-Important contracts were resigned, questions still loom.

The Tampa Bay Lightning were the second best team in the NHL last year, but over this offseason they only got better.

The contract of alternate captain, and key part of Marty St.Louis trade, Ryan Callahan renewed a huge weight is lifted off of management’s shoulders. Agreeing on a six year 34.8 million dollar contract.

The Lightning still have contract questions with captain Steven Stamkos’s contract about to expire. It;s not just Stamkos though, defenseman Braydon Coburn, left winger Alex Killorn, defenseman Nikita Nesterov, right winger Cedric Paquette, right winger J.T. Brown, and lastly right winger Vladislav Namestnikov all have expiring contracts at the end of this season.

Last season the Lightning let right winger Brenden Morrow walk without resigning him. He was a valuable player putting in a lot of time on the penalty kill, and worked very well with Brian Boyle.

To replace Morrow the Bolts brought in a proven penalty killer from Ottowa, Erik Condra. Who had a plus 13 in 68 games last season for the Senators. Which is a large improvement from Brendan Morrow’s minus one from last season.

The Bolts may have added a key player in Condra, this offseason can be chalked up as a loss. The management failed to resign some key components to the team. Steven Stamkos the headliner and many workhorses that carried the team deep in the playoffs.

This offseason was also a loss because the team lost out on many good free agents, lost Mark Barberio, Matt Beleskey a left winger who signed to Boston, and other key players that the lightning targeted that signed elsewhere.

Management could easily make Tampa Bay the place to be for hockey weather but it just wasn’t accomplished. Ryan Callahan was huge. The Lightning securing Callahan and Condra really outweighs the negatives. Making this offseason one of the best in late memory.