2018-2019 Tampa Bay Lightning

Pre-season optimism has blinded many a hockey fan to the cold stark reality of the their teams true capabilities. Ambition always seems to preclude reality in September. Last season, no sane person picked the Washington Capitals to hoist the Stanley Cup. The entire hockey world collective gave the Vegas Golden Knights zero chance of producing a winning season and look how that worked out. By all accounts, my beloved Lightning "should have" won. They were a consensus pick to win it all. But reality set in, being shut out in games 6 and 7 of the Eastern Conference Final by the eventual Cup Champs. This beleaguered article will not attempt to re-construct the failures and causes, (The Hockey News does a good job of this already) because it won't change anything. It is what it is as the saying goes.

Moving forward to the current season, I did want to share some thoughts on what has changed within the org-an-iz-ation since last season as well as roster strengths and weaknesses.

Amalie Arena

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
Out is long time Associate Coach Rick Bownness. Main duties running the penalty kill and defense.
Out is Assistant Coach Brad Lauer
Out is General Manager, Steve Yzerman. Will Remain as Sr Advisor to the GM.
In is former Lightning Forward, Jeff Halprin named Assistant Coach.
In is former AHL Head Coach of the Iowa Wild, Derek LaLond named to Jon Copper's Staff.
In is Julien Brisebois as General Manager, promoted from Assistant General Manager.
Todd Richards remains and will assume the duties of former Coach Rich Bownness
Hockey Operations and Coaching Staff

ROSTER CHANGES
Gone is F Kris Kunitz-not resigned
Gone is D Andre Suster -UFA not offered an offer sheet from Tampa, signed with San Jose Sharks.
Gone is Matthew Peca F-UFA signed with Montreal Canadians.
Gone is D Jake Dotchin for a material contract breach.
Resigned F Adam Erne to one year contract.
Resigned F Nikita Kucherov to eight year contract.
Resigned F J.T. Miller to five year contract.
Resigned F Cedric Paquette to one year contract.
Resigned D Slater Koekoek to one year contract.
Resigned D Ryan McDonagh to seven year contract.
Resigned G Louis Domingue to two year contract.
Resigned G Eddie Pasquale to one year, two way contract.
Resigned D Daniel Walcot to one year, two way contract.
Current Roster

Palat-Johnson-Stamkos celebrate a goal

FORWARDS
They say you need an exceptional player or two up front to win a championship. The Lightning meet that criteria and then some. Starting with C Steven Stamkos  who added play maker to his resume last season tossing in 27 goals and a career high 59 assists. Singed to a new eight year deal in the off season, RW Nikita Kucherov lead the team in scoring with a career high 100 points (39 goals, 61 assists) and finished third in scoring in the league. However both were non factors in the ECF. Rounding out the top line was trade deadline acquisition, LW JT Miller (82gp, 23g, 35a, 58p) Miller's presence brings a rugged dimension missing from a lineup often characterized as soft and undersized. A full season of JT Miller should open the ice more for Stammer and Kuch.

THE SECOND LINE group brings almost as much scoring punch as the top line. Once paired against Boston's top line during the second round of last year's playoff, they proved to be defensively dominate as well and tilted the momentum in the series toward Tampa. Centered by Braydon Point (32g, 34a, 66p) and flanked by RW Tyler Johnson (21g, 29a, 50p) and LW Ondrej Palat (11g, 24a, 35p). The strength and depth of the organization shines bright as all three players are products of the Lightning's minor league system. Expect no changes here.

THE THIRD LINE is solid and dependable. Rookie Anothony Cirelli solidified the line and the combination should remain in tact as well. Cirelli was a late season call-up, playing 18 games, scoring his first goal in his first game against former Lightning Goalie, Ben Bishop. Cirelli saw his playing time increase as the coaching staff gained confidence in his responsible play. In addition, he played all 17 playoff games. He plays opposite Alex Killorn (15g, 32a, 47p) who is a streaky scorer but always dependable defensively (+22). The pivot for this line is Yanni Gourde (25g, 39a, 64p)  who played all 82 regular season games and every playoff game in 2018. This line contributed 18% of the teams league leading 296 goals and was a combined +67.

THE FOURTH LINE gets interesting when we examine the battles that will be waged internally for the bottom three forward spots. Ryan Callanhan's off season shoulder surgery will keep the rugged forward out of the line up until November. I have often said the Lightning are not the same when #24 is not on the ice. Callahan's aggressive style has taken a toll on his body tough, missing 145 games in the last five seasons.  He is a top notch penalty killer willing to sacrifice his body, blocking shots, going hard into the corner to battle for the puck and not afraid to finish a check on the heavy side. When he returns healthy he will resume his fourth line role. Until then, someone will need to fill that right wing role.

The very physical center, Cedric Paquette probably played his way back onto the team with a solid playoff performance last year, earning himself a contract this year. His point production has fallen since his rookie season, but he is decent in the face off circle and plays well above his weight class in the toughness department.

The LW spot on the fourth line is vacant due to Kris Kunitz not being offered a contract. Contenders are Adam Erne, Andy Adreoff, Gabriel Dumont, and Cory Conacher. All four players have NHL experience. Erne and Adreoff play a similar power forward game while Dumont and Conacher rely on skill and speed. Andreoff was acquired from the LA Kings in a trade sending back-up goalie Petr Budaj to the Kings last season. He is getting a strong look in camp from the coaching staff and has played in all three pre season games so far. Game experience is hard to teach and he has 159 NHL games under his skates, playing 60 games during the 2015-16 season in LA.

Gabriel Dumont came on strong at the end of the 2016-17 season. He was trusted with crucial defensive zone face offs, a spot left vacant when Brian Boyle was dealt to Toronto at the trade deadline that season. Dumont is a defensively responsible forward but does not provide much offensive upside. He has seen spot duty on the penalty kill. My prediction is he starts the season in Syracuse.

Cory Conacher has the most games played in the NHL at 188. He began his NHL career with Tampa Bay in 2012-2013 scoring 24 points through 35 being before being traded to the Ottawa Senators for G Ben Bishop. I remember how I thought Yzerman had lost his ever loving mind at the time of this trade. It turned out to be one of Stevie Y's better trades in hindsight. Starting last season in Syracuse, he did get called up 18 games into the campaign, playing 36 games and chipping in eight goals. He is the most offensively gifted forward vying for a roster spot. He has spent brief moments on the power play.

OPENING NIGHT PREDICTIONS 

Kucherov-Stamkos-Miller

Palat-Point-Johnson

Kilorn-Gourde-Cirelli

Andreoff-Paquette-Erne

Pressbox-Conacher

2018 Norris Trophy winner, Victor Hedman

DEFENSE
And just when you thought there would be less drama from the blue-liners, we learn before training camp opened, the team terminated the contract of D Jake Dotchin for a material breach. Dotchin looked good at times but was inconsistent as evidenced by his lack of playing time last season. He most likely would have competed with Brayden Coburn for the 6th D-man spot. However he ran afoul of the team at the beginning of 2016-17 season and was suspended the entire pre-season.

The Lightning allowed 236 goals last season only good enough to be 19th in the league. Although the team lead the league with a +60 differential, this was primarily due to scoring 296 goals and is probably going to be difficult to repeat. The defense needs to make up the difference by reducing opposition scoring chances. Its not all doom and gloomy though.

The shinning nugget of success occurred during the Boston series when the Bruins were only scoring power play goals for three straight games which translates to the blue line shutting down a potent Bruin offense.

The top 6 is set, there is no disputing that. With the departure of Associate Coach Rick Bowness, who ran the defensive schemes, there will be some adjustment for all as Todd Richards assumes the responsibility for the D-Corps.

• Victor Hedman (77gp, 17g, 46a, 63p) is 27 and is entering his 9th NHL season. He averages over 24 minutes a game and appears to get stronger as the game wears on. He also won his first Norris Trophy last season. Maybe the best penalty killer in the league because of his deceptive speed, long reach, quickness and positioning. Also plays on the first Power Play Unit.
• Ryan McDonagh (63gp, 4g, 25a, 29p) is 29 and comes to Tampa at the trade deadline last season, is regarded as a rugged stay at home defense man. McDonagh is also the former Captain of the New York Rangers and brings leadership and experience to an already experienced locker room. He signed a seven year contract in the off season to keep him in Lightning colors for a while. He is capable of playing big minutes as well and may take some pressure off of Sergachev and or Girardi.
• Anton Stralman (80gp, 4g, 14a, 18p) is the 32 years old, is also entering the last year of his contract. Stralman is a positional hockey player who is rarely caught off guard and seems to be in the right place all the time. It would be nice to see he and Hedman paired together again this season.
• Mikhail Sergachev (79gp, 9gp, 31a, 40p) is all of 20 years old and had a heck of a rookie season. Some of his defensive lapses were revealed in the playoffs as he was pushed down to the third pair. But man, this kid has got what it takes to be a very good NHL defender. Size and speed can't be taught and he has both. Don't be surprised to see him paired with McDonagh on the second pair.
• Dan Girardi (77gp, 6g, 12a, 18p) is 34 years old and entering the last year of his contract. Girardi's strength is his uncanny ability to block shots no what happens. Who can forget the horrifying moment last year when he took a shot off the back of his head while blocking a shot. He is an effective penalty killer. He and Braydon Coburn will make an effective third pair.
• Braydon Coburn (72gp, 1g, 14a, 15p) is a serviceable, realiable defenseman. He actually got stronger as the playoffs wore on last season. As Sergachev's minutes declined, Coburn stepped up his play to fill the gap. More than capable of playing hard nosed, in your face hockey.

The drop off from the top 6 is substantial. Last season the Lightning carried 8 defense men. With the untimely departure of Dotchin, Slater Koekkoek (35gp, 4g, 4a, 9p) is the 7th man by default. This will be his make it or break it year. At 24 years old, he has had his chances to become the defender the team drafted him to be. He has shown flashes of good hockey and flashes of being lost on the ice. Hope he has been skating the river because if the injury bug comes knocking, he needs to be ready to step up.

The organization is stocked with highly skilled forwards with several ready to make the jump to the big show when needed. Ready to go defense men, not so much. Cal Foote, Erick Cernak and Dominic Masin could see action this season if the team is pressed with multiple, short term injuries.

OPENING NIGHT PAIRINGS

Hedman-Stralman

McDonagh-Sergachev

Girardi-Coburn

Pressbox- sKoekkoek, Cernak

Vasilveskiy glove save VS the stinking Flyers

GOALIE
In the early days of the Lightning, Phil Esposito stated "you win championships from the net out" In the spirit of that belief, current team management has built the current team with a focus on quality goal tending. The organization is solid in goal tending depth at the NHL level and in Syracuse.

• Andrei Vasilevskiy (66 GP, 44 wins. 2.66GAA, .920% SV%) is 24. Last season was his first season as a starter in the NHL and played well enough to be a Vezina Trophy Finalist.  The SV% went up in the second half of the year as the grind of being "the man" appeared to wear him down. His back up at the time, Petr Budaj was ineffective and place a greater work load on the young Russian. Yzerman solved this by trading for Arizona cast off Louie Domingue. Budaj got hurt, Domingue moved in and never left. He provided quality starts and the team responded when he was in net.
• Louis Domingue-(Tampa stats, 12gp, 7 wins, 2.75GAA, .901SV%, ) is 26 and proved he is a capable NHL quality net minder. Signed a two year deal this off season and should provide 20-25 starts thus reducing the work load on Vasilevskiy.

Stamkos scores on the Power Play

SPECIAL TEAMS

• POWER PLAY- finished the season at 23.6%, good enough for third best in the league. Both units produce scoring. Having Ryan McDonagh and JT Miller for the entire season should add to the potency of the attack. The PP produced 66 of the teams 290 goals.
• PENALTY KILL - finished the season 76.1% only three teams were worse. The team elected to change coaches when they terminated Associate Coach Rick Bowness. The personnel remain basically the same. A full season of McDonagh, Miller and Cirelli should have positive impact on the results. The other impact on improving the PK is to reduce team PIM from 753. The team was undisciplined at times and staying out of the box reduces the amount of the chances for the opposition to score with the man advantage.

TEAM STRENGTHS

• Scoring
• Goal tending
• Scoring Depth

TEAM WEEKNESSES

• Penalty Kill
• Defensive Depth
• Playing down to lesser opponents

MAC AND CHEESE Recipe

I kind of enjoy cooking, I just don't do it very often. On special occasions, I will whip up a batch of my Gourmet Mac and Cheese. Its the best I have ever eaten and probably will be the best you ever ate if you make it.

A few notes- Most elbow macaroni comes in a 16 ounce box-use it all. You will need to add a little extra heavy cream to keep the finished product from being too dry.

Mix all of this in the biggest bowl you have. The combination of the noodles and the cream / cheese mixture is a lot of volume and the bigger bowl makes mixing a lot easier.

The key to making this over the top in taste is the play of the Rosemary against the bacon. It will cause uncontolled moaning and gasping.

 

If by some weird reason you cant find Asiago chesse, substitute Fontina.

Bon Appetit.

MY BUDDY

This commentary is an inept attempt to describe how truly awesome our dog Miles was. He was 14 years old when he died and we were fortunate enough to have had him for the last ten years of his life. Besides his loving spirit, I will always remember him as a happy dog. Whenever he would run back into the house from outside, he seemed to always have a smile. His nickname was "the happy boy".

My Buddy

My Buddy, as I called him, came to live with us because of our Beagle, Vinny. The story of how Vinny came to us was actually because a little, ornery, self determined escape artist of a Beagle named Bama. This is our story....... (go ahead make the sound, its OK).

When my son got out of the Marine Corps, he got a "great deal" on a pure bread Beagle that was the last of the litter. Not the runt, just the last to be re-homed. I could fill this entire story with the shenanigans of the 13 inch hound of terror. All the stories though, are pure Beagle- destroyed a couch, couple rugs, a mattress, somehow moved his cage from the living room to the kitchen one night, bloodied his paws trying escape a bathroom prison, dug under a fence to go explore, became an expert getting stuff off the counter and got shot while "exploring" on one of his sojourns. However, he was also just as energetic about those in his human family.

Bama as a pup with his favorite toy.

As a one year old, his human mommy was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo surgery to remove the affected kidney. During her recovery at home, young Bama never left her side except to eat and patrol the back yard for invading lizard heards. He brought love and comfort to his family in spite of his ever present Beagleness.

As our son, code named "little Joe" moved out to begin his life post grunt, he took Bama with him. Shortly thereafter, we began looking for a Beagle pup of our own. One day the wife says, "hey honey, I saw this Beagle pup today, why don't we go look at him again". Long story short, he came home with us. This little 12 week old pup who we named Vinny, was nothing like Beagle #1. He was not interested in doing anything but laying on his new mommy's chest. He was tentative at every turn, hoped like a bunny in the grass and had terrible separation anxiety. And as a bonus, he developed epilepsy at six months old. His seizures were scary for us but we were committed to doing everything we could to take care of him. How could we do anything less?

He still sleeps like this

A family moved into a house 3 Doors Down from us after we bought our current home. Come to find out the wife lived next to us in the home where we lived with Bama  in a quaint Tampa suburb. Small world, huh?  She had a little black and tan dog named Miles that she walked in the cool Central FL evenings. Miles and Vinny soon became friends, playing dog games in our back yard over the next year or so. As happens sometimes, our friends ran into some struggles and asked if we would take Miles. We did so without hesitation.

Miles in 2007 when he came to live with us

Vinny now had a canine compadre. Miles' presence seemed to help calm our insecure Beagle Buddy and they bonded quickly. One afternoon, Vinny had a real bad seizure. As we were tending to Vinny, Miles sensed something was wrong with his friend. He laid on the floor next to Vinny offering unseen but powerful healing vibes. When Vinny was able to walk and went outside, Miles stayed right by his side since his Beagle brother was still shaky and walking like a Saturday Night Drunk on Monday.

Miles' dog momma was a white Jack Russell Terrier and the daddy was a black and tan colored Miniature Pincher. Weighing in at a stout 16 pounds, he displayed big dog attitude in a little dog body. Our two boys loved to run and play in the back yard, with the Beagle initiating the chase. I reckon it is the Beagle instinct to chase rabbits and other small game that came to life in our boy so Vinny (who is the puppy that never grew up) always initiated the chase. Both boys are very equipped at run and chase as proven time and again in the confines of their fenced yard. Although Vinny had no problem keeping up with the fleet footed JackPin, Miles could turn inside his brother to prolong the game until on Que they both stopped from sheer exhaustion.

Through all of that tough guy exterior, Miles was never really comfortable unless he was next to one of us. That was his true nature, make sure his family was safe. Part of his protective nature was to attack any animal seen on TV. As we would watch TV, he would bark and run towards the TV. We believe he thought he was looking out of a window as he would often times run to the window in the front room and continue his protection barking at the perceived threat.

Miles in his Merecat impression

Super hearing was strong with him also. I was asleep in the bedroom one evening and of course my buddy was right next to me. All of a sudden he leaped from the bed in full on attack-danger mode. The threat? Was a neighbor walking down the center of the street, wearing sneakers. All this while the AC was running and the TV still on in the living room. To this day I am still amazed by his super hearing.

He gravitated to me and we formed a bond. Anytime I was away, he always greeted me at the door and then would jump on the bed as I changed. This was our special time, he would get a good back rub and I would get a kiss on the chin and then he would curl up and let me hug and love on him. Once the ritual was completed he would leap off the bed in an apparent effort to show me how far he could jump. He sure was proud of himself when he showed off to me.

He was also fond of jumping on the bed, trying to get us to play. A game of walking fingers to attack his feet would inevitably lead to some growl- barks, running in circles ending in double paw pounds from our little energetic buddy. That was his favorite game. He would look you right in the eye as if to say, "come on do it again dad, this is fun". A jump from the bed began a lap around the front room and a running leap back onto the bed to do it all over again. Those were good times.

Miles also had a thing for pillows. If there was a pillow in the room he wanted to lie on it. Every morning as I am drinking my coffee and reading, I have to put a pillow in my lap so he could jump up on the pillow. One of his silly ways.

It was always interesting when a friends dog would come over to stay. After Miles let them know he was the boss, all was fine. It didn't matter how big they were, he was always top dog. There was Gracie the Great Dane (Vinny's girl friend by the way) Riley the Black Lab, Roscoe the German Shepherd, Apollo the Jack Russell, Diesel the Min-Pin, Bea the Belgian Malinois and of coarse Bama. But if any of these dogs started to mess with Vinny too much, Miles would protect him. It was really quite interesting to see this dynamic play out before us.

L-R Gracie, Vinny, Bama, Miles

Miles and Apollo

Rosco, Miles and Vinny

Miles and Bea

As a short haired dog, Miles had a tendency to get chilled quickly. He loved to go outside and just lie in the yard to let the sun warm him up. However, we were cautious about letting him do this without supervision. Why? Well because there were some large birds of prey which would fly very low over the yard sizing up Miles as a meal. This was to horrible a thought for us so when he was sun bathing, we kept a close eye on him and the sky above.

Miles soaking in some rays

Sitting on the couch was only comfortable when both boys were curled up next to us. Typically, Miles next to me and Vinny next to mommy. Working in the office, Miles was always by my feet. When watching movies in the office, Miles like to watch with me by jumping onto my lap. Working out in the Man-Lounge always included Miles. Relaxing in the Mike-Lima, again always included him as well. I am fond of sitting in my Man-Lounge recliner, reclined, while watching a sporting event and enjoying a nice cigar with my buddy in my lap.

Miles in the Man Lounge with me

I endured multiple leg surgeries in the time Miles was with us. I certainly won't numb your brain with the surgical details, but suffice it to say, he was next to me in bed when I came home every time. He instinctively knew not to jump on my legs as I lay in the bed. As I navigated the house with the tactical walker, he stayed out of the way so I would not trip. He was next to me on the bed while I rehabbed on the CPM six hours a day.  He was in the bed with me when the physical therapist came. Even when I took my morphine induced naps, he stayed with me.

My rehab partners

Tactical Walker

I recall one instance as the home health nurse was examining my leg after the last surgery. The leg was dark purple and yellow down the back side. It had never looked like that before and she was immediately concerned and began making arrangements to have me examined that night, fearing a blood clot. Miles sensed the seriousness of the tone in the room and he came up in the bed and laid down  in my  left arm as if to tell me not to worry, it would be OK. And it was, no blood clot just some nasty post surgical bruising. But that was how he was.

Miles did suffer a life threatening bowl perforation in 2013 when he swallowed a piece of plastic in the back yard. Sensing he was not well, I decided to take him to our Vet. Within minutes of the X-ray, Dr. Mathews declared he would be performing surgery right away to remove a blockage. Had we waited even a few hours more, he would not have survived. From that point on, his tummy was always sensitive to the touch and he did not like to be picked up. He also had to be on a special digestive food for the rest of his life.

May 2, 2017 was a terrible day. My son called to inform me that Beagle #1, Bama, had died in the night. All seemed normal at 0600 as he arrived home at the end of his 12 hour over night shift. He is a K-9 cop in Alabama.  As he put up his work dog, Mali, he noticed Bama was not stirring as he normally does. As he went to check on him, he discovered his lifeless little body. That adorable Beagle pup that sat on our couch on his first day with us, had crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We were very saddened by this news.

Just six weeks later, we noticed a growth on the upper inside of Miles gums. We made an immediate call to Lake Wales Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Matthews who normally sees our crew was not available to examine Miles, but a Dr. we had not seen before, Dr. Dowling was. We made the appointment to have him examined. Dr. Dowling indicated surgery was necessary and was concerned about the growth. The growth was removed successfully and the mass sent off to be pathologically examined. A few days went by and she called with the news that the  removed tumor was cancer of the worst kind, bone cancer.

We were stunned with the description of how aggressive this cancer is and that it had a mortality rate of 100%. We instantly began researching how to slow the growth. Even our good friend Sandi invested many, many hours doing research as well as talking to her business' Veterinary advisor.  We changed his food to a grain free formula. We doubled the anti oxidant vitamins we were already giving him. I was hopeful our boy would beat the odds. He had to.

 Dr. Dowling indicated no firm time line could be established. She did an X-ray examination two weeks after removing the tumor  and there was no sign of cancer in his lungs or extremities. Great news. Though there was a pinpoint sized shadow at the front of the upper jaw which was cancer. Although Chemotherapy was not effective at curing this horrible type of cancer, there was anecdotal evidence that the Chemo used in conjunction with steroids could shrink the growth thus slowing it down. We ordered the drug before we left the office. By the time we received the bottle of Chemo, the cancer had produced another tumor in his mouth. It grew at an unbelievable rate, seemingly doubling in size each day. It moved into his sinus cavity and began pushing his nose to the side. He was miserable, we were giving him pain pills three times a day to keep him comfortable.

August 4th, 2017 at 5:02pm, my sweet boy died in my arms wrapped in his favorite green blanket. I was kissing his head just below his right ear telling him I loved him when his heart stopped. Even within the last 30 minutes of his life, he still jumped up on the bed as I changed. I gave him one last back scratch and rub and he curled up in my arms one last time just as we had done nearly every day for the ten wonderful years we had together.

They say Dogs are mans best friend. I did not want such an extraordinary dog, like Miles to be forgotten because he was my friend. Our lives were enhanced by his presence in our family. For that we are thankful for the time we had together.

And last but not least, we are blessed to have such a great Veterinary Hospital in our little town. Dr. Matthews is the only Dr. Vinny has ever seen. His work with Vinny's condition has been patient and filled with compassion. And although Dr. Matthews was not the Dr taking care of Miles at the end, Dr. Dowling's enthusiasm and thorough explanation of what was happening gave us a bit of peace. Erin and Lisa who we have known for 12 years certainly provided us the necessary time to say goodbye to my buddy and for that, we say thank-you.

 I would suggest there are many great dogs languishing in shelters and rescues in every city today, ready to give healing vibes and unconditional devotion to you and your loved ones. All they ask in return is to be loved and cared for.

LET THE SPECULATION BEGIN:

The goal of all 30 NHL teams is to win the Stanley Cup when the season pucksoff in early October. Making the playoffs and winning 16 hard fought post season games is all it takes hoist the Silver Chalice.

As the 2016-2017 NHL regular season ends, the speculation surrounding my beloved Tampa Bay Lightning now begins. After going to the Stanley Cup Final two seasons ago and the Eastern Conference title game last year, this team was projected to compete for the Stanley Cup in 2017. However, the team failed to make the playoffs, missing by 1 point.

So what went wrong?
The season started with 4 wins but they were come from behind jobs. Everyone just chalked it up to being tired from so much post season hockey the previous two and the fact 11 players played in the World Cup of Hockey right as the season began. I was one of the people saying, "oh they will be fine". But then some really bad hockey games followed. The first loss to Columbus was a 5-3 stinker that could have been much worse. The team was in a funk, lethargic and the results were showing as the losses mounted. By the start of February, the team was dead last in the East. When you couple the six games played against the three worst teams in the league, Arizona, Colorado and Vancouver which netted a 1-5 record, the writing was on the wall. Those losses as it turned out, were the difference in not making the playoffs.

One of the best goalies in the league was in Tampa Bay's net, Ben Bishop. Big Ben had come up big over his seasons with the Lightning and the team seemed to play with confidence when he was backstopping.

Phil Esposito has often been quoted as saying "you win championships from the net out" That means solid goal tending is key to any teams success. Bishops most memorable performances came in game 6 and 7 of the Eastern Conference Championship against the Rangers, when he pitched two consecutive shutouts including Game 7 in Madison Square Garden. However, Bishop was hurt three  seasons during the post season though. The Vezina Trophy finalist went into this last off season with a torn groin and as the new season began, he never really seemed to be the same. His pending UFA status was the subject of much off season speculation. Would he or team Captain Steven Stamkos be offered long term deals to remain a Bolt? As it turned oat, Stamkos was resigned to an 8 year deal to remain in Tampa and this spelled the end of Bishop in Tampa's net. #30 was traded to Los Angelis on February 26 just days before the NHL trade deadline.

Also traded was the teams best face off winning centerman, Valtteri Filppula who carried a cap hit of $5 million for another season. GM Steve Yzerman also traded rugged forward Brian Boyle who was a UFA at seasons end and was obviously not going to be resigned. The loss of both of these players who were experienced and reliable in the faceoff circle appeared to take a toll on the team's psyche. Boyle's presence on the ice helped keep other teams honest in their play. His play and leadership will be will be missed.

Injuries certainly played a key role in the disappointing results. To quote the Hockey News's article "Evaluating Our Pre-Seasons Standings Projections" published April 14, 2017: "Their entire team was on the IR.....blame the injury bug". Injuries are a part of the game and all teams have to find a way to manage through. At last check, the Lightning had over 300 man games lost to injury. At one point nearly one third of the rostered players from 2015-2016 team were either no longer on the team through trade or injury. The aforementioned Steven Stamkos played 17 games before a knee injury ended his season. Ryan Callahan had off season hip surgery and missed the first two months, came back for a few games and was re-injured only playing in 18 games. Defenseman Jason Garrison, Tyler Johnson and Cedric Paquette also finished the season on the injury list.

There were some bright spots though. Most were wrapped in a furious end of season push the team made. The Lightning won 20 of their last 30 games, amassing 44 points of the teams final total of 94. We saw the type of play we were accustomed to seeing, fast, end to end aggressive play which just came in waves, rush after rush.  The Power Play surged to one of the leagues best, spurred by the skill of Braydon Point and Nikita Kutcherov.

The window for winning it all is very small in this salary cap era. Once in a favorable cap position just three years ago, the Lightning had Salary Cap issues as the season began, like most successful teams do. The team had a little a little over $1 million of room under the cap in October and have several key players who will need new contracts. The trade deadline moves, however, have provided the relief necessary to add needed pieces. Center Tyler Johnson, wingers Ondrej Palat and Jonathon Drouin,  blueliners Jake Dotchin Andrj Sustr are RFA's. UFA status belongs to Greg McKeegg, Gabriel Dumont, Cory Conacher, Yanni Gourde, Luke Witkowski and Peter Budaj.

SO WHERE ARE THE NEEDS?
That answer is easy, the blueline. Tampa's best defensive pair, Hedman-Stralman, rarely played together this season because of poor defensive performance from other pairings. Gone from last year's team is Matt Carle whose contract was bought out by the team over the summer in an effort to fee up much needed cap space. Carle was a number 7 defenseman, but experienced and reliable enough to play 60 games last year because of injuries. Nikita Nesterov was a forward playing defense and seemed to always be on the ice when something bad happened. He was traded to Montreal for a bag of skates. Garrison and Sustr pairing really fell off this season and graded out as one of the worst pairings in the league the first half of the season. Rugged defenseman, Luke Witkowski has never seemed to play consistent enough to break into the top six. Former first round pick, Slater Koekoek started the year in Tampa but finished in Syracuse. Jake Dotchin was a surprise after his call up from Syracuse, is a rugged stay at home defender who skates well but needs to be paired with an experienced partner to cover up his inexperience. Defensemen who played at least 20 games, only two defensemen had positive +/- rating. Victor Hedman +3 and Anton Stralman +1. Braydon Coburn was next best at -1. Sustr and Garrison had the worst +/- ratings on the blueline at -10 and -8 respectively.

What does that mean? Do not be surprised if a forward is traded so the team can make a run after an experienced defenseman. The surprising play of Braydon Point, Yanni Gourde, Gabriel Dumont and Adam Ernie makes this possible. Point looks to have solidified the center spot on the second line. Dumont proved to be reliable on defensive zone faceoffs after his call up from Syracuse. Coupled with the return of Seven Stamkos, the Lightning are solid and deep up the middle. Odd man oat is Tyler Johnson.

TJ is a quality NHL center and part of the once vaunted Triplets line. He is gritty, he scores, he has good hockey instincts and a key member of the team. He epitomizes what the Lightning are about these days. Undrafted, signed as a free agent and relegated to the minors, Tyler worked hard to improve as a hockey player. His coach in the AHL was none other than Jon Cooper, current coach of the Lightning. One of the consequences of the Salary Cap era in the NHL, good players get moved for no reason other than they make a little too much money.

WHAT ABOUT GOALTENDING?
Veteran Peter Budaj who was acquired from the Kings in the Bishop deal is a UFA but has a cap friendly salary of $600,000. Syracuse Crunch goaltender, 24 year old Kristers Gudlevelkis has RFA status and will probably be resigned. In Budaj, the Bolts have a back up goalie who was in the AHL last season after being shed from the Canadians organization. However, he performed at career levels filling in admirally for Jonathon Quick when he went down with an injury this season. He did pitch 7 shutouts which led the league. He may seek to parlay his recent good play by looking for a bigger paycheck else where.

Andreji Vasilevskiy is the heir apparent backstop for Tampa. He was the first goalie drafted in the 2012 Entry Draft when Tampa selected him with the 19th pick. Only 22 years old, Vassy has the tools to be an elite goalie in the NHL. Once Bishop was traded, #88 seemed to play with more confidence and the team responded. He is not the puck handler or quarterback Bishop was, but look for both of those areas to improve as Lightning goaltending coach, Franz Jean works with him.

WAS IT COACHING?
Nope. Jon Cooper is one of the fine young, elite coaches in the game today. His approach is fresh and exciting. Coop knows how to handle young players and was never more evident when he pulled Vasilevskiy in the first period of a game against the Chicago Blackhawks after allowing three goals on eight shots. "The Coach" sent his young net minder back into the game to start the second period. Tampa went on to win the game in over time and sent a message to the team that Vassy is our goalie. A truly gutzy move made by a fearless coach.  Assistant Coach Rick Bowness, has coached in more games than anyone else in the league and ain't going anywhere.

General Manager, Steve Yzerman has made shrood moves (come on, he conned the Flyers into taking Fillpula off his hands) is a bulldog negotiator (remember the Drouin standoff and the resigning of Stammer) and a tremendous evaluator of talent (Johnson, Palat, Kucherov, Kilorn, Vasilevskiy, Dotchin, Gourde, Dumont and Point to name a few). No doubt, Stevie Y has a plan and is daily taking strides to work it even though we don't know about it. And that is fine. He has gained the support of team owner, Jeff Vinik, because of the teams success.

Rest assured Tampa fans and haters, this team may have had a mild set back in 2017, however the entire org-an-iz-ation will rebound and contend in the coming season.

PROPS AND PISTONS

A large part of my adult life has been attending car races. Everything from NASCAR, Indy Car, Sports Car and local dirt tracks. By far the my favored type of racing is Sports Car Racing and Specifically the 24 Hours of Daytona and The 12 Hours of Sebring.

We have made life long friends over the years and for that I am blessed. I am fortunate to live within one hour of the front gate of Sebring International Raceway located in Highlands County. Every time I pull up the stop sign in front of the track, I get a chill. It is a special place for me.

 

In addition to the 12 Hour Race held on the third Saturday each March, SCCA (Sports Car Club of America), HSR (Historic Sportscar Racing) and SVRA hold events at the famed track throughout the year. Recently we attended the Props and Pistons event. This is our story. (make the Law and Order sound in your head now).

P-40 Tomahawk with Flying Tigers livery provides the Props

An Oldsmobile V-8 is a piston driven monster

Fellow racing enthusiasts, Larry and JP completed our trio of addicts for this race. We set up camp in the paddock at turn 1space 1. Now understand we are all hard working Americans who make up the middle class in our great nation. Larry is a Commercial Designer, JP has worked for Palm Beach Fire Rescue for 25 years and I am just a dude who teaches people how to do stuff. We don't have motor homes, but we all own tents, Coleman stoves, old fashioned percolators for making coffee (very important by the way) and an ability to deal with the finicky weather changes Central Florida can dish oat. Oh yea, we are masters of trackside cooking and eating. We are beyond just hamburgers and hot dogs.

Our humble trackside abode

L-R JP, Me, Larry

Larry's Gumbo

We even eat "semi" healthy



 



Now that you know a very little aboat us, onto the cars and other stuff we allegedly did. I truly enjoy attending vintage racing events at Sebring mainly because the crowd is 125,000 less than the 12 Hour event in March. Much  more relaxed and easy going is the theme at these events.

 

There were three occurrences which were memorable for me at the race. The first was seeing a Porsche 906 which to my recollection I have never seen in person. This car was developed in 1966 and went toe to toe with V12 Ferrari and mighty Ford V-8 racers. The 906 was powered by a lightweight 2 Liter, flat 6 producing a modest 220 HP. Some versions were later fitted with V8's.

 



The second memorable event was the ability to get up close and personal with an Oreca P-1. This car raced at Le Mans and has never raced in America until now. The exciting part of this car is the Judd V-10 power plant. The 10 cylinder Judd has such a unique sound both at idle and under full throttle. The sound is similar to a Jaguar V-12, but better. We also had the privilege of talking with the car owner who brought the car over from France to participate in this event. Our buddy JP has raced many times at Sebring and is very familiar how bumpy the track is and how tricky turn 1 and 17 are. He and the car owner had a nice chat, we wished him luck and continued our paddock wondering.

 

Moving on to the third memorable event which took place at about 10pm. Let me preface first. We have been run out of a lot of places in the track from not being allowed on pit row after the race because we had shorts on, to team tents which may have included fresh coffee and food and everything in between. I did follow JP into a drivers only meeting at one event which was freaking awesome, but that is a rabbit trail for later. 

 

Just minutes earlier, our band of motor heads had been chased out of the fenced area at the beginning of turn 17 by the corner workers. That was a bummer. As we dejectedly began our sojourn back to camp, I noticed the corner station in the middle of turn 17 was dark and manned by an older guy. Almost on command, we three instantly employed our finely honed ninja skills by blending in with the shadows and slowly and quietly moved closer to the inside wall. Suddenly out of the darkness another corner worker appeared, this one with communication gear used to give up dates to race command. We knew from experience these guys were hard to deal with. Larry used his cunning and instinct to strike up a conversation with this head phoned honcho. To my astonishment, they let us stay. Holy Smokes. The cars were whizzing by within 10 feet of our position. Protected only by 5000 pound barriers, we soaked up every sight, sound and smell with each passing second. Don't have pictures to show you because I did not want to push our luck.

 

We headed back to our corner of spectator heaven for some more of JP's Lemon Pie while sitting around a nice little fire. We shared stories about racing and life and of course always planning for the upcoming 12 Hour Race just 3 1/2 months away (we start counting days after New Years). The guys went to sleep in their vehicles, I slept on a cot inside the EZ Up. 

 

 

I will let the cars close us out.

A Toyota of some sort but absolutely no idea- first time in country

 

Ford GT in Gulf livery



Ford GT

The car that changed todays Sports Cars-Audi R8

Porsche 935 - notice the turbo at the back of the car

Former NPTI car just doesn't look right in black.

JP making that Stang look good

Ever popular Tom Milner designed Corvette

Porsche 962

 

PS- We also like nice premium cigars.