Why the Tyler Motte-Rangers reunion didn't happen
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Let’s try to cut through the fog on the matter of Tyler Motte, who on Saturday signed a one-year deal with the Lightning for $800,000.
The 28-year-old has many attributes. He can skate. He plays with passion. He can be a disruptor on the forecheck. He is kind of a pest. He can kill penalties.
But Motte is not very good at self-evaluating or being able to read a free-agent marketplace. Essentially every team around the league sees Motte as a grinding, energetic fourth-liner. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound winger has never recorded as many as 10 goals or 20 points in a season over the course of his seven-year career.
On the flat-cap market, that is the definition of an $800,000-to-$1 million player. On depth charts, that is the definition of a fourth-liner.
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