Part 1:
New GM Geoff Smith has been busy in his first couple of weeks on the job. Hired shortly after the EHEC entry draft, Smith quickly started reshaping the recent Stanley Cup finalists.
Through a series of trades, Tampa Bay has brought in forwards Evgeni Svechnikov, Aapeli Rasanen, Quinton Howden, Riley Sheahan and Axel Holmstrom, as well as defensemen Alex Coulombe, Roland Knot, Sami Vatanen, Michael Callahan, and Nikita Okhotyuk.
Out are David Shields, Carl Klingberg, Pavel Yelshansky, Evan Sarthou and pending UFAs Kevin Shattenkirk, Greg Nemisz and Jared Cowen.
Qualifying offers have been made to pending restricted free agents Svechnikov, Rasanen, Coulombe and Knot, meanwhile pending UFAs Tuomo Ruutu, Colin Wilson, Patrik Berglund, Ales Hemsky, Nikolai Zherdev, Ryan Kesler, Nick Schultz, Tim Gleason, Alexander Frolov, Alexander Petrovic and Mike Komisarek are all testing the market.
With just over $2.0M in cap space available, Smith doesn’t expect to make a big splash in the free agent market, but will definitely be out bargain shopping, and trying to restock a very thin farm system in the coming weeks.
Stay tuned...
Tampa Bay Lightning Offseason report
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TBGM - Geoff
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- Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 7:39 am
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TBGM - Geoff
- Posts: 783
- Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 7:39 am
- Location: Peterborough, ON, CA
Re: Tampa Bay Lightning Offseason report
Tampa Bay Lightning season preview:
After hiring new general manager Geoff Smith in early August, the Tampa Bay Lightning have undergone a comprehensive off-season overhaul. In spite of having played in the Cup Finals last year, Smith made wholesale changes to his lineup.
Goalies:
In: Carey Price, Brandon Halverson, Filip Larsson
Out: Henrik Lundqvist, Evan Sarthou, Ilya Samsonov
Possibly the most significant change in the lineup, the Lightning convinced Carey Price to take a pay cut in exchange for playing with a top team. At barely over $1M/season, Price will carry the bulk of the load in Tampa this season. Halverson and Larsson are set to battle for the backup role, but neither are expected to play much this season.
Defense:
In: Victor Hedman, Dustin Byfuglien, Mattias Backman, Alex Coulombe, Ronald Knot, Jamieson Oleksiak, Nikita Okhotyuk
Out: Kevin Klein, Pavel Yelshansky, Kevin Shattenkirk, Tim Gleason, Jared Cowen, Nick Schultz, David Shields, Alex Petrovic, Mike Komisarek
The only returning starting defenseman from last year, perrenial Norris trophy candidate Cam Fowler gets a new (and improved) playing partner in big Victor Hedman. Byfuglien, Backman, Coulombe and Knot will fill out the starting roles, while Jake Gardiner (who spent last season in the AHL) and Oleksiak will likely battle to be the 7th d-man in a group where nobody is under 6'2. The blueline isn't expected to provide a ton of offense, but the overall defensive skill will certainly ease the burden on Carey Price.
Forwards:
In: Steven Stamkos, Joe Colborne, Sami Vatanen, Ryan Martindale, Zach Budish, Evgeni Svechnikov, Aapeli Rasanen, Dalton Smith, Brian Hart, Axel Holmstrom
Out: Tyler Seguin, Colin Wilson, Ales Hemsky, Ryan Kesler, Nikolai Zherdev, Tuomo Ruutu, Nick Foligno, Patrick Berglund, Alexander Avtsyn, Carl Klingberg, Greg Nemisz, Alexander Frolov
Sidney Crosby, Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Gaborik continue to lead the way up front, but wholesale changes up front see 9 new players in starting roles. Star forward Tyler Seguin headles the departures, but the acquisition of 40 goal scorer Steven Stamkos is sure to offset the loss. Several younger players are hoping to make use of increased icetime that wasn't afforded to them with their previous teams, most notably Svechnikov, Rasanen, and converted dman Vatanen. Veteran forwards Smith, Colborne, Budish, Hart and Martindale are joined by the young Swiss Nando Eggenberger, who is coming off a solid debut season in the AHL. Veteran centre Bryan Little looks to be the odd man out up front, and has been rumoured to have asked for a trade.
Predictions: Top 3 in the Eastern conference, and another long playoff run.
After hiring new general manager Geoff Smith in early August, the Tampa Bay Lightning have undergone a comprehensive off-season overhaul. In spite of having played in the Cup Finals last year, Smith made wholesale changes to his lineup.
Goalies:
In: Carey Price, Brandon Halverson, Filip Larsson
Out: Henrik Lundqvist, Evan Sarthou, Ilya Samsonov
Possibly the most significant change in the lineup, the Lightning convinced Carey Price to take a pay cut in exchange for playing with a top team. At barely over $1M/season, Price will carry the bulk of the load in Tampa this season. Halverson and Larsson are set to battle for the backup role, but neither are expected to play much this season.
Defense:
In: Victor Hedman, Dustin Byfuglien, Mattias Backman, Alex Coulombe, Ronald Knot, Jamieson Oleksiak, Nikita Okhotyuk
Out: Kevin Klein, Pavel Yelshansky, Kevin Shattenkirk, Tim Gleason, Jared Cowen, Nick Schultz, David Shields, Alex Petrovic, Mike Komisarek
The only returning starting defenseman from last year, perrenial Norris trophy candidate Cam Fowler gets a new (and improved) playing partner in big Victor Hedman. Byfuglien, Backman, Coulombe and Knot will fill out the starting roles, while Jake Gardiner (who spent last season in the AHL) and Oleksiak will likely battle to be the 7th d-man in a group where nobody is under 6'2. The blueline isn't expected to provide a ton of offense, but the overall defensive skill will certainly ease the burden on Carey Price.
Forwards:
In: Steven Stamkos, Joe Colborne, Sami Vatanen, Ryan Martindale, Zach Budish, Evgeni Svechnikov, Aapeli Rasanen, Dalton Smith, Brian Hart, Axel Holmstrom
Out: Tyler Seguin, Colin Wilson, Ales Hemsky, Ryan Kesler, Nikolai Zherdev, Tuomo Ruutu, Nick Foligno, Patrick Berglund, Alexander Avtsyn, Carl Klingberg, Greg Nemisz, Alexander Frolov
Sidney Crosby, Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Gaborik continue to lead the way up front, but wholesale changes up front see 9 new players in starting roles. Star forward Tyler Seguin headles the departures, but the acquisition of 40 goal scorer Steven Stamkos is sure to offset the loss. Several younger players are hoping to make use of increased icetime that wasn't afforded to them with their previous teams, most notably Svechnikov, Rasanen, and converted dman Vatanen. Veteran forwards Smith, Colborne, Budish, Hart and Martindale are joined by the young Swiss Nando Eggenberger, who is coming off a solid debut season in the AHL. Veteran centre Bryan Little looks to be the odd man out up front, and has been rumoured to have asked for a trade.
Predictions: Top 3 in the Eastern conference, and another long playoff run.
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TBGM - Geoff
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- Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 7:39 am
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Re: Tampa Bay Lightning Offseason report
Tampa Bay Lightning top prospect report:
Probably one of the weakest prospect pools in the EHEC, the Tampa Bay Lightning have spent recent years focusing on competing for the Stanley Cup, and have traded most of their draft picks and prospects for impact players. As a result, the top 5 prospects in the organization are not much to write about, but here they are anyhow.
1.Nando Eggenberger
The 20 year old Swiss forward is about to make his debut, having survived the final cuts at the end of training camp. A solid defensive player, Eggenberger will likely see regular 4th line minutes, and possibly help to kill penalties. His offensive upside is limited, but he looks to be a regular bottom 6 forward for years to come.
2. Nikita Okhotyuk
Acquired in the offseason from the NY Rangers, Okhotyuk was a 4th round pick in 2019. A good stay at home defenseman, Okhotyuk will be one of 2 underage players for the Syracuse Crunch this season. It remains to be seen if Okhotyuk will develop into an EHEC regular, or a career minor leaguer, but with the lack of prospects, he’ll get every chance possible to play regular AHL minutes.
3. Elmer Soderblom
Like Okhotyuk, Soderblom was acquired from the NY Rangers in the offseason. Also a 4th round pick, the towering (6’7) centre will be the other underage player on the Syracuse Crunch this season. Another borderline prospect, Soderblom will get a chance to develop with regular AHL minutes this season.
4. Mitchell Miller
Miller will spend another season playing junior hockey in Sweden. The undersized defenseman was a late pick by the Lightning in the 2020 entry draft. While he is projected to be a career minor leaguer, he’ll get more opportunities in the Lightning organization than he would with other teams.
5. Adam Mascherin
Drafted in the second round back in 2016, Mascherin was signed by the Lightning as a free agent this season, after playing 2 seasons in the ECHL. Lightning scouts were impressed with his defensive skills and physical play, in spite of his short (5’10) stature. If he can develop some offensive skills to match, he could see EHEC minutes in the future.
Other prospects in no particular order:
Forwards: Max Zimmer, Demetrios Koumontzis, Damien Giroux, Tyler Madden, Artyom Ivanyuzhenkov
Defense: John St. Ivany, Nathan Knoepke, Victor Mete
Goalies: Filip Larsson, Kirill Ustimenko, Dayton Rasmussen
Probably one of the weakest prospect pools in the EHEC, the Tampa Bay Lightning have spent recent years focusing on competing for the Stanley Cup, and have traded most of their draft picks and prospects for impact players. As a result, the top 5 prospects in the organization are not much to write about, but here they are anyhow.
1.Nando Eggenberger
The 20 year old Swiss forward is about to make his debut, having survived the final cuts at the end of training camp. A solid defensive player, Eggenberger will likely see regular 4th line minutes, and possibly help to kill penalties. His offensive upside is limited, but he looks to be a regular bottom 6 forward for years to come.
2. Nikita Okhotyuk
Acquired in the offseason from the NY Rangers, Okhotyuk was a 4th round pick in 2019. A good stay at home defenseman, Okhotyuk will be one of 2 underage players for the Syracuse Crunch this season. It remains to be seen if Okhotyuk will develop into an EHEC regular, or a career minor leaguer, but with the lack of prospects, he’ll get every chance possible to play regular AHL minutes.
3. Elmer Soderblom
Like Okhotyuk, Soderblom was acquired from the NY Rangers in the offseason. Also a 4th round pick, the towering (6’7) centre will be the other underage player on the Syracuse Crunch this season. Another borderline prospect, Soderblom will get a chance to develop with regular AHL minutes this season.
4. Mitchell Miller
Miller will spend another season playing junior hockey in Sweden. The undersized defenseman was a late pick by the Lightning in the 2020 entry draft. While he is projected to be a career minor leaguer, he’ll get more opportunities in the Lightning organization than he would with other teams.
5. Adam Mascherin
Drafted in the second round back in 2016, Mascherin was signed by the Lightning as a free agent this season, after playing 2 seasons in the ECHL. Lightning scouts were impressed with his defensive skills and physical play, in spite of his short (5’10) stature. If he can develop some offensive skills to match, he could see EHEC minutes in the future.
Other prospects in no particular order:
Forwards: Max Zimmer, Demetrios Koumontzis, Damien Giroux, Tyler Madden, Artyom Ivanyuzhenkov
Defense: John St. Ivany, Nathan Knoepke, Victor Mete
Goalies: Filip Larsson, Kirill Ustimenko, Dayton Rasmussen