![]() Tyler Johnson: It seems like Johnson is part of trade rumors every summer, and yet he’s still here. Joseph is playing for Team Canada with Cirelli at the upcoming World Championships. ![]() Joseph dealt with the natural ups and downs of being a rookie but provided the kind of speed and ferocious forechecking that could make him a game-changer on the third or fourth line and penalty kill. Mathieu Joseph: Joseph, 21, forced his way onto the Lightning opening-night roster with his dynamic performance during the preseason, much like Point did three years ago. Expect him to be part of Tampa Bay’s top four next season. Cernak may have been the team’s best defensemen in the first round series against Columbus. Cernak, 21, acquired from the Kings in the Ben Bishop trade, got called up in November due to injuries and never left, becoming a staple in the shutdown pair with McDonagh. Sergachev is entering the last year of his entry-level deal before becoming an RFA.Įrik Cernak: What a game-changer Cernak was for the Lightning blue line, which has long needed this kind of right-shot presence. While coach Jon Cooper prefers Sergachev on his natural left side, the Russian’s ability to play the right could open up an opportunity for him in the top pairing with Hedman next year, depending on who the Lightning add on the blue line. ![]() You could see Sergachev’s confidence grow then, especially running the power play. Sergachev wasn’t put into a top-four role until later in the season, when he was paired with Hedman due to injuries. Sergachev, 20, is a budding young defenseman who was “night and day” better in Year 2 after he was acquired in the Jonathan Drouin blockbuster in the summer of 2017. Mikhail Sergachev: There’s a reason the Lightning didn’t want to trade him last summer, even amidst the Erik Karlsson sweepstakes. I can imagine that Cirelli getting a chance to play for Team Canada at the upcoming World Championships might give him a similar boost to the one Point got a couple of summers ago. The fact that Cirelli racked up 19 goals with little to no power-play time shows how much potential he has offensively as his confidence grows. Kucherov’s eight-year extension (at $9.5 million AAV) kicks in next year, with the contract likely looking like a bargain if he continues to produce like that (and step up in the playoffs).Īnthony Cirelli: Cirelli, 21, really blossomed in his first full season, anchoring the third line and top-ranked penalty kill. But there’s a reason Kucherov is the heavy favorite to win the Hart Trophy as league MVP, as the 25-year-old winger set a record for most points by a Russian player in a single season (128). Nikita Kucherov: Kucherov’s playoffs left much to be desired, including letting his frustration take him out of a must-win Game 3 by getting suspended for a boarding hit on a defenseless player at the end of Game 2. Which Lightning players will be around for another run? Who is likely on his way out? Let’s take a look. ![]() “In reality, we all expected, the players included, we would all step up our game come playoff time because that’s what you do.” They did it throughout the regular season. These guys have stepped up time and time again. “Going into this year’s playoffs, only Pittsburgh had played more playoff rounds the last four years. “This group of players has shown it to us so many times, they’ve found a way so many times,” BriseBois said. There’s been no bigger test of resolve and belief in how the Lightning have been built than this, and BriseBois has so far stuck to his guns in saying he won’t “blow up” the roster or coaching staff.īut BriseBois also needs to practice the same “humility” he preaches, knowing that there are some things that will have to change, some familiar faces that might have to go if the Lightning are going to be the ones standing in the end.īriseBois bet on the same core that went on three deep Stanley Cup playoff runs the past four years, and he remained bullish on them after the stunning six-day sweep by the Columbus Blue Jackets. We will learn a lot about the 42-year-old BriseBois this summer. Then there’s the boatload of no-trade/no-move clauses which limit his options further. And the Quebec native has to do so handcuffed by a significant salary cap crunch, where $73 million of an expected $83 million cap is already committed to just 16 players. But now, after a humbling first-round sweep in the playoffs?īriseBois enters an important - and telling - offseason during which he has to decide how much to turn over his roster in an attempt to put the Lightning over the top.
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