Where Does The Lightning Go From Here?

BeingTheThunder

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Jul 9, 2018
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Okay, here we are, 3 days from the NHL draft. Erik Karlsson and Jacob Trouba are now off the table for the Lightning and we're bringing Brayden Coburn back for two more years on a ridiculously cheap, team-friendly deal. The question is now Where does the Lightning go from here?

Move 2-3 Current Roster Guys

We know signing Point is going to cost money that we do not currently have. The only way this is going to happen is if we move a roster player or two. Most think Callahan is a cinch to be moved because he was a healthy scratch so many times last year and that makes sense. Spending $5.8 Million for a guy to sit out 25-30 games is a lot of scratch. JT Miller has a modified no trade clause that requires he submit 8 teams he will not go to and Gourde has a Full No Trade Clause kicking in on the 1st of July. In my opinion, I think we should move Callahan, assuming we can get him to waive his NTC and it's doesn't cost too much, and we should trade Gourde before July 1. I prefer moving Gourde for two reasons: Miller is younger and, if it becomes necessary, will be easier to trade in the future.

This gives us the cap space to sign Point and gives us a head start on signing some of our other young guys coming off of their ELCs to bridge deals.

Sign Point

We know we have to free up money to sign Point. Now that Karlsson is off the table, do we want to sign him long-term to an 8 year deal or are we still hoping for a cheaper bridge and kick the can down the road for his long-term, big money contract? I would prefer moving multiple players and signing him up for the full 8 years now. Get it over with so it's not a headache in 3-4 years.

Sign Tougher, Harder Working Forwards

The players we have, from what I witnessed in the playoffs, just don't work hard enough and pay the price needed to dig pucks out from the boards or act as if they're scared to get hit when the puck came their way. Three examples of players I would like us to bring in would be Charlie Coyle, Ryan O'Reilly, and Ryan Anderson. Those guys bring the body and are relentless on the puck. We could use a few of those guys.

What do you say we should do from here?
 

Byrddog

Lifer
Nov 23, 2007
7,471
823
Find a home for Callahan first, there is chatter on the radio in Buffalo about him coming there for Risto. If that would work the monery is there for Point and yes you have to give him a term deal a 32 goal and 41 goal campaign indicated 7.5 for 8 will lock him up til age 31.
 

BeingTheThunder

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Jul 9, 2018
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Not the one you originally asked this to, but I think they might move Miller I doubt they move Gourde or even consider it because of his contract extension.
Yeah, that seems to be the general consensus among Bolts fans. I don't really understand it myself. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Gourde. I do. But of the two, he will be the most difficult to move in the future if need because of his full NTC. I think both players are pretty replaceable with what we have in Syracuse so I honestly would not be opposed to moving them both.
 

CupsOverCash

Registered User
Jun 16, 2009
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We will get Point figured out first and foremost obviously. Have to know how much we have to work with after his deal. If we trade a few players to make room for a change, then I would also love to see us go for a bigger body in the middle or even top 6. I dont really know who could be available but hopefully we can find a guy like that who can skate, not just a big body. Thats not really easy to find. If that isnt possible then I would love to see us make a move for another top 4 D if Sergachev cant play that role yet. Also am not against getting a veteran who is a good leader. We need somebody to speak up when the team is playing like shit. Stamkos hasnt been talking enough for a leader in my opinion. I thought he really improved his game on ice last year, lets see him improve as a leader/captain.
 

Todd1a

Kucherov or prospect
Jun 19, 2014
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orlando, fl
We will get Point figured out first and foremost obviously. Have to know how much we have to work with after his deal. If we trade a few players to make room for a change, then I would also love to see us go for a bigger body in the middle or even top 6. I dont really know who could be available but hopefully we can find a guy like that who can skate, not just a big body. Thats not really easy to find. If that isnt possible then I would love to see us make a move for another top 4 D if Sergachev cant play that role yet. Also am not against getting a veteran who is a good leader. We need somebody to speak up when the team is playing like ****. Stamkos hasnt been talking enough for a leader in my opinion. I thought he really improved his game on ice last year, lets see him improve as a leader/captain.
Point might be another kucherov thing and might drag out till September with point and his agent. I don’t think brisebois is going to chance anything! I think he looks at it like if Vasilevskiy and Hedman were healthy then the playoffs would have gone a different way probably.
 
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CupsOverCash

Registered User
Jun 16, 2009
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Point might be another kucherov thing and might drag out till September with point and his agent. I don’t think brisebois is going to chance anything! I think he looks at it like if Vasilevskiy and Hedman were healthy then the playoffs would have gone a different way probably.

Very well could. I think Marner/Point could drag on for a while as they wait for each other. However, it wouldnt surprise me to see Point get done very soon.
 
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VinikToWinIt

Number 1 Bull****
Jun 15, 2014
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Find a home for Callahan first, there is chatter on the radio in Buffalo about him coming there for Risto. If that would work the monery is there for Point and yes you have to give him a term deal a 32 goal and 41 goal campaign indicated 7.5 for 8 will lock him up til age 31.
Risto comes with his own cap hit problems - $5.4M AAV. Moving Callahan for him will only free up $400k and stick us with Risto's contract for the next 3 years.
 

These Are The Days

Oh no! We suck again!!
May 17, 2014
34,124
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Tampa Bay
Yeah I've been screwing around with the numbers and if we get Risto for Callahan we're basically out of any substantial free agent talks because Point is gonna eat all the rest of the money. Even if we do get another contract moved on draft day we aren't gonna have much more than scraps. lol it's one of the biggest free agency years in recent memory and we can't even do anything with it.



f***
 
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CupsOverCash

Registered User
Jun 16, 2009
16,353
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Yeah I've been screwing around with the numbers and if we get Risto for Callahan we're basically out of any substantial free agent talks because Point is gonna eat all the rest of the money. Even if we do get another contract moved on draft day we aren't gonna have much more than scraps. lol it's one of the biggest free agency years in recent memory and we can't even do anything with it.



****

Well I think this has more to do with the amount of contracts that were earned due to the teams success in the past than it is mismanagement of the team. The reality is for the TB Lightning right now is that our window has officially opened. In that I mean, if we win a cup, its going to have to be with the majority of the players you see on our team now. After getting swept that could freak people out a lot, but its also the same team that has been real deep over the years. I know people will doubt they can get back to that spot again without some kind of shake up but I just dont know if a shake up is really needed as much as we think. I personally think anytime a team gets swept you probably want a little shake up but we are limited in what we can do. Its just going to be a long offseason and really season because many of us are anxious to see who this team really is.
 

T REX

Registered User
Feb 28, 2013
10,906
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Well I think this has more to do with the amount of contracts that were earned due to the teams success in the past than it is mismanagement of the team. The reality is for the TB Lightning right now is that our window has officially opened. In that I mean, if we win a cup, its going to have to be with the majority of the players you see on our team now. After getting swept that could freak people out a lot, but its also the same team that has been real deep over the years. I know people will doubt they can get back to that spot again without some kind of shake up but I just dont know if a shake up is really needed as much as we think. I personally think anytime a team gets swept you probably want a little shake up but we are limited in what we can do. Its just going to be a long offseason and really season because many of us are anxious to see who this team really is.

You really won't know until next year's playoffs. They could steamroll the league again and very few people will believe.
 

Rschmitz

Finding new ways to cheat
Feb 27, 2002
15,750
8,070
Tampa Bay
Yeah I've been screwing around with the numbers and if we get Risto for Callahan we're basically out of any substantial free agent talks because Point is gonna eat all the rest of the money. Even if we do get another contract moved on draft day we aren't gonna have much more than scraps. lol it's one of the biggest free agency years in recent memory and we can't even do anything with it.



****

The free agent class on D is not great, especially if Winnipeg re-signs Myers now that they've dealt Trouba. Risto is definitely better than anything on the market.

Risto has tantalizing upside. You remove him from the PK, pair him with McD, and get his ice time down to a manageable 20 minutes per night, and he'll excel. He'd also be a tradable asset moving forward.

Having said all of that, Risto is not very good with break out passes and in front of the net, so he isn't going to help our transition game. He definitely won't be a difference maker in beating the trap.
 
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Todd1a

Kucherov or prospect
Jun 19, 2014
16,389
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orlando, fl
The free agent class on D is not great, especially if Winnipeg re-signs Myers now that they've dealt Trouba. Risto is definitely better than anything on the market.

Risto has tantalizing upside. You remove him from the PK, pair him with McD, and get his ice time down to a manageable 20 minutes per night, and he'll excel. He'd also be a tradable asset moving forward.

Having said all of that, Risto is not very good with break out passes and in front of the net, so he isn't going to help our transition game. He definitely won't be a difference maker in beating the trap.
GOod thing this guy will take a cheap deal ? Dion Phaneuf!
 

T REX

Registered User
Feb 28, 2013
10,906
8,249
We're not gonna get much better on paper so it is on Cooper to make the TEAM better come postseason time. If he doesn't have the answers. Sorry buddy...next!
 

Todd1a

Kucherov or prospect
Jun 19, 2014
16,389
2,747
orlando, fl
We're not gonna get much better on paper so it is on Cooper to make the TEAM better come postseason time. If he doesn't have the answers. Sorry buddy...next!
Yep and assuming we don’t get stralman back we are going to Be worse on paper then last year. But we still got a good solid team enough to make the playoffs. Will we have playoff success under cooper nope probably not.
 

hagg18

Registered User
Dec 8, 2007
129
34
I’d sign Stralman to a two year deal if he’d give the discount. It’ll be hard to find some better player at a better price through FA. Then we’ll have the flexibility to play either:

Hedman- cernak
Mac- serg
Coburn- Stralman

If serg is ready.

Or

Hedman - Stralman
Mac- cernak
Coburn - serg

If Serg isn’t there quite yet and Stralman finns his game again. He’s always played well with Hedman. It also gives more dept in case of injury, that always happen at some point.
 
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BeingTheThunder

Registered User
Jul 9, 2018
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I’d sign Stralman to a two year deal if he’d give the discount. It’ll be hard to find some better player at a better price through FA. Then we’ll have the flexibility to play either:

Hedman- cernak
Mac- serg
Coburn- Stralman

If serg is ready.

Or

Hedman - Stralman
Mac- cernak
Coburn - serg

If Serg isn’t there quite yet and Stralman finns his game again. He’s always played well with Hedman. It also gives more dept in case of injury, that always happen at some point.
I would be thrilled to get Strals back at a discount. When he was healthy he was as steady of a defenseman as you can find. Problem is his age. Is father time catching up to him and making him more succeptible to injury? Also, how much are we willing to pay him? If he would be willing to accept something like 2 years at and AAV of say $2.5 Million, I would be happy to bring him back. Beyond that, however, I say let's move on from the D core. We need to make some changes to our forwards, I think.

In a perfect world, we would get Killorn and Palat to waive and they're the guys I would be trying to trade. I would even keep Cally if I could move those guys. However, we aren't living in a perfect world and I doubt either one would waive.
 

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