FinnLightning26
Death and no taxes
I've had this idea for a bit now but I decided to do it now to kill some time before the game starts. Here are my grades for players that played over 10 games and finished the season on the Lightning. The grades are given based on my expectations for the said player and of course their performance during the regular season so the grade for example to Stamkos and Brown aren't really comparable. One Lightning logo represent one star and the scale is from one star to five stars. You're welcome to rip my opinions apart. 
Forwards:
#9 Tyler Johnson
77GP 29G 43A 72P +33 24PIM
What more can you say about Johnson that hasn’t been already said? His line was the best and easily the most consistant throughout the season. Could’ve even been the best line in the whole NHL. Personally, I thought he would have a bit of a sophomore slump in terms of points but it was a complete opposite. He blew away last season’s point totals by scoring 22 more points. He seemed to improve on every aspect of the game and you could easily say he was our MVP this season. He’s shaping up to be a real star in the League for years to come and helps the Lightning have one of the best 1-2 punches on the center position in the whole league.
#10 Brenden Morrow
70GP 3G 5A 8P -1 64PIM
He’s way past his prime and probably has a year more in the League. Didn’t really expect anything out of him this season. He was mostly brough here to provide some veteran leadership to this young team and by all accounts that’s what he brought. Sticks out on this team for being slow.
#11 Brian Boyle
82GP 15G 9A 24P +3 54PIM
Boyle has been a very pleasant surprise. Scoring 15 goals and 24 points while playing primarily on the fourth line is impressive but in case of Brian Boyle, the points are just extra. He’s a great defensive player and very important piece of the penalty kill. You can also trust him out there during the last minute of the game. He’s a good faceoff man and did everything that was asked of him, even playing some defense when we needed. One of the best pickups for this team in the recent years.
#13 Cedric Paquette
64GP 12G 7A 19P +4 51PIM
Paquette started his year in the AHL but earned his way up to the NHL. He displayed some great offensive skills but those were in bunches. During that one hot streak he had he looked unstoppable. He struggles with consistency still, atleast offensively. Luckily that’s not all he brings. He’s one of the most physical guys on the team otherwise lacking physicality and seems to be pretty good in his own half of the ice. I’d say this was a pretty good rookie season for the Paq Man.
#17 Alex Killorn
71GP 15G 23A 38P +8 36PIM
Killorn had a pretty good second season in the NHL. Why his rating is only three stars? I think he should’ve gotten more done after playing on the first line for much of the season. Ultimately, he isn’t a first line player though. I think he’s ideally suited for the third line with his style. He has a surprisingly good shot but he lacked consistency on the offensive side of things. Killer is a valuable player in a sense that he can be put on any line and he’ll be effective. Kind of a swiss army knife, if you will.
#18 Ondrej Palat
75GP 16G 47A 63P +31 24PIM
I didn’t forget about Drej. Like Johnson, Palat only improved on his play from the last season. He is a player that can be put out there in any situation and that makes him incredibly valuable. He didn’t improve on his point totals as much from the last season like Johnson did but that’s not a slight to him. Speaks more in favour of him and his consistency. Rarely makes bad plays and if he does, he learns from them and doesn’t do them for a second time. Palat has that uncanny ability to make any line he plays on better from his first shift forward.
#23 J.T. Brown
52GP 3G 6A 9P -2 30PIM
It’s probably safe to say the offense won’t come for Brown on the NHL level but that’s ok. He fits in well on the fourth line with his ability to forecheck effectively and he can throw a hit too. He’s as fast as anyone and that’s why he always leaves you wanting more offensively. Solid fourth line player though and he rarely stands out as a liability.
#24 Ryan Callahan
77GP 24G 30A 54P +9 41PIM
Callahan had a solid season even though he was bounced around the lineup a bit during the season. What I would’ve liked to see would’ve been some better consistency offensively but he usually was effective every night even if he didn’t show up on the score sheet. He could’ve gotten close to 70 points if his line mates were a bit more consistent. He brings a lot of leadership on the team which is important with a young group. Overall I liked what I saw from him and he’s become one of my favourite players on the Bolts.
#27 Jonathan Drouin
70GP 4G 28A 32P +3 34PIM
Drouin’s first season went pretty much as I expected it to go. Some were saying he was a favourite for the Calder Trophy but I didn’t think he would have a season that good. The Lightning are a very deep group on the forward position and we didn’t have to thrust him straight to the first line. It was a bit maddening to see Cooper play Drouin on the fourth line but for long term I think it was the best way to handle him. He got used to the NHL and the two-way game needed to succeed in this league. I don’t think that there was anyone who didn’t see the development in him during the season. Only four goals was a bit disappointing but he seemed to be more confident in his scoring ability at the end of the regular season. He could be a secret weapon for the Lightning in the playoffs providing how much of a chance Cooper gives him.
#51 Valtteri Filppula
82GP 12G 36A 48P -14 24PIM
Filppula didn’t have as good of a season this year than last. He also didn’t get the same chances than last year due to the emergence of the TKO line and Stamkos being healthy for the whole season. He was still a dependable player on defensive side of the things which is why his -14 rating is surprising. It speaks for a team’s depth though when a player like him plays on the third line. His refusal to take shots is maddening sometimes but overall he’s a solid 200ft player and his experience is valuable on a young team.
#86 Nikita Kucherov
82GP 29G 36A 65P +38 37PIM
I have to give Kucherov five stars after giving Johnson and Palat five stars too. You can’t really say which player was the best on that line as the saying “better than the sum of its parts†is very fitting for that line. I thought Kucherov would have a solid season but I didn’t expect this much from him. He really showed potential for being a franchise winger and especially his improvement on the defensive side of the puck impressed me. There’s no such thing as Russian factor with him as he’s as hard worker as anyone on this team. The skills is undeniable and suspect we’ll enjoy watching him for many seasons to come.
#90 Vladislav Namestnikov
43GP 9G 7A 16P +1 13PIM
Vlad made the jump to the NHL a bit earlier than I thought. I was thinking he’d be a full time member of the team next year but after coming up from the minors it looks like he’s here to stay. He like most of the rookies has struggled with consistency a bit but he played really well on the TKO line after Johnson was injured. Aside from his offensive skills he’s a pretty solid two-way player too. Probably a bit light on the physical side still but that’ll take care of its self in a couple of summers.
#91 Steven Stamkos
82GP 43G 29A 72P +2 49PIM
In Soviet Tampa, 40 goals is a slump. That’s both funny and true. I was debating on whether to give him three or four stars so I went with a compromise. He was great when he was on but he had too many stretches where he was just completely invisible. It could’ve been caused by the injury he had last season or the revolving door of line mates he had for most of the season but the bottom line is, I expected more out of the captain. Hopefully he goes back to being the pre-injury Stamkos next year as that version of Steven Stamkos was a treat to watch. He also has to show up in the playoffs to call this year a success for him. You can’t fault him for not having a great work ethic so he’ll probably come back better next year after a full summer of training without the injury distractions.
Defense:
#5 Jason Garrison
70GP 4G 26A 30P +27 19PIM
Garrison turned out to be a steal for a second round pick. I didn’t expect this much from him for sure. He was probably our most consistant and best defender with Strålman. He was a bit inconsistent with his offense but I seem to remember that was a problem with him before too. The most important thing was though that he was a rock defensively and he is a key to our success in the post season.
#6 Anton Strålman
82GP 9G 30A 39P +22 26PIM
I was a bit skeptical of Strålman when we signed him to that deal in the summer but boy was I wrong. He and Garrison really helped to stabilize our weakest point. Strålman when paired with Hedman also allowed Hedman to play more of an offensive game. His own offensive game wasn’t shabby either as he surpassed his career best 34 points this season. Just a solid defender that performed admirably as the #1 defenseman when Hedman went down. Only reason why I’m giving him “only†4 and a half stars is because he had a couple of stretches where he wasn’t as amazing as usually but that’s like complaining about “only†winning 5 million from the lottery aside from 7 million. Let’s see if he can be as good in the playoffs for us as he was to Rangers last spring.
#8 Mark Barberio
52GP 1G 6A 7P -4 16PIM
I was trying hard to think about something to say about Barberio but I just can’t. He wasn’t horrible but he wasn’t good either. I think he can be solid as a sixth defenseman but that’s all you can ask of him before everything goes to ****. It’s looking like his offensive game isn’t translating to the NHL level and he isn’t very good in his own end. I suspect he’ll have a couple of years in the NHL before going to have a career in Europe.
#25 Matt Carle
59GP 4G 14A 18P +12 26PIM
Carle was surprisingly good after coming back from the injury as I didn’t notice THAT many bad plays by him after coming back. His contract is still horrible but he’s a serviceable #4-#5 guy. He needs a good partner because he isn’t fit for carrying a defense pair. I think he still has one more year with us before we have to make room for some new contracts.
#53 Luke Witkowski
16GP 0G 0A 0P +0 15PIM
Witkowski was a lot better during his second callup I thought. He could be a solid #6-#7 guy next season. He knows what he can and can’t do and he doesn’t try to overextend himself. He has a bit of a nasty edge to him which is welcome sight after trading away Gudas. At the moment I would rather have him in the lineup than Sustr for example. Can’t hurt getting some more experience in the AHL although I think he won’t improve much anymore. What you see is what you get from him.
#62 Andrej Sustr
72GP 0G 13A 13P +10 34PIM
I don’t see much potential in Sustr. For a guy as huge as he is, he’s very soft and loses a lot of physical battles. Only thing he has going for him is his reach and long stick. No Pierre, not that stick. There isn’t much offensive potential in him and he looks a bit awkward skating. That’s to be expected from a guy his size and it’s unfair to compare his skating ability to that of Hedman’s because Hedman is freakishly good skater for his size. To put my thoughts about him in one sentence, I hope he isn’t with us next year.
#77 Victor Hedman
59GP 10G 28A 38P +12 40PIM
My expectations for Hedman were huge after the great second half he had last year but he didn’t deliver. Some of that was probably injuries but he seemed to still struggle with consistency. He could take over a game completely or he would have nights where he made rookie errors and was directly responsible for goals against. The main thing for Hedman from here on out is to stay healthy and become that consistent force out there. When he does that, he will be a Norris candidate and that true #1 defenseman of a championship team. He still has time to become that as defensemen usually have their peaks later than the forwards. We really need him to become that great #1 defenseman.
#89 Nikita Nesterov
27GP 2G 5A 7P +6 16PIM
The emergence of Nesterov this season has been a surprise. I don’t think anyone was predicting him to play in the NHL this year, let alone almost 30 games. He has had his ups and downs like any rookie defensemen. His skating is impressive and he was pretty good PP QB during the last games of the season. With more experience I think he has potential to be a solid second pairing defenseman. All the tools are there.
Goalies:
#30 Ben Bishop
62GP 40-13-5 2.32GAA 91,6SV% 4SO
Bishop wasn’t as good as last season but I don’t think many expected him to be. The main thing is, we didn’t need him to be as spectacular. You don’t get to 40 wins in one season with a fluke. He had a couple of bad games but every goalie has those during a long season. He isn’t a top 5 goalie in the league but he certainly is top 15 and that’s what our team needs, a solid goaltender they can occasionally rely on. His biggest test come now though in the playoffs. I expect he’ll do well but that’s to be seen.
#88 Andrei Vasilevskiy
16GP 7-5-1 2.36GAA 91,8SV% 1SO
We got to see Vasilevskiy in the NHL sooner that we thought but so far he has shown to be a very promising goaltender. He came in godlike but fizzled out a bit. That’s to be expected with a young goaltender like him though and he also didn’t get regular game action. He was a huge upgrade to Nabokov and gave his team a chance to win on most nights. He’s extremely athletic and fun to watch, like Jonathan Quick or Marc-Andre Fleury. The reports of him being a hard worker just cement my belief that he’ll be a great goalie in the NHL. It’s just a matter of couple of years before he supplants Bishop as our starter.
Forwards:
#9 Tyler Johnson
77GP 29G 43A 72P +33 24PIM
What more can you say about Johnson that hasn’t been already said? His line was the best and easily the most consistant throughout the season. Could’ve even been the best line in the whole NHL. Personally, I thought he would have a bit of a sophomore slump in terms of points but it was a complete opposite. He blew away last season’s point totals by scoring 22 more points. He seemed to improve on every aspect of the game and you could easily say he was our MVP this season. He’s shaping up to be a real star in the League for years to come and helps the Lightning have one of the best 1-2 punches on the center position in the whole league.
#10 Brenden Morrow
70GP 3G 5A 8P -1 64PIM
He’s way past his prime and probably has a year more in the League. Didn’t really expect anything out of him this season. He was mostly brough here to provide some veteran leadership to this young team and by all accounts that’s what he brought. Sticks out on this team for being slow.
#11 Brian Boyle
82GP 15G 9A 24P +3 54PIM
Boyle has been a very pleasant surprise. Scoring 15 goals and 24 points while playing primarily on the fourth line is impressive but in case of Brian Boyle, the points are just extra. He’s a great defensive player and very important piece of the penalty kill. You can also trust him out there during the last minute of the game. He’s a good faceoff man and did everything that was asked of him, even playing some defense when we needed. One of the best pickups for this team in the recent years.
#13 Cedric Paquette
64GP 12G 7A 19P +4 51PIM
Paquette started his year in the AHL but earned his way up to the NHL. He displayed some great offensive skills but those were in bunches. During that one hot streak he had he looked unstoppable. He struggles with consistency still, atleast offensively. Luckily that’s not all he brings. He’s one of the most physical guys on the team otherwise lacking physicality and seems to be pretty good in his own half of the ice. I’d say this was a pretty good rookie season for the Paq Man.
#17 Alex Killorn
71GP 15G 23A 38P +8 36PIM
Killorn had a pretty good second season in the NHL. Why his rating is only three stars? I think he should’ve gotten more done after playing on the first line for much of the season. Ultimately, he isn’t a first line player though. I think he’s ideally suited for the third line with his style. He has a surprisingly good shot but he lacked consistency on the offensive side of things. Killer is a valuable player in a sense that he can be put on any line and he’ll be effective. Kind of a swiss army knife, if you will.
#18 Ondrej Palat
75GP 16G 47A 63P +31 24PIM
I didn’t forget about Drej. Like Johnson, Palat only improved on his play from the last season. He is a player that can be put out there in any situation and that makes him incredibly valuable. He didn’t improve on his point totals as much from the last season like Johnson did but that’s not a slight to him. Speaks more in favour of him and his consistency. Rarely makes bad plays and if he does, he learns from them and doesn’t do them for a second time. Palat has that uncanny ability to make any line he plays on better from his first shift forward.
#23 J.T. Brown
52GP 3G 6A 9P -2 30PIM
It’s probably safe to say the offense won’t come for Brown on the NHL level but that’s ok. He fits in well on the fourth line with his ability to forecheck effectively and he can throw a hit too. He’s as fast as anyone and that’s why he always leaves you wanting more offensively. Solid fourth line player though and he rarely stands out as a liability.
#24 Ryan Callahan
77GP 24G 30A 54P +9 41PIM
Callahan had a solid season even though he was bounced around the lineup a bit during the season. What I would’ve liked to see would’ve been some better consistency offensively but he usually was effective every night even if he didn’t show up on the score sheet. He could’ve gotten close to 70 points if his line mates were a bit more consistent. He brings a lot of leadership on the team which is important with a young group. Overall I liked what I saw from him and he’s become one of my favourite players on the Bolts.
#27 Jonathan Drouin
70GP 4G 28A 32P +3 34PIM
Drouin’s first season went pretty much as I expected it to go. Some were saying he was a favourite for the Calder Trophy but I didn’t think he would have a season that good. The Lightning are a very deep group on the forward position and we didn’t have to thrust him straight to the first line. It was a bit maddening to see Cooper play Drouin on the fourth line but for long term I think it was the best way to handle him. He got used to the NHL and the two-way game needed to succeed in this league. I don’t think that there was anyone who didn’t see the development in him during the season. Only four goals was a bit disappointing but he seemed to be more confident in his scoring ability at the end of the regular season. He could be a secret weapon for the Lightning in the playoffs providing how much of a chance Cooper gives him.
#51 Valtteri Filppula
82GP 12G 36A 48P -14 24PIM
Filppula didn’t have as good of a season this year than last. He also didn’t get the same chances than last year due to the emergence of the TKO line and Stamkos being healthy for the whole season. He was still a dependable player on defensive side of the things which is why his -14 rating is surprising. It speaks for a team’s depth though when a player like him plays on the third line. His refusal to take shots is maddening sometimes but overall he’s a solid 200ft player and his experience is valuable on a young team.
#86 Nikita Kucherov
82GP 29G 36A 65P +38 37PIM
I have to give Kucherov five stars after giving Johnson and Palat five stars too. You can’t really say which player was the best on that line as the saying “better than the sum of its parts†is very fitting for that line. I thought Kucherov would have a solid season but I didn’t expect this much from him. He really showed potential for being a franchise winger and especially his improvement on the defensive side of the puck impressed me. There’s no such thing as Russian factor with him as he’s as hard worker as anyone on this team. The skills is undeniable and suspect we’ll enjoy watching him for many seasons to come.
#90 Vladislav Namestnikov
43GP 9G 7A 16P +1 13PIM
Vlad made the jump to the NHL a bit earlier than I thought. I was thinking he’d be a full time member of the team next year but after coming up from the minors it looks like he’s here to stay. He like most of the rookies has struggled with consistency a bit but he played really well on the TKO line after Johnson was injured. Aside from his offensive skills he’s a pretty solid two-way player too. Probably a bit light on the physical side still but that’ll take care of its self in a couple of summers.
#91 Steven Stamkos
82GP 43G 29A 72P +2 49PIM
In Soviet Tampa, 40 goals is a slump. That’s both funny and true. I was debating on whether to give him three or four stars so I went with a compromise. He was great when he was on but he had too many stretches where he was just completely invisible. It could’ve been caused by the injury he had last season or the revolving door of line mates he had for most of the season but the bottom line is, I expected more out of the captain. Hopefully he goes back to being the pre-injury Stamkos next year as that version of Steven Stamkos was a treat to watch. He also has to show up in the playoffs to call this year a success for him. You can’t fault him for not having a great work ethic so he’ll probably come back better next year after a full summer of training without the injury distractions.
Defense:
#5 Jason Garrison
70GP 4G 26A 30P +27 19PIM
Garrison turned out to be a steal for a second round pick. I didn’t expect this much from him for sure. He was probably our most consistant and best defender with Strålman. He was a bit inconsistent with his offense but I seem to remember that was a problem with him before too. The most important thing was though that he was a rock defensively and he is a key to our success in the post season.
#6 Anton Strålman
82GP 9G 30A 39P +22 26PIM
I was a bit skeptical of Strålman when we signed him to that deal in the summer but boy was I wrong. He and Garrison really helped to stabilize our weakest point. Strålman when paired with Hedman also allowed Hedman to play more of an offensive game. His own offensive game wasn’t shabby either as he surpassed his career best 34 points this season. Just a solid defender that performed admirably as the #1 defenseman when Hedman went down. Only reason why I’m giving him “only†4 and a half stars is because he had a couple of stretches where he wasn’t as amazing as usually but that’s like complaining about “only†winning 5 million from the lottery aside from 7 million. Let’s see if he can be as good in the playoffs for us as he was to Rangers last spring.
#8 Mark Barberio
52GP 1G 6A 7P -4 16PIM
I was trying hard to think about something to say about Barberio but I just can’t. He wasn’t horrible but he wasn’t good either. I think he can be solid as a sixth defenseman but that’s all you can ask of him before everything goes to ****. It’s looking like his offensive game isn’t translating to the NHL level and he isn’t very good in his own end. I suspect he’ll have a couple of years in the NHL before going to have a career in Europe.
#25 Matt Carle
59GP 4G 14A 18P +12 26PIM
Carle was surprisingly good after coming back from the injury as I didn’t notice THAT many bad plays by him after coming back. His contract is still horrible but he’s a serviceable #4-#5 guy. He needs a good partner because he isn’t fit for carrying a defense pair. I think he still has one more year with us before we have to make room for some new contracts.
#53 Luke Witkowski
16GP 0G 0A 0P +0 15PIM
Witkowski was a lot better during his second callup I thought. He could be a solid #6-#7 guy next season. He knows what he can and can’t do and he doesn’t try to overextend himself. He has a bit of a nasty edge to him which is welcome sight after trading away Gudas. At the moment I would rather have him in the lineup than Sustr for example. Can’t hurt getting some more experience in the AHL although I think he won’t improve much anymore. What you see is what you get from him.
#62 Andrej Sustr
72GP 0G 13A 13P +10 34PIM
I don’t see much potential in Sustr. For a guy as huge as he is, he’s very soft and loses a lot of physical battles. Only thing he has going for him is his reach and long stick. No Pierre, not that stick. There isn’t much offensive potential in him and he looks a bit awkward skating. That’s to be expected from a guy his size and it’s unfair to compare his skating ability to that of Hedman’s because Hedman is freakishly good skater for his size. To put my thoughts about him in one sentence, I hope he isn’t with us next year.
#77 Victor Hedman
59GP 10G 28A 38P +12 40PIM
My expectations for Hedman were huge after the great second half he had last year but he didn’t deliver. Some of that was probably injuries but he seemed to still struggle with consistency. He could take over a game completely or he would have nights where he made rookie errors and was directly responsible for goals against. The main thing for Hedman from here on out is to stay healthy and become that consistent force out there. When he does that, he will be a Norris candidate and that true #1 defenseman of a championship team. He still has time to become that as defensemen usually have their peaks later than the forwards. We really need him to become that great #1 defenseman.
#89 Nikita Nesterov
27GP 2G 5A 7P +6 16PIM
The emergence of Nesterov this season has been a surprise. I don’t think anyone was predicting him to play in the NHL this year, let alone almost 30 games. He has had his ups and downs like any rookie defensemen. His skating is impressive and he was pretty good PP QB during the last games of the season. With more experience I think he has potential to be a solid second pairing defenseman. All the tools are there.
Goalies:
#30 Ben Bishop
62GP 40-13-5 2.32GAA 91,6SV% 4SO
Bishop wasn’t as good as last season but I don’t think many expected him to be. The main thing is, we didn’t need him to be as spectacular. You don’t get to 40 wins in one season with a fluke. He had a couple of bad games but every goalie has those during a long season. He isn’t a top 5 goalie in the league but he certainly is top 15 and that’s what our team needs, a solid goaltender they can occasionally rely on. His biggest test come now though in the playoffs. I expect he’ll do well but that’s to be seen.
#88 Andrei Vasilevskiy
16GP 7-5-1 2.36GAA 91,8SV% 1SO
We got to see Vasilevskiy in the NHL sooner that we thought but so far he has shown to be a very promising goaltender. He came in godlike but fizzled out a bit. That’s to be expected with a young goaltender like him though and he also didn’t get regular game action. He was a huge upgrade to Nabokov and gave his team a chance to win on most nights. He’s extremely athletic and fun to watch, like Jonathan Quick or Marc-Andre Fleury. The reports of him being a hard worker just cement my belief that he’ll be a great goalie in the NHL. It’s just a matter of couple of years before he supplants Bishop as our starter.
