![]() Hedman averaged 24 minutes of ice time a night. Tampa Bay needs to rely on him to stabilize the top four. While Father Time is catching up to Hedman, he’s still a catalyst on the back end. Additionally, he was Tampa Bay’s top-minute eater in most games. Sergachev averaged 24 minutes of ice time per game, the highest average of his career. The pairing logged 207 minutes together at even strength last season ( per MoneyPuck ), controlling 51.3% of the expected goal share. Moreover, Erik Cernak is the perfect partner to stay back when Sergahcev joins the offensive attack. Sergachev stepped into the role of Victor Hedman as the top powerplay unit quarterback. He envisions his players being like Swiss army knives by being useful in multiple departments.Īll eyes will be on Mikhail Sergachev this season after his emergence during the 2023 season. BriseBois and Cooper want to build a bottom six that can throw their weight around while still being impactful on both sides of the puck. Recreate the line of Blake Coleman, Yanni Gourde, and Barclay Goodrow from the two Stanley Cup Championship runs. Bottom SixīriseBois and the front office had a vision with the bottom six heading into the 2024 season. On the other hand, he can be a 35-point role player. He has a large gap between his floor and ceiling. The biggest wildcard in the group is Sheary. The offensive side of his game needs to take a big step this year. Moreover, Cirelli has a floor of at least 40 points in him. As for line two, Hagel will score no less than 60 after establishing himself as a legitimate top-six forward. All three players are more than capable of reaching 90-plus points. The Lightning boasts one of the elite top lines in the NHL. Moreover, the Lightning can spread the talent of the stacked top line by moving Stamkos around. In addition, Sheary is capable of playing the left side on line one. Hagel can slide on the top line for Stamkos on the wing. The unique feature of the group is the flexibility to mix and match the combinations. ![]() Outside of swapping Sheary for Killorn, the top six remain intact for the Lightning heading into next season. Logan Brown – Luke Glendening – Tyler Motte Top Six Moreover, Luke Glendening signed to grab the vacant fourth-line center role. The speedy forward offers a high ceiling due to his unique chance generation style. Conor Sheary signed a 3-year contract to replace Killorn. Additionally, Ian Cole decided to join the Vancouver Canucks on a 3-year contract.įor additions, BriseBois signed a replacement for every player he lost this off-season. Then, veteran goaltender Brian Elliott is currently an unrestricted free agent at 38 years old. Moreover, Pierre Eduard-Bellemare joined the Seattle Kraken via free agency. Killorn will take his talent to the Sunshine State with the Anaheim Ducks. The veteran winger spent his entire 806-game career with the organization. The only considerable loss for Tampa Bay this off-season was Alex Killorn. BriseBois found players who fit the system of Head Coach Jon Cooper on cost-effective deals. The Lightning made no massive moves whatsoever. In summary, the front office shuffled the depth of the roster. Tampa Bay is a team constantly strapped against the salary cap every off-season. Julien BriseBois didn’t have an abundance of work to do this summer. Despite their losses, the Lightning found themselves back in the playoffs with a record of 46-30-6. Moreover, Tampa Bay lost key pieces Ondrej Palat and Ryan McDonagh due to salary cap restrictions. They played 71 playoff games from 2020 to 2022, practically an entire extra season. The players were exhausted from three straight Stanley Cup Final runs. The Lightning entered the 2023 season low on gas in the tank. The organization was due for regression eventually. However, the salary cap prevented the Lightning from keeping all their core pieces. To cap it off, they won the Stanley Cup twice in 20. In addition, they reached the Stanley Cup Final in four of those six runs. They’ve appeared in six Eastern Conference Finals over the past nine seasons. Labelling the Tampa Bay Lightning as the NHL’s modern dynasty is more than fair. Today, we’re previewing the 2023-24 Tampa Bay Lightning. We’ll also do our best to project how things will go for each team over the course of the campaign. ![]() Last Word on Hockey’s Puck Drop Previews are back for the 2023-24 season! As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team’s current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |