and back to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was a piece of the puzzle that broke through with that Tampa Bay core and he proved his value in the postseason in the way he plays. Again, last year with the Rangers he did it again.
Tampa Bay has a lot to do to fix their bottom six. Barclay Goodrow is a player they liked enough once to pay a 1st round pick for and it was the move that shocked everyone because he was just not worth it at the time in many people’s eyes. As that season continued, Goodrow showed why Tampa Bay has been among the best in the NHL for years and why other people are idiotic.
Tampa Bay and New York have a long, extensive history of trade with each other. Whether that is Ryan McDonagh and JT Miller, or Martin St Louis for the Ryan Callahan deal, players have been shipped between these two teams a lot down the years. Sending Goodrow back to where he came from would not only send a familiar face to Julien BriseBois and the Bolts on the Bay and see if he can get back to the past.
When the Lightning repeated as Stanley Cup Champions, they were reliant on Goodrow and that third line alongside Yanni Gourde and Blake Coleman to dominate the play and create threats from outside their top six. They did that well enough to drive the Lightning deep and going back to the glory days is not a hard sell to a fanbase that could be seeing their team’s window come to an end. It makes sense.