By Mark Pukalo
I understand. I really do
The Tampa Bay Lightning needed to be freshened up with some changes to the lineup. They absolutely had to get better defensively. They had to make tough decisions. It seems, they do every year now. Such is the price of success.
General manager Julien Brisebois has never been scared to make difficult, even unpopular moves. Many of his trades looked shaky at first and turned into gold. Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, Brandon Hagel and, to a certain extent, Nick Paul were all questioned initially.
In the past, letting Ryan McDonagh, Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn go seemed destined because the Bolts were in salary cap jail. This summer, they really were not, and Brisebois decided to push his captain out of town.
Steven Stamkos is now in Nashville and - honestly - I don't think it was because they could not fit him in. We will never know for sure what Stammer would have settled for and what the actual offer from Brisebois was. But make no mistake, the captain would have signed for far less than he is getting in Smashville (four years, $32 million).
The rumor was that the Lightning offered $24 million for eight years. Perhaps there were some incentives that would raise that, but a cap hit of $3 mil. Many said they were $1.5 million apart. Would Stamkos have taken six years for $5 million per? Eight for $4.5?
I don't know. What do I think? Yes.
Would another $2 million on the cap have been too hard to work out? No. Trade Conor Sheary for future considerations or buy him out. Move Nick Perbix. Shave a tiny bit off J.J. Moser's deal?
Maybe I'm dreaming. Maybe Stammer wanted more. But one person around the team told me the biggest goal in the offseason was to get better defensively and Stamkos had become somewhat of a liability on that end.
We may never know. There have been few leaks. The Lightning brass rarely lets those types of things get to the press and Stamkos has moved on. The captain is too classy to air any sour grapes.
But all is history now. Time will tell if the fan base will forgive. More wins and a better outlook in the postseason would help.
Brisebois has a pretty darn good track record, but his first big failure was two years ago when he traded way, way too much for Tanner Jeannot. The power forward was a major disappointment, adding virtually nothing when he was healthy. Sheary didn't work out last season either and he has two years left.
But much of the rest of the 2024 offseason looks promising. Getting McDonagh back seemed a bit strange until Brisebois made the huge move of trading Mikhail Sergachev to Utah. Sergachev regressed this season before he was injured and moving on from his $9.5 million long-term deal may be a smart decision. Lots of talent, good guy, but inconsistent.
Not only do the Bolts improve defensively with McDonagh replacing Sergachev on the left side behind Victor Hedman, they brought in Moser and rookie center Conor Geekie. Moser can play either side and move the puck while Geekie was a first-round pick and could `be a future No. 2 or 3 center.
Zemgus Girgensons basically replaces Tyler Motte and former Canadien Jesse Ylonen could make the team up front. Look for Finnish rookie Niko Huuhtanen to challenge for a spot as well.
But the player the Lighting most wanted in the offseason was Jake Guentzel. He is better on the defensive end than Stamkos and has been a major point producer. He could play with Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point on a powerful first line or with Anthony Cirelli on the second.
Guentzel and Stamkos should not be compared, though. That would be unfair. The only question many Bolts fans have, is why couldn't we have both?
It is over now. Nothing can be done. Tampa Bay fans will never forget their captain. But they will look forward if the team is more consistent in 2024-25. The lineup still has plenty of potential for success. The question marks lie on the right side of the second, third and fourth lines.
Prediction for early October
Guentzel-Point-Kucherov
Hagel-Cirelli-Atkinson
Eyssimont-Paul-Chaffee
Girgensons-Glendening-Sheary
Ylonen
Hedman-Moser
McDonagh-Cernak
Lilleberg-Crozier
Raddysh, Perbix
Vasilevskiy
Johansson
......
Like it?
The star power is still there. The defense can be much better. Andrei Vasilevskiy should be healthy, rested and determined between the pipes. Hedman takes over as captain?
Perhaps some cap space can be created if Sheary, and/or Perbix is moved. Perhaps Huuhtanen adapts to the NHL quickly or Geekie is ready ahead of schedule. Maybe there is another Mitchell Chaffee surprise on the horizon.
Many teams in the division and the Eastern Conference are getting better, too. That makes predictions difficult at this point. That makes reaching the playoffs far from easy.
Time will tell. But it will hurt for awhile to see Stamkos in that gaudy yellow uniform. Many think it didn't have to be that way.
No comments:
Post a Comment