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Lightning year in review


yave1964

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PRESEASON OUTLOOK: They lost in the SCF a year ago, returned most of the team, prognosis went somewhere between a cup contender although some said a cup hangover would hit them hard.

 

FINAL RECORD: 46-31-5 97 POINTS 2nd in division lost in Conference Final to Pittsburgh in 7 games.

 

STRANGE STAT OF THE YEAR: It amazes me that with the firepower that the Bolts have that they came in 28th in the league with a measly 15.8 power play percentage. It seems almost impossible to me that a team with this kind of talent was so woeful in that area. It carried over into the playoffs with a 16.1 percentage. Ryan Callahan was a physical presence at home with 102 hits but dropped significantly (62 hits) on the road. Stamkos had 37 points at home, only 27 on the road. Ben Bishop had identical 2.06 goals against both at home and on the road.

 

HIGH POINT OF THE SEASON: Playing on house money after losing lock down defenseman Anton Stralman and heart and soul offensive force Steven Stamkos, first the Bolts walked over the Red Wings then they easily defeated the Isles in five games. They lost in seven games to the Penguins in the conference finals but they went much further than expected so even that cannot be held against them.

 

LOW POINT OF THE SEASON: The Jonathan Drouin fiasco is easy to pick out, but the truth is Yzerman handled it masterfully, putting him in his place and Drouin was wonderful after Stamkos went down. The truth is the Stamkos blood clots were the low point, I feel the team played their hearts out and kept hanging in there waiting on him to come back. Stankos being lost to blood clots would be the low point. It probably cost them a return to the cup finals.

 

WHAT WENT RIGHT: Stamkos banged home 36 goals and was second on the team with 64 points. Nikita Kucherev led the team in scoring (30-36-66) and was brilliant all year. Victor Hedman (10-37-47) continues to develop into one of the games best on the back end. Ondrej Palat missed 20 games but scored 40 points in 62 points. Namestnikov developed as a solid bottom six gut as did J.T. Brown. Anton Stralman is aging like fine wine. Brian Boyle is the best 4th line center in Hockey, period. Ben Bishop was solid and Vasilevskiy developed nicely and may force his way into the starting role.

 

WHAT WENT WRONG: Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn both took a step back. A lot of vets took a step back, Val Filpulla, Ryan Callahan, Jason Garrison, Brayden Coburn and Matt Carle all were subpar for long stretches of the season. Drouin and his hissy fit deserves mention. Stamkos and his blood clots. Bishop going down in the Penguin series, although it is impossible to believe that he could have outperformed Vasilevskiy.

 

MVP: I would go Hedman. I know that Stamkos led the team in goals and played in all situations but Hedman is becoming the heart of the team, IMHO.

 

FREE AGENTS: Steven Stamkos is the beginning and end of this list. A high end offensive force of nature as a free agent in his prime happens very seldom. Let the bidding begin.

 

TOP PROSPECTS: Vasilievskiy is probably not really a prospect anymore but a bonafide NHLer and he may force Bishop out the door. Gudlevskis is a solid goalie prospect but has been passed on the depth chart. Adam Erne and Joel vermin will be the first callups if there are injuries among the forwards and Slater Koekkoek is an okay defensive prospect who will fill a similar role. Not the deepest pool of 'ready now' prospects around. If you count Vasilevskiy as a NHLer and not a prospect, the Lightning actually have a weak farm system right now.

 

OFFSEASON QUESTION MARKS: It begins with Stamkos, can they resign him and at what cost? Do they trade Bishop and hand the keys to the team to the two kid rookies to free up salary to keep Stamkos?If Stamkos leaves, can Johnson step into the 1C role? Can the collection of 30 something veterans who slipped last year bounce back and contribute?

 

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10 hours ago, Severide said:

Stamkos spoke out saying that he hopes to stay in Tampa, he has "unfinished" business.

Saying you are wanting to stay is one thing, having to decide when Lou and Shany hand you a blank check and tell you to fill in the numbers is another. That is the situation that I believe he will be facing. Several other teams of course will get involved as well but IMHO it will come down to loyalty to the Lightning or Leaf Gold.

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3 hours ago, yave1964 said:

 

3 hours ago, yave1964 said:

Saying you are wanting to stay is one thing, having to decide when Lou and Shany hand you a blank check and tell you to fill in the numbers is another. That is the situation that I believe he will be facing. Several other teams of course will get involved as well but IMHO it will come down to loyalty to the Lightning or Leaf Gold.

 

True. I know they offered him an 8 year some 64million . But Kane and Toews got 8 year 84 million (i believe) i am sure it will take a similar number to keep him. However, Yzerman brought up a good point saying that next season he has guys like Hedman, Bishop, Kuch and I think Johnson (have to look) and those are core guys who proved its not impossible to win without Stammer. 

 

It will be crazy to watch what unfolds for sure. To some extent, minus the talemt factor, it reminds me of Paul Stastny. Home team will shoot and offer and he wants to "be back with the team." Going home always wins but going home to a team like the Leafs could be difficult. 

 

Maybe (unlikely) he signs a 1-2 year bridge deal for like 10-20 million and trys to win a cup and then leaves. By then though Matthews and Nylander would be making noise and Leafs would not offer what he wants.... However other teams might still lay down that blank check. 

 

I don't want to see him go. However if he doesn't than Drouin might and I really would prefer he stay with Tampa too..... 

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7 hours ago, yave1964 said:

Saying you are wanting to stay is one thing, having to decide when Lou and Shany hand you a blank check and tell you to fill in the numbers is another. That is the situation that I believe he will be facing. Several other teams of course will get involved as well but IMHO it will come down to loyalty to the Lightning or Leaf Gold.

 

If Stamkos is looking for Kane/Toews money, I believe Stevie Y lets the Leafs have him. It's tough to say let a guy like that walk, but the Bolts have alot of grade A speed and talent. They obviously aren't better without him, but they can win without him and roll the young guys forward. 

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49 minutes ago, sarsippius said:

 

If Stamkos is looking for Kane/Toews money, I believe Stevie Y lets the Leafs have him. It's tough to say let a guy like that walk, but the Bolts have alot of grade A speed and talent. They obviously aren't better without him, but they can win without him and roll the young guys forward. 

And that is where I am at, pretty much exactly. Someone steps up to the plate with a ten year 100 million dollar deal, if I am the Lightning I simply have to pass. that is an insane commitment to a player, any player.

  And yet it might make sense from a Leaf standpoint. Along with Marner and Nylander and Matthews they would form one hell of a starting point in a rebuild. To give that kind of money to Stamkos is basically saying he is the one the team is building around, the face of the all new Leafs, it would be one hell of a lot better than the money thrown away on Clarkson or Kessel or Phanuef.

  And I wrote somewhere that I felt that Stamkos was injury prone, really he is not. He missed the tail end of the season with blood clots but got into 77 games, the year before he played every game. The previous season he missed half the year with a fluke injury driving the net and breaking his leg, but in the four seasons before that he played every game. In fact if you take the broken leg out of the equation even counting the blood clots he has only missed 8 games in the other 7 seasons combined so in truth while the blood clots are a genuine concern, if they are under control he is not really an injury risk.

  Other teams may jump into the fray, I am sure everyone and their brother wants him or would be a damn fool not to but it has to work with the cap. If the Wings find a buyer for Datsyuk (the most absurd rule in hockey, trading a retired players expiring deal away) along with the salary saved with severing ties with several vets, they might make an offer. Calgary would be one hell of a landing spot, along with a goalie they are instantly credible. The Kings are aging and he would inject just the right touch to their club. Can you imagine if he signed with Edmonton, Stammer and Hall and McDavid on the same power play? And the whispers are that the Rangers are willing to take 80 cents on the dollar for both Stepan and Brassard to clear salary enough to make a play.

  With all that, I still see it as a two way race between Tampa and Toronto with Tampa having the inside edge. It is definitely going to be fun.

 

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  • 1 month later...
8 hours ago, J0e Th0rnton said:

How the heck did you guys get Otto Somppi in the 7th round?

This is a steal for you guys. An absolute steal

 

I don't really know ANYTHING about Otto......cept he seems to be projected as an NHL 3rd or 4th liner.

 

I will take your word for it that it IS a steal...wouldn't be the first time the Lightning picked a player late in rounds, only to have that player turn into much more than what was anticipated. A certain Mr. Ondrej Palat was a former 7th round pick.............. :5726b5f801048_cooldude:

 

I rather like the Bolts' scouting. They really seem to do their homework!

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