2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning Training Camp

[Shoresy Snipes]

I would be ok to trade Girardi. They love him though, I dont think they will.

Doesn't Girardi have a full NTC? I don't see him waiving to go anywhere. Plus, he just bought Yzerman's old house on Davis Island last year; wife and kids are probably settled in for at least the rest of the school year.

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

Doesn't Girardi have a full NTC? I don't see him waiving to go anywhere. Plus, he just bought Yzerman's old house on Davis Island last year; wife and kids are probably settled in for at least the rest of the school year.

Yup. Coburn also has a modified NTC and his wife and kids are also settled in. Scuttlebutt from people who know the Coburn family is that he might just retire a Bolt if they don't offer him another contract next year. Coburn's m-NTC plus his salary makes me think Koekkoek would be much easier to move.

 

[Sky04]

::: Heavy Sigh ::: Guess Sergy wasn't as spectacular as we'd hoped in Camp. No 2nd pairing minutes for him.

People thought he was going to transition to the right for the first time seemlessly?

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

People thought he was going to transition to the right for the first time seemlessly?

He did extremely well on the right with Coburn for the rest of the season after McDonagh was acquired and during the playoffs. So there was hope that this season he could move up from the third pairing to possibly being with McDonagh on the 2nd which would probably move Girardi down to the 3rd pairing with Coburn or Koekkoek. McDonagh would probably be a good partner/mentor for Sergachev on the right just like Strålman was a good partner/mentor for him on the left during the majority of last season.

But what will be, will be.

 

[CupsOverCash]

Its ok to put Serge on his natural side in his second season. It wouldnt be surprising to eventually see him play some top 4 on the right side this year though.

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

Its ok to put Serge on his natural side in his second season. It wouldnt be surprising to eventually see him play some top 4 on the right side this year though.

True, but when he's paired with Coburn, Sergy is usually on RD anyway. I'm sure you're right that he'll probably get some top 4 sometime in this season.

Funny, but Engblom said something similar when I had a chance to chat with him at Fan Fest. He was at the FoxSportsSun desk inside Amalie and was posing for pictues and giving out autographs. Caught him at a time when there wasn't a line and asked him what he thought about the possibility of Sergachev playing top 4 minutes, possibly on the right of McDonagh.

He said that the coaches were very pleased with how he was on the right but that they're bringing him along very carefully...Strålman as his first mentor with controlled minutes and deployment (loads of O-zone starts rather than D-Zone starts) then still with limited time on the right with Coburn after the TRL and through the playoffs. Engblom seemed to think that they were very happy with the Coburn/Sergachev pairing for both Sergy and Coby. But he did say that Sergachev might get some top 4 minutes as the season goes on. Was a great conversation as he does love to talk/answer questions.

 

[Sky04]

I don't remember him on the right with Coburn... maybe I'm wrong but that doesn't make sense either Coburn is LHD who prefers playing on the right but is interchangeable.

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

I don't remember him on the right with Coburn... maybe I'm wrong but that doesn't make sense either Coburn is LHD who prefers playing on the right but is interchangeable.

I was pretty sure Sergy played on the right of Coburn for the entire playoffs, which, yeah, seems weird since, as you say, Coby is a natural LHD who can play the right fine. I guess we'll see this Saturday at the home opener (if Coburn is still with us) since the two have practiced together this week.

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[Herbert Lewis]

I am happy with Domingue going into this season. Any thoughts to the contrary????

 

[DaBolts]

Its ok to put Serge on his natural side in his second season. It wouldnt be surprising to eventually see him play some top 4 on the right side this year though.

If not, I would be shocked. Dude has the skills and should progress wildly. It could help the top 4 however if we spread out the minutes a bit more. Serg I think is ready.

 

[Lightning1995]

I really thought more minutes for Serge would bring that offensive defenseman game the Lightning need. I also really liked the idea of strengthening the top pairing with Heddy and Stalls.

Kinda bummed with the pairings quite honestly.

 

[HoseEmDown]

I really thought more minutes for Serge would bring that offensive defenseman game the Lightning need. I also really liked the idea of strengthening the top pairing with Heddy and Stalls.

Kinda bummed with the pairings quite honestly.

Girardi isn't playing more than 15 minutes a night and Sergachev should be getting close to 20. The pairings might suck but the right guys will get the right minutes.

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[DFC]

I really thought more minutes for Serge would bring that offensive defenseman game the Lightning need. I also really liked the idea of strengthening the top pairing with Heddy and Stalls.

Kinda bummed with the pairings quite honestly.

He wasn't great in any of the pre-season games. I'm not seeing any huge leaps forward. I think a lot of us are forgetting this kid was a healthy scratch half a season ago. The idea that he's suddenly going to be a top-4 staple always seemed a little far-fetched to me.

He'll get his minutes anyway though. They'll just be a little more sheltered. I think we're probably gonna dial Hedman's minutes back a little bit in the regular season. Just a guess. If McDonagh works out as planned, part of the benefit of having him is we don't need Hedman to do all the heavy lifting.

 

[HoseEmDown]

He wasn't great in any of the pre-season games. I'm not seeing any huge leaps forward. I think a lot of us are forgetting this kid was a healthy scratch half a season ago. The idea that he's suddenly going to be a top-4 staple always seemed a little far-fetched to me.

He'll get his minutes anyway though. They'll just be a little more sheltered. I think we're probably gonna dial Hedman's minutes back a little bit in the regular season. Just a guess. If McDonagh works out as planned, part of the benefit of having him is we don't need Hedman to do all the heavy lifting.

He was healthy scratched 3 games, he played 79 last year and every playoff game. This isn't a Koekkoek who played less than half the games and we're expecting to be a top 4. He put up 40 points which a lot of top 4 guys don't do so the expectations being high isn't surprising. He wasn't impressive in preseason but his style of play to me never looks that impressive. He's way too nonchalant on the defensive end and always leaves you expecting more from him but he just seems to produce.

I hope we don't shelter him again this year, we really need to see what this kid can do. We know what he can do offensively but we need to see if he can be strong enough in his own end to carry a pair. We need him to be more than an offensive specialist.

 

[DFC]

He was healthy scratched 3 games, he played 79 last year and every playoff game. This isn't a Koekkoek who played less than half the games and we're expecting to be a top 4. He put up 40 points which a lot of top 4 guys don't do so the expectations being high isn't surprising. He wasn't impressive in preseason but his style of play to me never looks that impressive. He's way too nonchalant on the defensive end and always leaves you expecting more from him but he just seems to produce.

I hope we don't shelter him again this year, we really need to see what this kid can do. We know what he can do offensively but we need to see if he can be strong enough in his own end to carry a pair. We need him to be more than an offensive specialist.

Yeah, but expecting that immediately might not be realistic, because those three games came roughly eight months ago. Going from that to a regular top-4 in less than a calendar year is quite a big step. He put up 40 points, but the bulk of them came in the first half. It could take a season or two before he gets full time top-4 duty. He'll probably grow into it as the year goes on.

 

[God King Fudge]

But who didn't slow down in the second half? Vasy would have won the Vezina in a landslide had the season ended half way through. The entire team hit a huge wall in the back half of the season.

I agree with Hose and I think he needs top 4 minutes without being sheltered. Pairing Sergachev with a McDonagh is a big upgrade over pairing him with a Girardi, Coburn, etc. Serge and Foote are likely who TB view as the main pieces of the D a few years down the road when Hedman and McDonagh are starting to slow down. They gotta see what they have in Sergachev. I'd much rather him play big minutes without being sheltered, let him make mistakes and (hopefully) learn from them.

 

[The Macho King]

At some point we're going to have to put him in a position he's not comfortable in. I don't think sheltering him with 75% Ozone starts is what the next stage of his development should entail.

 

[waterboy65]

I think the plan is to have a top defensive shutdown line and the McD-Strals pairing just makes sense for that. You really cant play Coburn with Girardi as that pairing would be eaten up alive by any speed at all. Coburn and Hedman is a possibility and we may see this at some point but my guess is that they view Coburn as the #6 D so they are not putting him on top line. So that leaves us by default with Hedman-Girardi as top pairing!

Any idea on the PP whether Sergachev is getting the #2 PP Defensive slot over McD?

 

[VoluntaryDom]

I think the plan is to have a top defensive shutdown line and the McD-Strals pairing just makes sense for that. You really cant play Coburn with Girardi as that pairing would be eaten up alive by any speed at all. Coburn and Hedman is a possibility and we may see this at some point but my guess is that they view Coburn as the #6 D so they are not putting him on top line. So that leaves us by default with Hedman-Girardi as top pairing!

Any idea on the PP whether Sergachev is getting the #2 PP Defensive slot over McD?

Sergachev is a PP maestro and was always playing PP2 over McDonagh so of course he will

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

 

[Felonious Python]

yo, we got a 'playing with the boys' alert.

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

yo, we got a 'playing with the boys' alert.

 

[TampaJay]

Sergachev is a PP maestro and was always playing PP2 over McDonagh so of course he will

Bryan Burns tweeted that the 2nd unit PP in practice today is: McDonagh, Killorn, Johnson, Palat and Gourde

No Sergachev