Saved By Stralman! Anton Stralman makes the save preventing a Kings goal in Game 4. He signed with the Lightning today.
AP Photo/Bruce Bennett

It really is no shock that Anton Stralman landed in Tampa. I called it yesterday here.

A team that also used their compliance buyout on Ryan Malone and re-signed Ryan Callahan and dealt for Jason Garrison needed to subtract salary. According to capgeek.com, they’re currently at $63.63 million. That might leave room for one big move. I wouldn’t be shocked if they add a righty defenseman with Anton Stralman a possible fit. Matt Nisknanen might be a little out of their price range.

The 27-year old free agent defenseman agreed to a five-year deal worth a reported $22.5 million. It averages out to $4.5 million per season. Interestingly, I checked capgeek.com and they have his salary listed over a longer term. It has to be a misprint. There’s no way he got 7-8 years.

Stralman was a solid performer for the Rangers over the last three years. After Glen Sather signed him in November 2011, he developed into a top four defenseman capable of helping shutdown top scoring lines. A smart positional player who skates fluidly and moves the puck effectively, he teamed with Marc Staal on the club’s second pair. His growth supplanted Michael Del Zotto, who fell out of favor and was dealt to Nashville for Kevin Klein. He’s signed for another four years making an average of $2.9 million per season. At least they’re not asking Klein to replace Stralman by bringing in Dan Boyle.

This past season, Stralman posted a goal and 12 assists for 13 points and a plus-nine rating in 81 games. He had a strong postseason tallying five assists and going plus-four in 25 games during the Rangers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final.

With him, it’s not about numbers but rather about steadiness. A righty shot who can play top four, that made him valuable. He was able to score a big payday. Given how well he performed including stepping up physically with some crunching hits that appealed to our crowd, good for him. It’s well deserved. I wish him the very best as do most Garden Faithful.