The Lightning were two victories from winning the Stanley Cup for the second time in their history last season. Many of the same players will return this season to try to finish the job, including leading scorer and captain Steven Stamkos, who is entering the final season of his five-year contract. After a postseason run that included a Game 7 win against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final, the Lightning's season ended with a 2-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. Shortly after, general manager Steve Yzerman began the process of making slight adjustments to the roster while pledging to keep his focus on signing Stamkos to a new contract. Stamkos can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2016. Two days after the Blackhawks skated with the Cup at United Center, Stamkos expressed optimism that a new contract to keep him in Tampa for several more seasons would get done.
Stamkos, who the Lightning selected with the No. 1 pick at the 2008 NHL Draft, told the Toronto Sun during All-Star Weekend in January that he could envision a contract similar to the eight-year, $84 million one that Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews each signed with the Blackhawks in July 2014. The 25-year-old center will be paid $5.5 million this season with a salary-cap charge of $7.5 million, according to war-on-ice.com. The Lightning currently are about $960,000 above the NHL's $71.4 million cap for 2015-16; teams can be over the cap by 10 percent before the start of the season. Stamkos' 43 goals were second in the NHL last season. He had seven goals and 11 assists in 26 playoff games, but the Blackhawks held him without a goal in the Final. Named captain when Martin St. Louis was traded to the Rangers at the 2014 NHL Trade Deadline, Stamkos re-affirmed his commitment to the Lightning after the loss in the Final. Tampa Bay wasn't very active in free agency but did sign right wing Erik Condra to a three-year contract. The 28-year-old spent his first five NHL seasons with the Ottawa Senators after being selected by them in the seventh round (No. 211) of the 2006 draft. Condra, who scored a career-high nine goals in 68 regular-season games last season, likely will step into the role that Brenden Morrow occupied last season. Morrow, 36, became an unrestricted free agent July 1 and remains unsigned. They also signed forward Tye McGinn to a one-year, two-way contract. McGinn, 24, had two goals and seven points in 51 games with the San Jose Sharks and Phoenix Coyotes last season.
Defenseman Luke Witkowski and forwards Jonathan Marchessault and Vladislav Namestnikov were re-signed to one-year, two-way contracts and will have a chance to make the roster out of training camp. Witkowski made his NHL debut last season, playing in 16 regular-season games; Marchessault played in two regular-season and two playoff games; and Namestnikov, the 27th pick of the 2011 draft, had 16 points in 43 regular-season games and one point in 12 playoff games. Tampa Bay also re-signed 6-foot-7, 220-pound defenseman Andrej Sustr to a two-year contract June 30. Sustr, 24, struggled in his second full NHL season, but the Lightning have high hopes for the undrafted player who joined them in 2013. Yzerman understands that the Lightning will have a difficult time repeating last season's playoff success, much less taking the final step to win the Stanley Cup. Recent history isn't necessarily on their side.
Steve Yzerman: "I'd like to get Steven Stamkos signed to an extension. That's my No. 1 priority. We've got some other restricted free agents, a couple of other contracts and things we've got to do, but [Stamkos is] the No. 1 priority. It's important that we come out next year ready to go right off the bat. You look at L.A., you look at Boston. L.A. won the Cup [in 2014], and Boston won the Presidents' Trophy (for the 2013-14 season). They both had very good seasons [in 2014-15] and missed the playoffs. So the margin for error is very slight. It's important for us to get off to a good start, so I'd start off by saying what we're looking to do next year is try to make the playoffs and then go from there."
The Lightning have their entire core group back after advancing to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, but that doesn't mean they don't have questions entering this season. The Lightning's top concern is signing captain Steven Stamkos to a new contract; the 2015-16 season is the final one of the five-year contract he signed July 19, 2011, and he can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2016.
Stamkos has said on more than one occasion that he wants to stay in Tampa, and general manager Steve Yzerman said in June that a new contract for the 25-year-old captain is his top priority. After losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games in the Stanley Cup Final, Stamkos denied reports that he was unhappy with his role under coach Jon Cooper. Stamkos said in January that he would like a contract similar to the eight-year, $84 million one that Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews each signed with the Blackhawks last summer. It's up to Yzerman not only to sign Stamkos but to make sure there's enough money left afterward to keep Victor Hedman, Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and others in Tampa. It seems highly unlikely the Lightning will let Stamkos play out his contract, and talk of a trade will increase if a new contract isn't finalized before the start of the season. Expect negotiations to heat up during the next few weeks; the Lightning would love to get Stamkos signed before training camp, which starts Sept. 17.Ben Bishop is the Lightning's top goalie going into the season, but he also is one of their most valuable trade assets. Bishop is signed through the 2016-17 season at a $5.95 million salary-cap charge, according to war-on-ice.com, and would be highly valued on the trade market after his performance during the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs (13-11, 2.18 goals-against average, .921 save percentage). Depending on how negotiations with Stamkos turn out, the Lightning may need to free up money to secure contracts with other players in the future. Bishop may become expendable if the Lightning see enough early in the season from highly touted prospect Andrei Vasilevskiy, 21, who started Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final with Bishop out because of a groin injury.
It would be safe to say Jonathan Drouin, 20, had a rookie season to forget. He fractured his right thumb during training camp and missed the entire preseason; it didn't get much better from there. Drouin, the No. 3 pick of the 2013 NHL Draft, had four goals and 28 assists in 70 regular-season games but never seemed to find a comfortable spot on the ice. He played in six of 26 Lightning playoff games. The low point of his season may have come in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Montreal Canadiens. With forward Ryan Callahan unavailable because of an emergency appendectomy, Cooper elected to play Jonathan Marchessault, who had played in two regular-season games, as Callahan's replacement. Cooper later explained his choice of Marchessault rather than Drouin by saying he went with the lineup that gave the Lightning the best chance to win. Drouin's fresh start begins at training camp. He will be given another chance to become the playmaker that Stamkos could use on the first line, but he'll have to show that he's made improvements on and off the ice.With strong goaltending, a skilled young core and effective leadership in the front office, there are plenty of reasons to be excited for 2015-16, especially if captain Steven Stamkos signs a contract extension before the season gets underway Oct. 8 against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Lightning answered a lot of questions in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Goalie Ben Bishop proved he could handle the pressure of a must-win game, earning a shutout in Game 7 victories against the Detroit Red Wings in the Eastern Conference First Round and the New York Rangers in the conference final. "The Triplets" line of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat proved that its outstanding performance in the regular season wasn't a mirage.The Lightning showed the grit and mental toughness to survive and thrive in the postseason.
24-year-old defenseman Victor Hedman, cashed in on his potential last season, and now the expectations for the smooth-skating, 6-foot-6 Swede have been raised. Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith took home the Conn Smythe Trophy, but Hedman unquestionably made the leap into the discussion of elite NHL defensemen. When paired with the steady Anton Stralman, Hedman's skills on each end of the ice are allowed to shine. His ability to join in on the rush and his role as power-play quarterback further highlight his value. The next step should include multiple All-Star Game appearances and annual candidacy for the Norris Trophy.
The chemistry that Johnson, Kucherov and Palat have on the ice was on full display in the playoffs. They make exciting plays and are always trying to create scoring opportunities. At times, it seems as though each one knows what the other is thinking. As Rangers defenseman Dan Boyle said during the conference final, "Standing still against those guys will get you in trouble." Johnson scored 29 goals last season, and Kucherov had 28. Palat's 47 assists led Tampa Bay, and "The Triplets" had the three best ratings on the Lightning (Kucherov, plus-38; Johnson, plus-33; Palat, plus-31).
Yzerman and owner Jeff Vinik are fully committed to winning the Stanley Cup. Yzerman, the NHL's reigning General Manager of the Year, hasn't been afraid to make tough decisions, such as trading former captain Martin St. Louis to the Rangers for Ryan Callahan in 2014. And with the question of Stamkos' contract extension lingering, it's likely more tough decisions will need to be made in the upcoming months. Yzerman has built a roster and developmental system that is in position to win now and remain highly competitive in the future with a fresh crop of young talent in the pipeline. That young group is led by Jonathan Drouin, the Lightning's first-round pick (No. 3) at the 2013 NHL Draft. Drouin had four goals and 28 assists in 70 games last season.
The Lightning stockpiled young talent at the start of the decade and saw many of their top prospects graduate to the NHL over the past two years. But with nine picks at the 2015 NHL Draft and good reports on players drafted in 2013 and 2014, there's plenty of high-end talent coming through the system, including 2015 third-round pick Dennis Yan (No. 64). Jonathan Marchessault, 24, and Matthew Peca, 22, who are hoping to make the Lightning roster out of training camp, didn't make the top prospects list this year. That alone should speak to the strength of the young players in the organization.
Kristers Gudlevskis, GHow acquired: 5th round (No. 124), 2013 NHL Draft
Last season: Syracuse (AHL): 42 GP, 25-14-4, 2.81 GAA, .900 save percentage
For the second consecutive season, Gudlevskis, 23, suited up with the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Playoffs as a backup goalie. Although he didn't play in Game 4 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final as the backup to Andrei Vasilevskiy, he did make two appearances in the 2014 Eastern Conference First Round in relief of Anders Lindback. This season, Gudlevskis (6-foot-4, 190 pounds) will be the top goaltender with Syracuse of the American Hockey League while waiting to see how things shake out between Ben Bishop and Vasilevskiy in Tampa. Bishop is signed through the 2016-17 season, but Gudlevskis is in the final year of his three-year entry-level contract and can become a restricted free agent July 1, 2016. He has the experience professionally and internationally (he played for Latvia at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and 2014 IIHF World Championship) to be considered NHL-ready.
Anthony DeAngelo, D
How acquired: 1st round (No. 19), 2014 NHL Draft
Last season: Sault Ste. Marie (OHL): 26 GP, 15-36-51; Sarnia (OHL): 29 GP, 10-28-38
When the Lightning selected DeAngelo in 2014, they appeared to be getting a top-10 talent who had fallen in the draft because of some controversies that got him suspended on two occasions. DeAngelo, 19, promised to mature as a player and person, and so far the Lightning have to be pleased with his development. Last season, he won the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the top defenseman in the Ontario Hockey League and was named Canadian Hockey League Defenseman of the Year. It's almost certain DeAngelo (5-foot-11, 175) will open the season in Syracuse, where he will be asked to tighten things up on the defensive end, especially with turnovers. He showed improvement in that area last season, when he had a combined plus-33 rating with Sarnia and Sault Ste. Marie in the OHL. As a playmaker, DeAngelo has special talent and is exceptional with the puck on his stick.
Brayden Point, C
How acquired: 3rd round (No. 79), 2014 NHL Draft
Last season: Syracuse (AHL): 9 GP, 2-2-4; Moose Jaw (WHL): 60 GP, 38-49-87
Point, 19, fits the mold of Lightning skill players with his speed and ability to handle the puck. During their development camp in July, he was among the top scorers in the 3-on-3 tournament and was constantly praised for his work ethic and hockey intelligence. After a career-best 38 goals with Moose Jaw in the Western Hockey League last season, Point (5-foot-10, 160) signed an entry-level contract and joined Syracuse at the end of the season. He'll have time to develop in the AHL this season and likely much of the 2016-17 season as well.
Adam Erne, LW
How acquired: 2nd round (No. 33), 2013 NHL Draft
Last season: Quebec (QMJHL): 60 GP, 41-45-86
Erne, 21, took a major leap forward with Quebec last season, establishing career highs in goals (41) and points (86). But it was his performance in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs, when he had 21 goals and nine assists in 21 games, that really made everyone take notice when he arrived at development camp in July. What separates Erne from many of the other top forwards in the Lightning system is his size. Listed at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, Erne has added weight and may develop into the power forward missing from Tampa Bay's lineup. He'll be headed to Syracuse to start the season and expectations will be high.
Slater Koekkoek, D
How acquired: 1st round (No. 10), 2012 NHL Draft
Last season: Lightning: 3 GP, 0-0-0; Syracuse (AHL) 72 GP, 5-21-26
Koekkoek's development has been slowed by injuries, but last season he was finally healthy and was called up to the Lightning for a short period near the end of the season. Koekkoek (6-foot-2, 184) is a mobile defenseman who's at his best when he's on the power play, but his overall defense has improved after a full season in the AHL.
After playing three games with the Lightning last season, Koekkoek will have an opportunity to earn a more consistent roster spot with a strong training camp.
Predicted Lines
51 Filppula - 91 Stamkos - 24 Callahan
18 Palat - 9 Johnson - 86 Kucherov
27 Drouin - 90 Namestnikov - 17 Killorn
13 Paquette - 11 Boyle - # Condra
77 Hedman - 6 Stralman
5 Garrison - 55 Coburn
25 Carle - 62 Sustr
30 Bishop - 88 Vasilevskiy
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