2018-2019 General Lightning Discussion

[Todd1a]

Yeah, I think it's important to separate the personality side from everything else.

Duchene would be tricky, I think, because, as a UFA, he could get pretty big offers. I mean, Montreal is probably going to offer him a key to the city and a provincial holiday. Just so they can say they have finally lured a #1C. And it would also be tricky because we'd have to move Stamkos on good faith that we're gonna land Duchene, so the timing of it would be tricky.

Like, say we have a pretty good idea we're gonna land Duchene in the pre-July 1 window that opens for GMs to talk to UFAs. That gives us a very short period to work out a deal for Stamkos, which, I'm assuming, would be super complex.

I think stamkos goes no where he signed that lower deal with the full intentions of the tax break in Tampa

 

[DFC]

I think stamkos goes no where he signed that lower deal with the full intentions of the tax break in Tampa

I agree. I think we're just talking about hypotheticals we all know won't happen, because that 8.5m would go a long way to making us an even stronger team.

 

[CupsOverCash]

Johnson, Palat, Hedman, and Gourde all signed for less to help the team out too. If they are all playing at a much higher level than Stamkos is this year then wouldnt Stamkos be the one to move with the higher cap hit and all? Plus Stamkos could have forgot our deal and signed elsewhere for a lot more. He made that choice. He can’t just assume that he signs that deal means he can just coast his way through it. Other guys work their ass off and are producing and you send them away? You have to set the example that it doesn’t matter who you are if your not giving your all then need to bench or move on if still not improving. I love Stamkos and would not be upset at all to see him retire a bolt, but he needs to step up and he can’t be above the team just because of his past. He also has to be accountable for now.

 

[Vasilevskiy]

I think stripping the C from him would send a strong message. Give it to Pointer.

 

[Master P]

I think stripping the C from him would send a strong message. Give it to Pointer.

Maybe don't have a captain at all for the time being. Just have 3 Alternates?

 

[BowDownToVasilevskiy]

Maybe don't have a captain at all for the time being. Just have 3 Alternates?

Yeah, I think we should do this if were gonna strip him but I doubt we strip him.

 

[DFC]

I almost feel like, from a PR standpoint, stripping him of the C might look even worse than trading him. Or might be harsher, because it's a public way of saying, "You're not good enough to lead us," whereas, with a trade, you can at least talk about the return. I mean, we made Teddy Purcell look good on the way out, and we gave him away.

 

[Master P]

I almost feel like, from a PR standpoint, stripping him of the C might look even worse than trading him. Or might be harsher, because it's a public way of saying, "You're not good enough to lead us," whereas, with a trade, you can at least talk about the return. I mean, we made Teddy Purcell look good on the way out, and we gave him away.

idk, at least taking the C away is something concrete rather than "trade rumors". Besides, taking the C away doesn't need to be permanent, if they take it away from him and he starts to get the message then I don't see why he can't get it back. As long as he plays the way he needs to (shooting, shooting and more shooting).

 

[DFC]

idk, at least taking the C away is something concrete rather than "trade rumors". Besides, taking the C away doesn't need to be permanent, if they take it away from him and he starts to get the message then I don't see why he can't get it back. As long as he plays the way he needs to (shooting, shooting and more shooting).

I don't think there are any legit trade rumors though. It's just grumbling among hardcore fans, who watch him every single game, and therefore see the gap between what Stamkos really is and what the perception of him is.

It's hard to say what goes on behind the scenes. But if someone from management hasn't sat him down to say, "Listen, we don't need you to be Wayne Gretzky. We need you to be Brett Hull," then they probably should. I don't know if Stamkos can ever get back to 40, but if he were to just shoot 80% of the time he's in the clear, there's no reason he couldn't get back to 30. I mean, maybe that's not "the old" Stamkos, and it definitely means he has to give up on being an elite player, but 30 goals in today's NHL is pretty damn valuable, so long as the guy isn't hurting the team simultaneously. With Stamkos, that seems to happen when he overthinks the game (i.e. trying to be an elite player some way other than goal-scoring). His only plan in the O-zone should be to get open and fire.

 

[Hoek]

Vinny survived losing the C and got it back but he was a lot younger at the time and Andreychuk was clearly a great choice. Not sure we have a similar scenario here.

 

[Lightning1995]

Since Miller got promoted back to the top 6, the bottom 6 haven’t produced much scoring. Lots of solid play no doubt, but the Lightning do need more production from its third line in particular.

 

[LonLon Lei]

Since Miller got promoted back to the top 6, the bottom 6 haven’t produced much scoring. Lots of solid play no doubt, but the Lightning do need more production from its third line in particular.

C'mon, Killer! It's politics! Time to use your elite education!!

 

[Sky04]

Offense looks just fine without Palat, I like the revived Johnson over him. Speed kills and Palat looks like hes skating in mud sometimes.

 

[Scoresberg]

Hi guys, great win last night. Quick question: do you know when Hedman's coming back?

 

[LightningStrikes]

Hi guys, great win last night. Quick question: do you know when Hedman's coming back?

Nope. Will probably miss one more game or two at least.

 

[DFC]

Offense looks just fine without Palat, I like the revived Johnson over him. Speed kills and Palat looks like hes skating in mud sometimes.

When Johnson's skating like this, he brings a lot to the table. Having duos and trios that can skate like this and keep up with each other helps out I think--like, for instance, the shorty he scored, assisted by Joseph, when the two of them just exploded up the ice. That doesn't happen if Alex Killorn, or, yeah, Palat, is on that rush.

Palat really might end up the odd man out. But he also might have the most value of any of the guys we could potentially move, based on his reputation for D.

 

[Shoresy Snipes]

Hi guys, great win last night. Quick question: do you know when Hedman's coming back?

I believe he's being "reevaluated" today; so maybe a public update this afternoon.

 

[DFC]

We can afford to rest him until he's 100%. I really hope we stop letting guys come back so early this year. No need to risk losing them when it counts for games we can probably win without them.

 

[BeingTheThunder]

We can afford to rest him until he's 100%. I really hope we stop letting guys come back so early this year. No need to risk losing them when it counts for games we can probably win without them.

With a club that is as stacked as ours, there isn't any reason to rush ANY player back from injury. Look at TJ. He is healthy again, no longer trying to play through an injury, and he looks like a totally different player from last year.

 

[DFC]

With a club that is as stacked as ours, there isn't any reason to rush ANY player back from injury. Look at TJ. He is healthy again, no longer trying to play through an injury, and he looks like a totally different player from last year.

In his case, it really does seem to be taking off some muscle in the off-season. But, in general, yeah. No reason for guys to be rushing back. If we can win without Hedman, we can win without anybody.

 

[AlphaCatalyst]

Fun facts so far.

Tampa has not lost to a Eastern team yet. Vancouver Phoenix and Nashville have beat them in regulation and minny won in OT.

The following game after a loss, Tampa is 4-0 and has out scored the opposing team 27-9

 

[Hoek]

So do folks still want Duchene? He seems like a locker room cancer after that video leaked.

 

[These Are The Days]

I don't ever want to hear about Boucher again. I mean holy shit and it's not like they're wrong either. Dude is a gimmick coach at best and even his own players were venting it and about Marty Raymond.

 

[These Are The Days]

So do folks still want Duchene? He seems like a locker room cancer after that video leaked.

It's not a good look but I also believe you can and will find this anywhere. Honest to God I can hear someone imitating Sutter with a terribad sounding Sylvester Stallone twinge to it or any CBJ player mocking a Torts tirade. For Duchene it's just bad because it's him and he's not a guy who needs that kind of press.

 

[DFC]

I don't ever want to hear about Boucher again. I mean holy **** and it's not like they're wrong either. Dude is a gimmick coach at best and even his own players were venting it and about Marty Raymond.

I haven't seen the video yet. Wouldn't play when I clicked it. So I didn't want to comment because I don't know if the players were just goofing off. But I do remember how hard, and how obviously, our guys quit on Boucher. I can't remember the exact chronology, but I remember a game against Toronto where you could see it in their faces. And then I think it was a game in Winnipeg that turned out to be the last one.