2020 Cup Champions
Formerly Sila v Kucherove
- Nov 26, 2013
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Man you love me I've said nothing lately lol. Just get the kucherov contract over with Stevie then we will go from there
Man you love me I've said nothing lately lol. Just get the kucherov contract over with Stevie then we will go from there
"I was just so excited to be out there on the ice for the playoffs, it was a dream come true," Koekkoek said. "And it's something I have worked hard for. It was tough to finish the way we did because we got so close and it was pretty hard to watch the [Stanley Cup] Final, because we almost made it. But I just wanted to have fun with it and play hard when I got the chance."
"I'm definitely looking forward to camp and having the opportunity to put myself in a position to be with the team," Koekkoek said. "It's nothing you want to take for granted, because nothing is guaranteed, so I just want to work hard in the offseason and be ready to go when camp starts."
Koekkoek was excited that Stamkos would remain with Tampa Bay.
"He's such a great leader and a great character guy," Koekkoek said. "He sets a great example for the players around him with his work ethic and the way he fought to get back on the ice [after surgery April 4 to remove a blood clot] during the playoffs. He's just a great teammate."
Koekkoek said Hedman has helped him with his game and he has become more comfortable playing in the NHL.
"[Hedman] is a great guy and he knows how to be a professional on and off the ice," Koekkoek said. "He's got great talent and he's a big, athletic guy that is one of the best skaters I've seen. But the way he conducts himself off the ice is also a big part of what makes him a great guy to be around."
"It's great to see, because these guys were drafted here and have been part of the organization for several years," Koekkoek said. "So it's nice to be a place where they want to develop their players and take care of them."
Koekkoek better make the roster this year, and not as the 7th dman. Give him minutes. Put him with Coburn like in the PO.
The Tampa Bay Lightning announced today that it will open training camp on Thursday, September 22 at AMALIE Arena and host the team’s 2016 Fan Fest on Sunday, September 25, with doors to the general public opening at 11 a.m. (subject to change).
The Lightning will open the team’s 24th training camp with testing and annual media day on Thursday, September 22 at AMALIE Arena. The team will hit the ice the following day. Tampa Bay will have 12 players, as well as head coach Jon Cooper, representing their various countries at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and will be available to media at a later date.
Stay the course, you guys were the only team that had a chance to beat the Pens, but for Bryan Rust sneaking the puck under Andre Vasilevskiy, Lightning could've just as easily won game 7. If it were Lightning vs Sharks in the SCF, I'm confident that your speed game would've overwhelmed the Sharks just as the Pens' speed game did.
Missing Stamkos was big, who knows how the series would've turned out if he were healthy. As a Pens fan, you guys gained a ton of respect from me this year, and I already had a lot of respect for the Lightning after they made the SCF the previous year.Agreed, and I'll always wonder what might have been if Bishop hadn't been injured. Vasy absolutely carried us in that series, and I'm not saying Bishop would have stopped the shots he didn't. If anything, I'm not sure Bishop could make the saves Vasy made. But Bishop is so good at getting us out of trouble that those long, sustained shifts in the defensive zone would have been cut down dramatically, which would have given us a lot more chance to impose our own speed, rather than being victimized by the Pens' speed.
Alas.
I think our management is hopeful that a full year of Drouin-Stamkos could put us over the top. We've still yet to really go with that combination. But:
X-Stamkos-Drouin
Palat-Johnson-Kucherov
is a pretty scary top-six. If they can stay healthy. Knock on wood.
One more note: Johnson and Palat in contract years? Will this be the first time in his career that Palat shows up to play in October rather than getting going somewhere around Christmas time?
If I'm not mistaken, it's now three years in a row that Palat has led our team in scoring after the all-star break.
Missing Stamkos was big, who knows how the series would've turned out if he were healthy. As a Pens fan, you guys gained a ton of respect from me this year, and I already had a lot of respect for the Lightning after they made the SCF the previous year.
Appreciate it. I don't think many people think Stamkos would have righted the ice. Stralman being out of action for so long immediately prior was probably a bigger factor.
You can't help but wonder what kind of impact he would have had in the playoffs. Drouin was clutch and it would have been interesting to see how they would have clicked. If Stamkos and Drouin don't click so well I wouldn't be surprised to see them put Drouin with Kucherov.
While I wonder what Stamkos would have added with the way Drouin was playing, I think the thing that sunk us was how often we were stuck in our own end. I feel like Bishop would have at least helped with that, and allowed us to use our speed.