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.
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