NHL
The Tampa Bay Lightning Are the Best They Have Been in Years
The Tampa Bay Lightning exited last season’s playoffs with a Game 7 loss to the eventual Cup winning Washington Capitals. Tampa Bay has been to the Conference Final two times over the last three years and three years ago were playing the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final. I would not say 2017-18 was a disappointment. But if the Lightning do not make the Final this year, could it be a disappointment?
Have the Bolts Gotten Better
Yes but not too much better because they are already very good. Tampa Bay shed the $2 million Cap hit of Chris Kunitz to open up Cap space for the players that were acquired at the Trade Deadline. Yzerman used that money gained to resign J.T. Miller and extend Ryan McDonagh’s contract.
Additions
The Lightning did not sign anyone or trade for anyone this summer, so there are no players that can be put in this column.
Subtractions
Tampa Bay let Chris Kunitz walk to free agency. Kunitz signed a one year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. Last year, Chris Kunitz played the full 82 game schedule for the Lightning and scored 13 goals with 16 assists for a grand total of 29 points.
On September 11, Steve Yzerman stepped down as GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In BriseBois’s first three days as General Manager of the Lightning, he terminated the contract of Jake Dotchin. According to SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC), Tampa Bay was terminating Dotchin due to a “material breach in contract.”
Where the Tampa Bay Lightning Stand
The Tampa Bay Lightning stand where they did last year and where they may stand for the next half decade. Every single core piece of the team is signed longer than two years. Steve Yzerman did a tremendous job building this team for success. Then on September 11, the Lightning announced that Yzerman had stepped down as General Manager and was replaced by Julien BriseBois.
This is Tampa Bay’s 31 in 31 but I want to branch off for a moment to talk about Yzerman. First off, the Detroit Red Wings have been struggling the past three years and Ken Holland (Detroit GM) may be on the hot seat. Yzerman could have stepped down so he can take the job in Detroit in a year or two.
Steve Yzerman was offered the job as GM when he was with Detroit as the Assistant GM but declined because Ken Holland was not ready to move on from the job.
Okay back to Tampa Bay. The Lightning have finished 2nd or better in the Atlantic Division four out of the past five years. This is not going to change. Tampa Bay is too good right now for any team to pass them. It will likely be the Lightning who top the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference. I would be surprised to see anyone else.
The Net Gain doesn’t show this as it is -29 but that is because younger players are going to take the spot from Chris Kunitz and no player outside the organization was needed to fill the gap.\
Don’t worry Lighting fans, the Bolts are going to be Cup Contenders up until the end and past the end of the current CBA (2022).
Social Media
Follow Jared on Twitter: @jared_pettus_00
Photo Credit
Photo Courtesy of Devin Flack
