TBLightning1993

Good replies from you both, I'm learning! I always looked at the +/- but it was never my final factor on how I judge a player. I'm just not used to seeing a number that big seeing how a lot of my attention goes toward a team that scores like crazy with every line.

The only thing that kind of worries me about Spencer is he had an overall -15 last year. I'm not saying it's his fault but hopefully he blossoms in the AHL

Yzerman has a talent there. I hope he sticks with the Lightning for a long time.

I'm extremely excited about the Lightning picking up Mitchell Stevens. I just got done wathing a marathon of highlights from him playing with the Marlboroughs and he seems explosive, aware and hungry for the net. I know for a fact he'll start his trek in the AHL which will build his skills even more but this kid is a flame that can't be tamed. Great pick Yzerman! The other players are solid picks too, I don't doubt Yaz on passing up his first round pick anymore. He's always been good at picking diamonds from the rough and so far Stevens is extremely promising!

Does anyone feel bad for Soderberg who ended up signing a 5-year deal with Colorado? I can't imagine how he feels going from a contender to a team that never really does that well.

I don't know if it's just me, but I want to see a lot more Andrei Vasilevskiy this coming season. It's not often a team can feel as comfortable with their backup goalie in the net but I have a lot of confidence in Vasy. According to Jon Cooper, there's a bit of a battle going on for the net between Bishop and Vasy. Cooper plans on letting both players get a decent amount of time keeping the other team off the board next season. Vasy is sporting a career .918 save percentage which is middle of the road for goalies but this guy is 20. Bishop and the Lightning defense was having a terrible night against the Rangers in the Eastern Finals and Cooper pulled Bish after the Rangers put up their 5th of the night. Out of the gate, Steve Nash and other Rangers put a lot of pressure on Vasy but he held his own. He let a rebound get away from him and the Rangers ultimately put up their 6th, but what can you expect? This guy is young, doesn't see much time on the ice let alone on a stage like that.. For someone who can't even have a beer after a solid win, he defends the net like a champ. The fact that he's 20 blows my mind. I'm young and this guy is younger than I am. If the Bolts put him out there more, he builds confidence and skills and can become a brick wall sitting in front of the net. With the Lightning's explosive offense, we could see a lot of blowouts in our near future. I'm not saying pull Bishop. But if Vasy can build on his skills and get used to being the one we lean on when our defense isn't at it's best (don't call me crazy for this) Bishop could clear up a lot of cap space and the Bolts could look to build on defense, someone to be Victor Hedman's partner-in-crime. For now, Bishop is our go-to to win games but Vasy also sported a winning record last season in the 16 games he played. He's a rookie. This is something to love about the Lightning. No matter what player, line or anything you choose to look at, the future is bright and promising. Thank you Yzerman for setting us up for years of success to come. On to the next season already!

That was definitely a good grab for Philly.

We'll see what happens. The new GM is making a lot of ballsy moves so I wouldn't be surprised if trading Rask has already crossed his mind. He already let go of Lucic.. No matter what anyone says, I think Lucic going to LA is going to cause waves in the west. If he comes out and plays energetic hockey every game, the Kings have another weapon on their roster to push them into the playoffs. The Bruins' season is going to be a hit or miss.. This new GM is taking a lot of chances and making moves that are leaving some people scratching their head. If they come out and dominate, it'll be quite the story. The east is going to be extremely competitive, the Lightning are coming back out with basically the same roster that took them to the Final, only now they all have playoff experience including Vasy which is exciting to me. Ben Bishop makes a lot of moves out of the net that make me want to lose my beer/lunch. Cooper says they'll be sharing the season so we'll see what happens. In my mind, one thing is for sure: Chicago is NOT coming home with a cup next year. Toews and Kane are losing a lot of quality teammates. As I see it right now, the team is basically Crawford, Toews and Kane. Nothing more. That may be a biased Tampa fan opinion though

I'll be going to see them play the Arizona Coyotes and the Kings for sure. I'm not worried at all about the TB v BOS matchups anymore after the trades they've been making this offseason. I'm thinking they'll be in a rebuilding stage for a few years until some of their picks settle in to the NHL. Tampa kind of surprised me by trading out of the first round today..

If Jones turns out better than Rask and the Bruins free up that cap space, they could end up being the team to beat in the East depending on the choices they make from there. As for the Kings, if Lucic does happen to go out every night and play hockey, he could be the push they needed this past year to make it into the playoffs.

Lucic was traded to the Kings today, thoughts? I see it as another viable weapon in the Kings' arsenal.

Stamkos said himself in an interview with the St. Pete Times that he likes the squad that the Lightning put together and wants to win the cup with them. He'll be back for another 5. Not to mention he's the face of the franchise right now. That would be like the Rangers failing to resign Lundqvist.

@TropicalFruitGirl26 I have to agree that a big problem was player mentality. Seeing how most times they only get 2 minutes to take advantage of a PP, time is key. I'm hoping the management brings in someone that stresses that and puck control to the players and whips them into shape. With the weapons we have there should be no reason we don't lead the league in PP goals and make everyone's penalty kill percentages count for nothing. Like my baseball coach stressed for the 13 years I played in the bay area, remember your fundamentals. Even professionals need a reminder sometimes and maybe, just maybe, that was something that Gwozdecky failed to do in the two years he spent with the Lightning.

Recently the Lightning and George Gwozdecky parted ways which opens up an opportunity to move in a better assistant coach for Jon Cooper. Gwoz focused primarily on the PP which was a struggle for the Bolts up until their little tear against the Rangers in the Conference Finals. If the Lightning find the right man for the job and better utilize their weapons during 5 on 4 play next season may be even better than expected. I'm not counting any chickens but the Bolts may be bringing home more than one trophy if things work out. I'm genuinely excited