Speculation: Now what do we do? - Part 3

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

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.

Lightning are my pick to win the Cup this upcoming season. Obviously as a Pens fan, I'm hoping we could repeat the magic from this previous season, but I also know no one has defended the Cup since 1998, and it's easy to see why: winning the Cup can be quite the grind.

Good luck to you guys, it's a very good team you go, basically the mirror image of the Pens. I often compared the Pens & Bolts to a battle between The Flash & The Reverse Flash...

 

[berlin]

Going crazy i need NHL hockey not this world cup crap. And can we freaking sign Kuch already!

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/light...world-cup-will-be-bonus-for-lightning/2292401

Twelve Lightning players are participating in this month's World Cup of Hockey, from Sept 17-Oct 1, meaning more than half the team's lineup will miss a good chunk of training camp, which opens Sept. 22. The World Cup camps began this week.

But coach Jon Cooper, who is also at the World Cup, thinks this will only help his team.

"You can look at it two ways," Cooper said. "You don't have a bunch of players at the beginnng of training camp, or you have all these players playing in the World Cup and when they come back they'll be in game mode playing at an elite level right away.

"For us, I think it's a bonus."

Associate coach Rick Bowness, along with new assistant Todd Richards (both of whom are former NHL head coaches) are likely to run training camp in Tampa in Cooper's absence. Cooper notes both have more experience on the bench than he does.

Expect the Lightning to add a few more players on PTO's (tryout contracts for camp) to help fill out the roster. With both goalies, Ben Bishop (USA) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (Russia) at the World Cup, Kristers Gudlevskis and Adam Wilcox should get more action in early exhibitions (which begin Sept 27).

 

[Brie]

I agree with Cooper that it will help…I was about say that as long as there are no injuries but we’ve had several injuries during training camp so there goes that, the only thing I was worried about was goalies if neither Bish or Vasy get any playing times during the WCH (they would still get to practice with some of the best but going into the season with no game action wouldn’t be ideal) but there will still be some pre-season games for them to play once they return to Tampa I saw later so that’s good.

 

[Maelmoor]

Still think it's good that Johnson isn't there given his injury history

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/lightning/yzerman-lightning-could-keep-both-goalies-all-season/2292732

With an expansion draft looming, the prevailing assumption is that the Lightning will have to move either goalie Ben Bishop or backup Andrei Vasilevskiy by February's trade deadline.

Not so fast.

"Maybe, maybe not," Lightning GM Steve Yzerman told the Times Thursday.

Yzerman said not only does he expect both Bishop and Vasilevskiy to be with the Lightning on opening night Oct. 13, he didn't rule out the possibility he holds on to them both for another run at the Stanley Cup.

"That's certainly an option for us," Yzerman said. "And it's not a bad option."