yave1964 Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 PRESEASON OUTLOOK After three straight Cup finals, winning two they lost in the first round in 2023. The hope was that tweaking the roster and a healthy year from their superstars would allow for a deep run. FINAL RECORD 45-29-8 first wildcard. Lost to the Panthers in 5 games in the first round STRANGE STAT OF THE YEAR Has to be the Kucherov split in wins versus losses. In the yerams 37 losses he was barely a point a game (10-31-41) and a God awful minus 36. in the 45 wins he was insanely Hart worthy great, (24-69-103)with a crazy good plus 44. He scored over 2 points a game in the victories, while barely 1 point per game in the losses. Kucherov goes down, this is a lottery team. HIGH POINT OF THE SEASON In spite of Kuch carrying the offense they played .500 through the first half of the season, sitting 19-17-5 after an early January blowout by the Bruins. But then they caught fire winning 5 straight and 8 of 10. But to me they went on a Lightning style hot streak in March winning 5 in a row again going 10-1-1 to wrap up a playoff spot early. LOW POINT OF THE YEAR Regular season Vasilevskiy missed the first first 20 games and started slow. Even when he came back it took half the season for them to get going. The real low point was losing in 5 to the Panthers who played harder every night and simply outplayed them. WHAT WENT RIGHT Kucherov Had a Hart MVP season carrying the team, Stamkos and Point also scored 40 goals giving them three with that honor. Hedman had an amzing hall of fame season. Hagel quietly scored at a point a game pace. Their power play was remarkable. Nick Paul and Cirelli had a great secondary season. Nobody seemed to notice that Raddysh did very well playing for the in jured Sergachev. Eysimmont and Glendening were very solid 4th liners. Duclair came over at the deadline and scored 15 points in 17 games. Cernak played all the tough minutes in the defensive zone. Vasilevskiy was good (not great) and had hot stretches. WHAT WENT WRONG Sergechev kept getting hurt and only played in 34 games and even playing he was down this year. Dumba came over at the deadline and was a non factor. Johansson was bad. Sheary came over at the deadline and was awful. Jeannot was a massive flop. Emil Lilleberg looked way over his head in the NHL. Stamkos scored 40 and a point a game but you could tell he was slipping. FREE AGENTS Stamkos is the key, a free agent, he is 35 next year and wants to come back but his peripheral numbers were not good, he is going to draw a crowd and the Bolts may not to sign him. They would like to sign Duclair but he will likely demand 3 million a season, he may move on. Motte, Watson, Dumba and De Haan will be quickly forgotten. tHEY dont have a first. Or second. Or third. Or fourth. Next years first is already gone too. TOP PROSPECTS Guys like Prebix and Eysimmont fit in to roles. The hope is other kids may do the same. I like Alnafelt who will likely replace Johansson as the backup in net. Gage Concalves had a fantastic season for the Crunch was a man among boys as far as scoring goes. The team likes Jack Finley but i havent seen anything from him. Jack Thompson is a puck mover on the back end but is very average on defense, there are other guys like Declan Carlyle and Fortier who might play a little in the bigs but arent much as far as real prospects go. OFFSEASON QUESTION MARKS It begins with Stamkos, he wants pay and term and is 35, he was good but not great. Signing him could be dangerous. Same with letting him go. Do you think Jeannot will bounce back?Can you resign Duclair? Vasi was good but showed signs of slipping, can he come back? Who or what will Sergachev be next year? Another year older....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Well well well....guess whos back... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Well, now the Lightning has a fourth. ... And McDonagh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 28 minutes ago, Math said: Well, now the Lightning has a fourth. Their first in the draft....yikes the coffers have been cleaned out going for Cups. At least they have some to show for it... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 39 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said: Their first in the draft....yikes the coffers have been cleaned out going for Cups. At least they have some to show for it... It also means they don't have a 1/2 next year, either. But when you've got two Cups and two more Finals appearances in the past 10 years, you've done something right. I think they have a better "reload" shot than, say, Pittsburgh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 54 minutes ago, radoran said: But when you've got two Cups and two more Finals appearances in the past 10 years, you've done something right. If i was a Bolt fan yeah i would be satisifed...no ecstatic...but yeah the 2 Cups would ease some pain on top of having 3 in the last 20 years - yeah could be worse they could be a Flyer fan...like me never seen but 2 Cup finals one swept in and the other taken to game 6...i'd swap in a minute. But i will stay the course and hope fat shines on us all in the years to come... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 2 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said: If i was a Bolt fan yeah i would be satisifed...no ecstatic... I would trade every draft pick we have for the next decade if it guaranteed us a cup. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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