After appearing in the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight season, the Tampa Bay Lightning are itching to prove that they aren’t done winning championships despite losing key contributors from the past three lengthy postseason runs.
Gone are two top four defenseman in Ryan McDonagh and Jan Rutta, along with clutch playoff performer Ondrej Palat. McDonagh was traded to the Nashville Predators for defenseman Philippe Myers and minor leaguer Grant Mismash. Rutta and Palat both left in free agency.
In their place, the Bolts signed veteran defenseman Ian Cole and Haydn Fleury to hopefully solidify their bottom pairing. If he clears waivers, Myers will allow coach Jon Cooper the flexibility to dress seven defenseman if needed.
Up front, the Lightning re-signed 2022 trade deadline acquisition Nick Paul to a long term deal and brought back a fan favorite in Vladislav Namestnikov. Both had decent camps, with Namestnikov getting a hat trick and assist in the final preseason game on October 8th.
Zach Bogosian and Anthony Cirelli will miss the first two months of the season recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. That opened the door for two prospects, Cole Koepke and Gabriel Fortier, to make their first opening night roster. Whether they stick around is dependent upon how well they perform early.
Brayden Point is finally healthy after sustaining a significant tear in his quad during the team’s first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. That’s good news, as he’s a great two-way player in the league when healthy.
Coming off a career season, captain Steven Stamkos aims to reach a couple of significant milestones in the upcoming season. Nikita Kucherov remains a wizard at finding open teammates and setting them up to score.
On the blue line, Cal Foote will get his shot alongside Victor Hedman while Mikhail Sergachev moves up to play with Erik Cernak. There’s a chance the team struggles early on, as these pairings are all new and communication issues can occur. Couple that with a brutal road-heavy schedule, including a California trip, and don’t be surprised if this team enters November with a .500 record at best.
Do the Lightning have a team capable of making another deep playoff run? Time will tell, but staying relatively healthy and getting contributions from much of the lineup is going to be key.
Nice report, Lauren!
Thanks for the comment!