2017-18 Tampa Bay Lightning Training Camp

[EXTRAS]

How has gourde looked?

 

[AlphaCatalyst]

The Tampa Bay Lightning have reduced their training camp roster by 10 today, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced. The Lightning now have 44 players remaining in their 2017 Training Camp.

Below is a list of players who have been assigned:

FORWARDS

CONACHER, Shane - Released from Tryout

GALLANT, Alex - Syracuse (AHL)

LYNCH, Kevin - Released from Tryout

SOMPPI, Otto - Halifax (QMJHL)

VERHAEGHE, Carter - Syracuse (AHL)

DEFENSEMEN

BODIE, Mat - Syracuse (AHL)

McNEIL, Reid - Released from Tryout

SPENCER, Matt - Syracuse (AHL)

GOALTENDERS

INGRAM, Connor - Syracuse (AHL)

LEIGHTON, Michael - Syracuse (AHL)

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

Evidently Shane Conacher is going to Syracuse on a PTO.

 

[DFC]

Does anyone have a list of who's left? The non-regulars?

Is it basically Sergachev, Koekkoek, Conacher, and some injured players?

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Does anyone have a list of who's left? The non-regulars?

Is it basically Sergachev, Koekkoek, Conacher, and some injured players?

FORWARDS: 15

9 C TYLER JOHNSON
13 C CEDRIC PAQUETTE
14 L CHRIS KUNITZ
15 L MICHAEL BOURNIVAL
17 C ALEX KILLORN
18 L ONDREJ PALAT
21 C BRAYDEN POINT
23 R J.T. BROWN
24 R RYAN CALLAHAN
37 C YANNI GOURDE
40 C GABRIEL DUMONT
86 R NIKITA KUCHEROV
89 C CORY CONACHER
90 C VLADISLAV NAMESTNIKOV
91 C STEVEN STAMKOS

DMEN: 8

5 D DAN GIRARDI
6 D ANTON STRALMAN
29 D SLATER KOEKKOEK
55 D BRAYDON COBURN
59 D JAKE DOTCHIN
62 D ANDREJ SUSTR
77 D VICTOR HEDMAN
98 D MIKHAIL SERGACHEV

GOALIES: 2

31 G PETER BUDAJ
88 G ANDREI VASILEVSKIY

 

[DFC]

So the only decision on D seems to be whether or not Sergachev stays, which then affects how many forwards we keep. So it's a matter of 13/8 vs. 14/7?

EDIT: Also, thanks for posting that.

 

[The Macho King]

Yeah Bournival is off the list - he's injured (I think?), but either way I doubt he has a realistic shot at the roster. That would put forwards at 14 and Dmen at 8. So the question is - do we send Conacher down to 'cuse or Sergachev down to Windsor (with the addendum that sending Sergachev down to Windsor we lose him for the whole year, while we can recall Conacher at any time). Doesn't seem like much of a decision to me.

 

[HoseEmDown]

It's pretty obvious right now that Sergachev is staying for at least a little while into the season. Koekkoek hasn't taken the opportunity to claim the spot so they'll go with the hot hand between the two till one claims it. On the right with Dotchin suspended you can't start him right away so he can sit too. I also don't know why you would scratch Sustr when he and Coburn play so well and would be our top PK pair? Let Girardi and Sustr make you bench them for Dotchin instead of just putting Jake back in. With the forwards I'm sure they'll wait to the very end on the Brown vs Conacher battle, no harm in keeping both up as they can drop down to Syracuse without it affecting them. Plus they probably want to wait till everyone makes their final cit so they can sneak a Brown through waivers if needed.

 

[DFC]

I think Brown would get claimed. Speedy penalty killer. That'll probably keep him on the team over Conacher too. As upset as we are about the lack of scoring chances we create, it doesn't seem like Coop's overly upset about it.

 

[MattM92]

If we go into this season with Kunitz as the only fresh blood in our bottom 6, we might as well pencil ourselves in as bubble team right now. Guys like Brown and Paquette are not even dime a dozen players. They are extra forwards. Regularly playing them both year after year is a detriment to this team.

 

[HoseEmDown]

If we go into this season with Kunitz as the only fresh blood in our bottom 6, we might as well pencil ourselves in as bubble team right now. Guys like Brown and Paquette are not even dime a dozen players. They are extra forwards. Regularly playing them both year after year is a detriment to this team.

I disagree that they are just a dime a dozen players. Bournival, Vermin and guys like that are for sure. When Brown and Paquette are healthy and on they are really good 4th liners. Paquette put up 12 goals in 64 games while Brown had 22 points in 78 games, those are really good numbers for a 4th liner. If that was their peak and they can't get back to that then we can move on from them but if you think they're capable of doing it again you have to give them the chance.

 

[Bolt 45]

I disagree that they are just a dime a dozen players. Bournival, Vermin and guys like that are for sure. When Brown and Paquette are healthy and on they are really good 4th liners. Paquette put up 12 goals in 64 games while Brown had 22 points in 78 games, those are really good numbers for a 4th liner. If that was their peak and they can't get back to that then we can move on from them but if you think they're capable of doing it again you have to give them the chance.

A couple of questions: What was Drouin doing while Coop lavished ice time on those guys that year? Drouin obviously sealed his own fate, but the context is still important. Also, how impressed do you think Marchessault was with those numbers?

As far as I can tell, Coop's trying to ride his favorites like a toboggan to the bottom of the division.

 

[HoseEmDown]

A couple of questions: What was Drouin doing while Coop lavished ice time on those guys that year? Drouin obviously sealed his own fate, but the context is still important. Also, how impressed do you think Marchessault was with those numbers?

As far as I can tell, Coop's trying to ride his favorites like a toboggan to the bottom of the division.

Well when Brown was putting up 22 points Drouin was sitting on his parent's couch. I also want to know how Cooper lavished them ice time? They played 10-12 minutes a night on the 4th line and short handed, they weren't given PP time or anything to inflate their numbers. You can't tell me that when Paquette was at his best he didn't deserve his ice time? When healthy and playing his game he deserves to be out there. And I wasn't to impressed with Marchessault, he got a bunch of his goals on the PP. He has a good shot and can score but he's a liability on the ice and I'm not upset he's gone.

Cooper does have his guys but they aren't the reason we missed the playoffs last year and won't be if we do again this year it will be injuries again.

 

[These Are The Days]

The point is going over your head, Hose. We're rolling with what HAS NOT worked for the 3rd year in a row now. Guys like Volkov and Conacher would be a welcome addition over two glorified penalty killers. Honest question: how many goals do Brown and Paquette combine for this year? Maybe 11 if we are lucky? How about in the playoffs? 4 en route to a championship? A guy like Kunitz will do that entirely on his own. It's a testament not only to Brown and Paquette's lack of scoring ability at the NHL level but it's a testament to how utterly replaceable they are.

 

[DFC]

The point is going over your head, Hose. We're rolling with what HAS NOT worked for the 3rd year in a row now. Guys like Volkov and Conacher would be a welcome addition over two glorified penalty killers. Honest question: how many goals do Brown and Paquette combine for this year? Maybe 11 if we are lucky? How about in the playoffs? 4 en route to a championship? A guy like Kunitz will do that entirely on his own. It's a testament not only to Brown and Paquette's lack of scoring ability at the NHL level but it's a testament to how utterly replaceable they are.

Replacing Brown with Conacher isn't going to matter a whole lot. The problem is more that our top two lines often struggle to score, rather than scoring throughout the lineup. I'm not too worried about keeping young scorers off the fourth line. Fourth lines are all glorified penalty killers, all over the league.

It's more about guys like Killorn and Callahan, October-December Palat, and Tyler Johnson not living up to what they've been able to do in the past. Or maybe, as has long been the suspicion, a coaching system that no longer works.

We have two 40 goal scorers and a top-3 defenseman in the league. I have a hard time not putting a lot of blame on Cooper if he can't find a way to turn those pieces into a winning strategy.

 

[MattM92]

Replacing Brown with Conacher isn't going to matter a whole lot. The problem is more that our top two lines often struggle to score, rather than scoring throughout the lineup. I'm not too worried about keeping young scorers off the fourth line. Fourth lines are all glorified penalty killers, all over the league.

It's more about guys like Killorn and Callahan, October-December Palat, and Tyler Johnson not living up to what they've been able to do in the past. Or maybe, as has long been the suspicion, a coaching system that no longer works.

We have two 40 goal scorers and a top-3 defenseman in the league. I have a hard time not putting a lot of blame on Cooper if he can't find a way to turn those pieces into a winning strategy.

The first 20 games are everything for Cooper. If we aren't winning 13-14 of those games, he's gotta go. .500 hockey just isn't good enough for this roster.

 

[The Macho King]

I wouldn't say we need to have 13 wins, but we need to be at a solid playoff pace at minimum.

 

[HoseEmDown]

The point is going over your head, Hose. We're rolling with what HAS NOT worked for the 3rd year in a row now. Guys like Volkov and Conacher would be a welcome addition over two glorified penalty killers. Honest question: how many goals do Brown and Paquette combine for this year? Maybe 11 if we are lucky? How about in the playoffs? 4 en route to a championship? A guy like Kunitz will do that entirely on his own. It's a testament not only to Brown and Paquette's lack of scoring ability at the NHL level but it's a testament to how utterly replaceable they are.

I'm pretty sure Paquette and Brown helped us win 2 out of the last 3 seasons so not sure how it hasn't worked 3 years in a row with them? Have you looked at Conachers NHL numbers? The guy just doesn't produce like you think he does, scored 5 goals in the past 4 seasons and that was with more than just a 4th line role. Volkov hasn't shown he can produce that well even at a junior level. Kunitz is not the player he used to be, we are getting 9 goal in 71 game Kunitz not the 20 goal guy you think.

Like DFC said the 4th line not producing isn't our problem. They produce probably similar to other 4th lines around the league, it's the scoring lines that aren't keeping pace. We have guys on the way who can play that 4th line style game Cooper wants and have better track records of scoring so should help them produce more in Joseph, Stephens and Cirelli.

 

[These Are The Days]

Replacing Brown with Conacher isn't going to matter a whole lot. The problem is more that our top two lines often struggle to score, rather than scoring throughout the lineup. I'm not too worried about keeping young scorers off the fourth line. Fourth lines are all glorified penalty killers, all over the league.

It's more about guys like Killorn and Callahan, October-December Palat, and Tyler Johnson not living up to what they've been able to do in the past. Or maybe, as has long been the suspicion, a coaching system that no longer works.

We have two 40 goal scorers and a top-3 defenseman in the league. I have a hard time not putting a lot of blame on Cooper if he can't find a way to turn those pieces into a winning strategy.

It's either that or Palat and Johnson aren't what we thought they were. There doesn't seem to be much in between.

 

[Volodya Krutov]

I tend to like Paquette, because WHEN healthy, and that's the exception, not the rule with him, he's really adding a decent touch of possession game, nastiness and scoring depth. I don't want Brown on this team, simple as that.

 

[Callum]

I tend to like Paquette, because WHEN healthy, and that's the exception, not the rule with him, he's really adding a decent touch of possession game, nastiness and scoring depth. I don't want Brown on this team, simple as that.

The two pre-season games I've watched, Paquette hasn't looked out of place. If we simply add some fresh blood on the bottom line to play alongside Paquette, perhaps that will revitalise his game-play. Out with Brown.

 

[DFC]

It's either that or Palat and Johnson aren't what we thought they were. There doesn't seem to be much in between.

Tough to say with Johnson, but Palat is exactly what we think he is, because he shows up every Christmas. He's capable of a lot more than what we've gotten out of him. He's probably the guy I blame most for last season, because if he'd played in November the way he did in March, we'd likely have made the playoffs. And he does it every single year.

In Johnson's case, if he can stay healthy enough to give us 25 goals and 50+ points, then that's satisfactory for a 2nd line center.

But it feels like, for a few years now, when Palat's hot, the team wins. When Palat's average or worse, the team can't string anything together.

 

[Sky04]

I wouldn't say we need to have 13 wins, but we need to be at a solid playoff pace at minimum.

Disagree, we need solid wins to cushion ourselves early on incase of injuries, with our player history and track record a bunch of these guys are going down mid season.

Not only that it's about just winning and how they're playing, they played like trash last year despite being in a playoff position through 20 games and hving an 11-8-1 record (we played the isles 3 times). If they play like that again we might as well not watch, that was boring as f*** hockey. Last year we were 8-3 to start the season and ended up 9-7-1 the next 5 games, you can't be that inconsistent.

 

[HoseEmDown]

With Coburn and Sustr scratched I would assume they're set to be in the opening night lineup. Dotchin, Girardi, Sergachev and Koekkoek are auditioning for the spots next to Hedman and Stralman. With both Brown and Conacher scratched it would appear who even wins out in that battle won't be playing too often anyway.

 

[DFC]

With Coburn and Sustr scratched I would assume they're set to be in the opening night lineup. Dotchin, Girardi, Sergachev and Koekkoek are auditioning for the spots next to Hedman and Stralman. With both Brown and Conacher scratched it would appear who even wins out in that battle won't be playing too often anyway.

Agreed on the D. Coburn-Sustr is a solid 3rd pair.

Not sure about the forwards. Still expecting Conacher to be demoted. How has Dumont looked on faceoffs? That's really the only reason he's likely to stick, so the moment he starts getting beat (or just stops being our best faceoff option), he probably goes down.