Cut The Check? Should the Lightning Buy Out Valtteri Filppula

Let’s get two things out of the way before we dive into this post:

1. I liked the Valtteri Filppula deal when it was signed.  Liked, didn’t love.  It was a year too long and a million dollars too much, but the Lightning were signing a creative, veteran playmaker who played responsible hockey and would slot into a top-six position.

2. I don’t like teams buying out contracts.  Done incorrectly it can lead to roster-strangling dead cap space and an endless cycle of overpaying (because, hey you can always buy him out when it goes sideways) for free agents. It might seem like small change, but it can add up.  Buying one player out at $1.7 million and then another at $2 million and then things escalate quickly.  Before you know it you have $4-5 million wrapped up in dead money.

Keeping those two things in mind,  I think the Lightning buying out Valtteri Filppula isn’t the worse thing in the world.  The Finnish forward with the filthy hands is owed $10 million over the next two years.  According to General Fanager if Tampa Bay buys him out before the window ends on June 30th they will save $3.34 million this season and next.  Of course, there are consequences.  For the following two seasons (2018-19 and 2019-20) they will take a $1.67 million cap hit.

Probably not his finest Lightning memory.

Three-and-a-third million dollars is a lot of money to play with on a roster that has a lot of young talent looking for raises.  Wouldn’t it be better to spend some of that money on locking up Nikita Kucherov and his consistent goalscoring as opposed to Filppula and his diminishing flashes of puck-handling brilliance?

I think Filppula has taken a lot of unwarranted flack over the past few seasons, but I’m also aware that he is a 32-year-old forward whose offensive numbers have been declining over the last three seasons. It’s getting harder and harder to justify rolling him out there for 18-20 minutes a game.

In the playoff run this season which forward led the team in ice time?

A: Kucherov with his 11 goals in 17 games?
B. The young Jonathan Drouin and his breakout performance?
C. The steady Tyler Johnson who quietly put up a point a game during the postseason.

The answer to this obviously leading question is - none of the above.

Filppula led all forwards with 20:45 of ice time throughout the playoffs.  Part of that could be explained by the fact that he won 52% of the faceoffs he had.  Coach Cooper threw him out there at the end of games, short-handed and every other time he had an important face-off. Those minutes rack up when you’re doing it game after game.

He did a decent job against the Red Wings and Islanders top lines.

He wasn’t actually that bad in the playoffs (at least until the Pittsburgh series).  He did put up 7 points overall, but against the Penguins his most glaring deficiency was exposed - he just isn’t fast anymore.  Watching him carry the puck into the offensive zone was like watching Jonathan Drouin in slow-motion.  The moves were there, the slick puck-handling was there, it was just at a slower pace.  Even if he was in the zone with numbers, the high-energy Penguins were able to chase him down.

Despite his lack of foot speed it is obvious that he is a player that Coach Cooper trusts.  He is somewhat responsible in the defensive zone and can (at least theoretically) generate offense.  Over at Raw Charge, loserpoints is reviewing the team with a slant towards enhanced stats.  Those numbers place Filppula place just off-center and the writer sums up his season simply saying, “Valtteri Filppula is declining as would be expected of a player his age”.  So…yeah.

Barring injury to other players he is not cracking the top-six next season.  With the Triplets coming back, Alex Killorn, Jonathan Drouin and (hopefully) an extremely rich Steven Stamkos filling out the top of the roster, at best Filppula is going to be looking at another year as a third-line center.

Do the Lightning have someone on the roster that can replace Filppula?  After all, if he’s bought out, someone has to fill that spot. It could be Jonathan Marchessault.  The 25-year-old center is an unrestricted free agent, but could be brought back at a reasonable (under $2 million) salary.  While he doesn’t have the same offensive promise that Filppula brings to the table, he wouldn’t be a total train wreck playing 15 minutes a game.

Also, it might open a spot on the roster for a young player in the organization like Adam Erne or Yanni Goude.  Also, while the free agent market might not be deep, there are third-line forwards available at reasonable prices (P.A. Parenteau maybe?)

Something else to think about that could affect the team a little farther down the road is that Filppula has a no-movement clause in his contract and is signed through the 2017-18 season which means the Lightning would have to protect him in the Las Vegas expansion draft.  Wouldn’t you rather protect Vlad Namestnikov or JT Brown instead of Filppula?

So I just spent a page and a half laying out a case for buying him out.  Should Mr. Yzerman cut him a check and wish him well?  Yes, but after next season.

I think they can get one more serviceable season out of him without handicapping the team out of contention.  Mr. Yzerman should be able to get all of his business done with Stamkos and his restricted free agents and still stay under the cap.  He can then apply the cap savings to Victor Hedman’s extension (let’s start putting the positive vibes out there now) and longer term deals for Johnson and Ondrej Palat.

The Lightning GM has played the buyout game pretty well so far. The only contracts he has bought out have been Vincent Lecavalier and Ryan Malone, both of them were compliance buyouts that didn’t count against the salary cap. He did retain some salary when the Lightning flipped Sam Gagner to the Coyotes for a 6th round pick.  That salary, as well as the cap hit from Vlacav Prospal’s buyout (done under the Brian Lawton regime) fell off this season.

Thirty-one points from a center that can win faceoffs and kill penalties isn’t the worst thing in the world. He has been relatively healthy over his Lightning career (something that was a bit of a worrying point when he signed the deal) and can still contribute.

So don’t trade in those “51” jerseys just yet.

I will miss those platinum locks when he's gone.

Two Down, Two to Go - Lightning Brawl Their Way to a 2-0 Series Lead

“He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster”

Play against a team that interferes, hooks, shoves, obstructs and bends the rules long enough and you might begin to pick up some of their habits. While the Lightning have too much talent to completely descend into Nietzche's abyss, after playing them 13 times in the last year (4 regular season games and 9 post season) they are definitely picking up some of the Red Wings' “bad” habits.

The good news for Bolts fans is that that style plays well in the post season. On Friday night, a night before Elton's good night for fighting, the Lightning bullied the Red Wings all over the ice, winning 5-2 and leaving Amalie Arena with a 2-0 lead in the series. As the game descended into chaos around him, Tyler Johnson continued to torture the Red Wings scoring 2 goals and pickinh up 2 assists. Through the first two games Detroit has yet to find a way to slow down Tyler and the Killer K's as Johnson, Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov have combined to score 15 points through the first two games.

The Red Wings literally can't keep Nikita out of the net. Photo by Mike Carlson Getty Images

However, the story of the game wasn't so much Johnson's performance, but the state of affairs between the two teams. It's not very cordial. Last year, the Lightning were frustrated by the way Detroit played hockey. They tried to continue to score pretty goals and were constantly taken aback by the borderline shiftiness that the Red Wings excel at. The after-the-whistle pushing and shoving, the borderline interference and obstruction, the elbows that got up a little higher than should be allowed.

This year the Lightning seem ready for it. Not only that, they are giving just as good as they get. They seemed inspired by the play of the Prodigal Son, Jonathan Drouin, who was just as surly in Game Two as he was in Game One. After getting bloodied by an elbow from Riley Sheahan midway through the second period, Drouin literally chased the young Red Wing around the ice trying to get him to fight. Sadly we were denied the opportunity of seeing how well the former number 3 overall pick could throw hands, but it was a prime example of how this team doesn't back down from anyone.

Drouin was involved in another example later in the game when he set Brian Boyle up for his goal (the only goal not scored by Tyler and the Killers so far this season). Boyle played pretty loose with the interference rules as he took Luke Glendening out of the play which freed up the puck to start Drouin on the offensive rush.

Hey, if Boyle hadn't shoved him, Glendening would never have even touched the puck!

I would like to see the Lightning win playing a hockey version of The Beautiful Game, but I would like to see them win the Stanley Cup more. In the playoffs you can get away with more than you would in the regular season and it looks like they are starting to realize that. They can still score goals with speed and talent (see Johnson's second goal where Kucherov blows by Alexey Marchenko and sets TJ up for the perfect one-timer) but they are now getting the ugly goals as well. Johnson scored the game winner by planting himself in front of three Red Wings and whacking at the puck while taking a shove in the back.

On defense they're doing the same thing. Detroit is getting time in the offensive zone, but they're having trouble getting shots through. When they do get a shot on net either Ben Bishop is soaking it up or whatever rebound is there is cleared by the Lightning. The Red Wings are frustrated, why else would former Lady Byng winner Brad Richards touch off a game-ending brawl with a viscous slash at Andrej Sustr's legs?

Things really escalated.  I think Brick killed a guy.  Photo by Scott Audette NHLI/Getty

There is a fine line between aggressive and reckless. So far the Lightning have toed it pretty well, but now that the line match-ups are going to favor the Red Wings they will have to be careful not to get caught out of position. Roughing and fighting penalties are one thing, but if they start picking up the hooking, holding and tripping penalties that indicate a player getting beat on a play then things could escalate in a bad way for them. At some point Detroit is going to start scoring with the man advantage.

The Lightning have done a great job of antagonizing the Red Wings through the first two games (speaking of antagonizing – props to the PA guy for playing “Separate Ways” during the official timeout after the brawl. That drove Detroit fans absolutely INSANE). Now that they have them on the ropes they have to make sure to finish them off. In tight, highly-charged series like this, giving the other team even a sense that they can come back could be disastrous.

The Hopeful Chase 3 Stars:

3 - Ryan Callahan – I know he didn't have a point, but he played 19 minutes of hard hockey. He was blocking shots and breaking up passes all night long. Also, you gotta get some credit when you dive on top of a scrum to pull players off.

Callahan has his "I'm gonna hit a rookie face" going. Photo by Scott Audette NHLI/Getty

2 - Ben Bishop – Another ho-hum 30 save game for Bish. While the Lightning dominated most of the game, the big netminder made saves when he needed to, including at the end of the first. He probably would have liked to have the Dylan Larkin goal back, but for the most part he has been the wall that the Lightning need him to be.

1 - Tyler Johnson - Two goals, two assists and another huge game for the Red Wing killer. I think it's safe to say there are no lingering effects from the hit he took in the last game of the season.

Did Matt Carle Get a Point?

He did! His clearing attempt was picked up by Alex Killorn and the Harvard Man slid it into the empty net. Maybe a cheap way to pick up a point, but it still counts. Carle was on the ice for almost 20 minutes (mainly because Victor Hedman couldn't stay out of the penalty box) and it shows Coach Cooper's growing trust in him that he was on the ice at the end of the game. If Anton Stralman comes back, Carle might not be the automatic scratch (I'm looking at you, Nikita Nesterov).

This Week Looms Large For The Lightning

Saying that a game is a “must win” when it doesn't involve a team being eliminated is a bit of an overstatement. Kind of like me telling myself that I “must” post something every day. It would be nice, but life goes on with a win or another day without a poorly-edited post about hockey cards. That being said, it would be really, really nice if the Lightning win all three of their next games.

With Saturday's 2-0 shutout of Max Domi's Coyotes the Lightning wrapped up the Western Conference portion of their schedule. From here on out it's all Eastern Conference opponents. Half of those opponents are in the playoff hunt. Ten games left, five are against teams that are currently in the playoffs (if the Devils get hot, then that number moves to 7 and makes the game on April 2^nd more important than my return to Amilie Arena).

The first three games are kind of important for the Lightning's playoff positioning (sadly I will be working during all of them – no witty Twitter remarks for you guys!). The Red Wings, Islanders and Panthers are all within four points of the Lightning. Tuesday's game against the Red Wings is the proverbial 4 point game. A win widens the gap to six points while a loss would narrow it to two and bump the Lightning closer to a wild card spot.

Detroit, like most of the Atlantic division, has been mostly treading water lately having gone 5-5 in their last 10 games. They are fighting for their playoff lives as the hard-charging Flyers are only a point behind them with a game in hand. They did the Lightning a favor in their last game by beating the Panthers 5-3 on the 19^th.

Tampa Bay has scuffled along over the past week on their four game road trip. They beat two teams they should have in Arizona and Columbus. They lost to one team they should have beat (Toronto) and lost a 50/50 game to Dallas. The Dallas game hurt a bit as the Lightning had a lead going into the third period and were unable to put them away. If they had been able to win in Dallas (or Toronto) they would be sitting in first place (ahead of Florida due to having fewer games played).

At this point the Lightning can't worry about points left behind they have to focus on the 20 points left available to them. It would be a decent time to put another win streak together to bump up their standings. At the very least, picking up the lion's share of points over the next week will vastly improve their chances of having more home games in April.

With the jumble that is the Atlantic Division it's still too early to figure out who is going to play who in the playoffs. Thinking about who would be the the “best” team to play is a bit foolish, best to focus on just clinching a spot at this point. The Lightning have actually been pretty even when it comes to wins on the road and at home. They have 21 wins at home and 20 on the road. Granted they have played three fewer games at home, but it's still a pretty even split.

There is one match-up that I don't want to see. The Lightning versus Boston with the Bruins having home-ice. Boston has been a house of horrors for the Lightning from the 2011 Eastern Conference (Game 7, 1-0 loss) to Steve Stamkos breaking his leg in 2013 to the 10-game regular season losing streak from 2010 to 2015. Boston has had a weird season in the sense that they have a losing record at home (16 wins in 37 games) but have dominated on the road picking up 23wins in 36 games. Still I don't want anything to do with a Game 7 in TD Garden. Stamkos is running out of bones to break in that building.

Another subplot to the end of the season will be how much Coach Cooper plays Ben Bishop. The Lightning have two sets of back-to-back games left. For most of the season Coach Cooper has alternated between Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy for back-to-back games with the youngster getting the start against the weaker of the two opponents (Vasy has not started against a playoff team since the 5-4 overtime win against the Penguins on January 15^th)

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However, that plan might be thrown out the window since all of the teams in the back-to-back games are in the playoffs. The coach might just ride Bishop in those consecutive games and let Vasilevskiy start against Toronto on the 28^th which would give Bishop a four-day rest between games. There is a fine line to play between burning out your MVP (make absolutely no mistake about him being the most important player to the team this year, it's not even close) and putting yourself in the best position to win the Stanley Cup.

Bishop is on pace to play between 62 and 64 games this season which has been his normal workload during his Lightning career.  Except for the occasional stick to the face it has been a healthy season for him (knock on wood, cross my fingers). That doesn't mean the coach should run him out there for every game left in the season. Tampa Bay would be flirting with disaster if they played him more than absolutely necessary. 

The Lightning only have to look back to 2014 to see what can happen. With four games to go in the season and playoff positioning pretty much decided, Bishop made a save and fell awkwardly injuring his elbow. He missed the rest of the season and the Lightning had to depend on Anders Lindback in their first round match-up against Montreal. It did not go well and Tampa was swept.

Oh 'Ders, you let in another playoff goal.

Granted, this season is a little different since there is much to be decided with only 10 games to go. The Lightning could pretty much finish in any spot from 2-8 (no one is catching the Caps for the number one spot) and could technically still miss the playoffs. So riding Bishop for the next week or so makes sense. But should the playoff picture crystallize and spots get locked in, it might not be a bad idea to have him sit out a game or two.

That's a worry for the future. For now Bishop and the Lightning need to focus on the next three games. While they can't clinch the Atlantic with three wins, they can make their lives a lot easier.

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Game 66: The One With The Ghost Bear

Game: 66

Opponent: Philadelphia

Score: 4-2 Loss

Thoughts:

When a team wins nine games in a row it's really hard to get upset over one loss. However, man did they get their asses kicked on Monday night. The final score is truly not indicative at how outplayed they were for 60 minutes. It was amazing that they had a shot to tie it at the end before Wayne Simmonds buried the empty netter with 30 seconds to go.

Andrei Vasilevskiy also saw his personal winning streak end, but there should be an asterisk by the loss. He was phenomenal in the game, especially in the second period when the Lightning were outshot 22-6. I did chuckle when the Lightning challenged Shane Gostisbehere's (a.ka. the Ghost Bear) goal at the 16:51 mark. The ref should have just announced the goal was good because when you're getting outshot 30-6 you don't get to challenge calls.

Why yes, he did get a penalty on this.  Photo credit to Bruce Bennet Getty Images

Despite the lopsided ice they were playing on, there were some good spots to point out. Well two. Vasilevskiy and Tyler Johnson. TJ picked up another two points to continue his late-season resurgence. That makes three of the last four games where he's scored more than one point. Having him at full strength keeps that second line strong and opens up the ice for Steven Stamkos and his line.

When the Lightning weren't getting outskated they still couldn't get the bounces.  Rebounds jumped over sticks, Flyer goalie Steve Mason would get just enough of a puck to deflect it wide.  Not to say that the Lightning weren't unlucky, they deserved to lose this game, it's just when you're on a winning streak sometimes you get outplayed and still manage to win.  This was not one of those games.

Other than that it was a bad game so there is no need to dwell on it. With Boston coming to town next the Lightning definitely need to put the game out of their mind and move on. Sometimes having back-to-back games isn't a bad thing. Despite winning 9 in a row, they only have a one-point lead over Boston and Florida. They do have a game in hand over the Bruins, but the race is still too close to take the foot off of the gas.

They did manage to gain some separation from the bottom of the pack (7 points over Detroit for 8^th and 11 over Philly for 9^th). At this point I'm not sure it matters for the Lightning. They do have a better record at home, but their road record isn't shabby at 18-13-2. I'd rather they have home ice for the playoffs, but I'm not sure it's going to matter where they play if they get to the conference finals.

Having conversations about playoff seeding is fun if just for the fact it delays talking about off-season issues. Especially since Mr. Vinik could use a few home playoff games to generate some more income. He's going to have a heck of a big check to write coming up.

Did Matt Carle Get a Point?

Nope. But he was a +2! He was on the ice for both of the Lightning goals! That's not bad. He picked up another 20 minute ice time game and saw almost 3 minutes of shorthanded time. He's played pretty well as an injury fill-in over the last two weeks. It'll be interesting to see what happens when Andrej Sustr comes back. Does Carle go back to the bench or will it be one of the young kids.

Some Thoughts on John Scott - All-star

Before you go any further – go read this post on the Players' Tribune. I'll wait.

OK. Now let me begin by saying that I voted for John Scott. Heck I probably voted for him six or seven times. I've made fun of John Scott for not being a very good hockey player. I've also made fun of him for having two first names. As everyone knows, you can't trust someone with two first names. After reading his post do I feel a little bad about it?

Maybe, for making fun of his hockey ability. After all I'm just a blogger who can barely tie his own skates let alone play hockey. He is among the top 1% of hockey players in the world, so saying he “sucks” or laughing along with other other people joking about his ability is wrong.

That being said, does he belong in the All-Star game? It all depends on what the All-Star game really means. If it's to bring together the best talent in the league to celebrate the best the game has to offer then no. If it's to have fun and show off the NHL to fans and casual observers, then why not have him there.

In fact, the NHL should mic him up while they're at it. Scott seems like an affable (and intelligent)guy who will play up the absurdity of the situation in a lighthearted manner. Heck, maybe he'll even goad one of his competitors into a “fight”. Or imagine Scott and Jaromir Jagr just hanging out along the boards together having a chat while their line mates play 2-on-2.

In other words there was a way for the NHL to embrace the result of the fan vote in. They've chosen to go in another direction. When it became apparent that fans (either a small cartel of really, really dedicated people or hockey fandom in general) didn't mind voting Scott in the league took some shady actions to try and sway the vote. They had Scott release a statement saying that he didn't “deserve” it. They buried the online voting page. Then they refused to release the standings as the contest drew to a close.

It seems like Scott was on-board with the league and probably would have declined the honor (which would have been interesting to see if the league would have then suspended him for not showing up – kind of like the folks in Flint, Michigan still getting water bills for water that is literally poisoning them) if they hadn't gone over the line:

“So when someone from the NHL calls me and says, “Do you think this is something your kids would be proud of?”

That's where they lost me....because while I may not deserve to be an NHL All-star, I know I deserve to be the judge of what my kids will – and won't – be proud of me for.”

To call him and ask that question is just so unbelievably out of line for a professional organization. I would bet a lot of money on the unidentified caller not having kids of his/her own. Because that questions doesn't insult John Scott the hockey player, it insults John Scott the father.

And it probably cost them the chance to have John Scott on their side. As his post points out, Scott is not a stupid man. He is also a proud man who has, like everyone else in the NHL, worked hard and sacrificed a lot to become a professional hockey player. Unlike some players, say the 3^rd overall pick in the 2013 entry draft, he wasn't blessed with exceptional skills.

He is extremely self-aware of who he is as a player, and has been so since he was in college and studied engineering so that when hockey didn't work out for him he could, in his own words, “[sit] in an office at GM back in sleepy Ontario, in my suit, and be happy as hell about it.”

If you read any of the book about NHL fighters or grinders, there is always the moment when they realize that their path to the top isn't paved with goals and assists, but with busted lips and broken knuckles. It's a choice they have to make, keep trying to score goals be out of hockey in 2 years or drop the gloves and maybe, just maybe keep the dream alive. What would any of us do in that situation?

The NHL does not come out great in this episode. They are the ones that made this into a bigger deal than it was. The players seem ok with it, heck they seem to roll with just about anything (see – Alex Ovechkin campaigning to be the last player drafted in last year's All-star draft). The fans get the kicks from poking the bear and seeing John Scott playing 3-on-3 hockey.

If the league had embraced this earlier then it's a non-issue. But then again that wouldn't be the NHL. This is the same league that thinks it's fans don't care about salaries or advanced stats. So why not taking control of the narrative from the start and lauding this as the fans recognizing the hard-working, gritty third-liner?

God knows if the league had anything to do with Arizona first placing Scott on waivers a week before the All-star break or the subsequent trade to Montreal. That's delving pretty far into the conspiracy side of things. There would be more fuel to the fire if the league was still running the franchise, but to think that they stepped in and forced a team to make a trade is pretty out there.

While saying that the league dictating trades to spite a fan-led on-line initiative ventures into Illuminati territory I'm surprised some PR whiz for the league didn't realize that trade would make a bad situation look worse? They could have told both sides to hold off until after All-star weekend. I'm pretty sure Jarred Tinordi would have still been available next week.

While I think the league carries much of the blame for this fiasco, the fans share some responsibility as well.

Can we, as hockey fans on the internet, agree that we've achieved our goal? From the original “Vote for Rory” campaign to the entire nation of Latvia voting for Zemgus Girgensons we've pretty much achieved peak trolling by getting John Scott into the all-star game. So let's just stop. If there is a fan vote next year, go back to voting for deserving players or your favorite player. After all, any internet-based campaign is pretty much going to pale in comparison to John Scott - All-star.

Sean McIndoe (aka DownGoesBrown) touched on this point a few weeks ago. He pointed out that this campaign felt a little different then the ones in the past because the fans went out of the way to identify Scott as the player most ill-equipped to be in this All-star game. In doing so it isn't the lighthearted, all in good fun write-in campaigns that we've seen in the past.

So we as fans should take it to heed when he mentions that he “busted his ass” to be one of the best players in the game of hockey. And that while we're treating his selection, and by default his career, as a joke – he has earned the right to be there.

In the end, this will be forgotten by 99% of the sports world. It'll be a footnote in the history of the All-Star game, kind of like the year that they switched formats to North America vs. The World. The season-in-review posts will mention it somewhere between the NHL announcing expansion to Las Vegas and the Steven Stamkos free agent hysteria. At least that's what the league hopes.

Game 37: The One With All of the Challanges

Game: 37

Opponent: Montreal

Score: 3-4 (SO)

Thoughts:

Well that was a bit of a flashback. Let's see:

The Lightning outplayed Montreal for most of the game, but lost.

There was a questionable goaltender interference situation.

Dale Weise was predominantly involved.

Are we sure this wasn't a replay of a game from the 2014 playoffs?

The Lightning played pretty well on Monday night, but blew a 3^rd period lead to the reeling Montreal Canadiens in a shoot-out loss to Atlantic Division leaders (well they were after the game). It was a fun game to watch as the Lightning fired 39 shots at the Habs and their back-up goalie Mike Condon.

Condon, looking like a weird hybrid of Dominick Hasek and Patrick Roy, turned aside 36 of the shots to pick up his first win since December 1^st. For the team overall it was their first win since December 12^th, a span of six games without a win. While the Lightning are fighting for a playoff spot, the Canadiens are trying to right a sinking ship to stay atop the Atlantic Division.

The game itself was interesting as both teams fought back from deficits, there were two disputed goals and there was 3-on-3 overtime which is almost always fun. Early on it did feel like this was going to be one of those games that the Lightning played well, but ended up losing 2-1, like they have roughly 45 times already this year.

Tomas Plekanec and his magic turtleneck got the scoring started as he tapped the puck past Ben Bishop off of a nice feed from PK Subban. Speaking of Subban, can we all agree that it's time to stop not-liking him? He is a joy to watch on the ice, does nice things off the ice and actually has a personality. Sure he showboats a little bit, but doesn't the NHL need more players like that? God love Sidney Crosby, but he's boring as shit.

Down 1-0 in the second period the Lightning picked up a goal on the power play. I'd like to say that MY BOY NIKITA KUCHEROV scored a power play goal, but it was more along the lines of he tried to pass the puck to Steven Stamkos and Condon kicked it into his own net. Doesn't matter – he scored, tied game.

Five minutes later Alex Galchenyuk falls down, gets up, finds the puck on his stick and slings it past Bishop. The Lightning are down 2-1 halfway through the game and that creepy feeling started settling in as Condon kept making saves, leaving juicy rebounds, making more saves and watching pucks hop over Lightning player sticks.

Then the third period rolled around and things got a little wacky. Instead of bombing his shot from the blueline as he normally does, Jason Garrison skated in with the puck, shot it, followed up his rebound and scored on a wrap around, finding some open space under Condon's pads. It was pretty.

Ryan Callahan found himself open after Valteri Filppula's pass missed Cedric Paquette in front of the net. Callahan buried it into the empty net and scored his first goal since Luke Skywalker was rumored to be Kylo Ren. Montreal was so surprised that Callahan scored a goal that they had to challenge it. Paquette got his stick tangled up with Condon a bit, but the refs got together to say that it wasn't interference. Whatever. I'll take it. Lightning up 3-2.

See his stick touched his stick and then it was in the goal.

Turns about fair play. Less than two minutes later Dale “F'n” Weise is along in front of the net and fires it at Bishop. KICK SAVE AND A BEAUTY! Or was it? Review time. The refs conclude that the puck crossed the line before Bishop flashed the left pad out.

Wait, wait, wait says Coach Cooper. While the puck was in, Weise ran into Bishop on his way out from behind the net. Let me challenge it! I'm a lawyer! Review number two. Refs look at the NHL approved iPad and say..... good goal!

Sorry about the arrow in the way, but you can see the contact there.  You can also see Weise get inside position on Stralman.

Now look, I'm sure there are Lightning fans out there that were very upset this was called a goal. Weise obviously bumps Bishop on his way through the crease, but..... Bishop kind of brings this on himself (as he is wont to do). Whenever the play is behind the net he likes to swing his stick on the ice to break up any passes, it's good, but it also leaves him in the position of getting it stuck on a players skate.

Weise comes through tangles with the stick, bumps Bishop and gets set for the puck. Bishop, rocks back, but also looks to his right (no puck there) before snapping his head back around to find the play. In that split second the puck is on and off of Weise's stick and into the goal. I say it's a good goal.

Not much happened in the overtime, Anton Stralman got a good chance that was denied. In the shootout, Valterri Filppula scored, but no one else on the Lightning did. Brian Flynn (who) and Max Pacioretty score for the Canadiens and they get the win and the extra point.

The Lightning have to settle for one point and the fact that they gained a bit of ground in the extremely crowded Atlantic division. With the season almost halfway over they need every point they can pick up.

Did Matt Carle Score a Point:

No. Mr. Carle was a healthy scratch as Coach Cooper went with six defensemen. With all of the forwards coming back, he might keep that strategy going for the foreseeable future, which leaves Carle as the odd man out.

Toe in the crease! Wait, what? That's ok now?  Damn. Guess it was a good goal. (photo by Scott Audette NHLI/Getty)

West Coast Recap

Games 26,27,28

The West Coast trip is over.  I managed to watch one-and-a-half games. It figures the one week where they are playing games I can actually watch I have to get up at 5:30 am.  Somehow I totally missed the San Jose game and to this point the only highlight I’ve seen is Ben Bishop getting clipped in the face with a stick.  At this point, I literally don’t know if they won or lost.  I think they won, but I’m not sure (ed note - They won).  If they did win, then they took 4 out of 6 points on the trip, which is pretty good.

As we inch to the 30 games played point, we’re pretty much sure what kind of team the 2015-16 Tampa Bay Lightning is going to be. And that team is……injured.  No.  Inconsistent.  Yeah, that was the word I was looking for.  Let’s face it, the way they are playing they are, at best., a fringe playoff team.  Instead of fighting for a seat at the head of the table they are battling to get invited to the dinner in the first place.

They’re at a point where they just can’t seem to get out of their own way long enough to keep any momentum going.  For instance, they win their first two games out west (I’m pretty sure) and then lay an absolute egg in Los Angeles.  Win a couple in a  row at home and then get trounced by Washington on the road.  You get the picture.

I can throw out a bunch of valid reasons why they’re struggling:

- Injuries to top offensive producers
- Stanley Cup Final hangover
- Lingering contract situation for a certain team captain
- The continued employment of a gentleman by the name of Matt Carle
- Everybody hates Jon Cooper
- They cling to an offensive strategy that other teams have figured out how to stop
- Brenden Morrow was the lynchpin to the offense

In the end the why doesn’t really matter.  It just matters that they are.  And I do use the term struggle in a relative sense of the word. They are not the worst team in the league. They are not the worst team in franchise history. I would venture to say they’re not even the worst team in their own state.

Are they worse than last year’s team?  I would say no considering it is pretty much the same exact team that skated all the way to the finals last year.  At least they will be when Ondrej Palat returns to the team. What they aren’t getting are all of breaks they did last year.

As fans/critics of hockey we can try to quantify everything that happens on the ice.  Even luck. PDO is a good stat.  Take your team’s shooting percentage and your goalies save percentage and add them up. If you’re way over 100 you’re probably living with a horseshoe up your ass.  If you’re below 100 then someone has voodoo cursed your team.

The last time I checked the Lightning were above 100 (currently at 101.7).  They were pretty much in line with where they rolled for most of last year (101).  Of course, the two components are a little different.  Last year they were shooting at a higher percent while this year Ben Bishop has been stopping a higher percentage of pucks fired in his direction.

What the number doesn’t measure are the tiny moments of the game, the inch here or there, the split second of timing that leads to a goal or a missed opportunity.  Now perception is not necessarily reality, but how many two-on-ones have been broken up this year?  How many times has a pass been a couple of inches ahead or behind of a stick?   For the love of God, how many shots have nicked off the knob of the opposing goalie’s stick?

Last season all of the passes seemed to connect and all of the decisions the players made seemed to work out.  The only thing that seems to have carried over is the fact that the power play still sucks. Of all of things that could carry over why would it have to be that?

They are playing better defense, so I’ll give them that. It seems like they haven’t broken themselves out of the playoff hockey mode that they spent most of the spring in.  Be smart with the puck, protect your zone and limit offensive chances for the other team.  That’s a pretty good model of success in the playoffs, but for an 81-game grind it’s a hard way to play.  The one thing about playoff hockey is that for it to be ultimately successful you actually have to make the playoffs.  Maybe the Bolts would be better off if they opened things up a bit, get back to the run-and-gun style that benefited them the last two seasons.  I’m not sure I can take another 1-0 game.

Game 6 - Bishop Bails out Lightning against Buffalo

Game: 6

Opponent: Buffalo

Did I watch Live?: Nope

Why Not?: Cubs playoff/Date with the Duchess

Did I watch on replay?: Yup

Three Stars: 3. Ramus Ristolainen 2. Alex Killorn 1. Ben Bishop

Worst Play: The entire first period

Thoughts:

The biggest question coming into the game involved how the Lightning would play with two of their defensemen on the sidelines. Victor Hedman (skull bounced off the glass) is the heart and soul of the defense while Nikita Nesterov (suspended) is proving to be an offensive spark. Luckily for Tampa Bay, their replacements (Slater Koekkoek and Andrej Sustr) played pretty well. And when they didn't they had Ben Bishop to bail them out.

Bishop bounced back from two straight losses with his strongest outing of the season. Unlike in Dallas, the rebounds were limited and the ones that he did allow didn't drift out into dangerous areas. The Lightning needed him to be on his game as they were outplayed for all of the first period and portions of the third by the Sabres. Despite the lackluster/uninterested/lackadaisical/uninspired play the Lightning managed to pull of the 2-1 win with goals by Vlad Namestnikov and Alex Killorn (on the power play!).

Along with the strong play by Bishop, the special teams were actually one of the areas the Lightning were successful. They didn't score until their fourth power play, but at least the first three didn't kill the little momentum they had built up during the game. On the other side, whatever tweaks they made to the penalty kill paid off as they kept Buffalo off of the scoreboard while they had the man advantage.

With the win, Bishop surpasses Nikolai Khabibulin as the goaltender with the most wins in franchise history with 84.  I guess that makes Bishop the best goalie in Tampa history, right?  Or the goalie that's had the best teammates?  Whatever it means, congratulations to Big Ben.

While the defense was the question going into the game, after the game, the offense was the story coming out. After watching his team generate just 3 shots in the first period and score their only goal on a breakaway in the second, Coach Cooper through his player's name in the blender and mixed up the lines. The third period saw Stamkos skating with Valterri Filppula and Ondrej Palat while Alex Killorn moved up to a line with Tyler Johnson and Ryan Callahan. The third Triplet, Nikita Kucherov found himself paired with Vlad Namestnikov and Cedric Paquette.

Noticeably absent from those line combinations was Johnathan Drouin. The second year winger did not enjoy his best game of the season. He looked a little tired and out of step for most of the game committing several turnovers and taking a bad penalty in the second period. Perhaps a little time on the bench will be a wake up call for him.

The Lightning have a few days off before staring a road trip that takes them through the Central Division with games against Nashville, Winnipeg, Chicago and St. Louis. This will not be an easy trip as three of the four teams sport winning records and the one that doesn't is the defending Stanley Cup Champions. The Lightning cannot afford to play the 40 minute hockey games that they have been prone to through the first two weeks of the season.

Jo or Johnny:

The Flames are starting to actually play games so Gaudreau's games played are starting to catch up. Unfortunately he's not scoring as he's been shut out the last two times on the ice. Through five he has 5 points (1 goal and 4 assists). Jonathan Drouin saw his 3-game point streak snapped as he logged only 12 minutes of ice time – his lowest total of the season. He still leads Gaudreau by one point (1 goal and 5 assists).

Game 5 - Stamkos Scores Twice, But Stars Score More

Game: 5

Opponent: Dallas

Did I watch Live?: Nope

Why Not?: Work

Did I watch on replay?: Yup

Three Stars: 3. Brian Boyle 2. Jonathan Drouin 1. Jason Spezza

Worst Play:

Fifteen minutes into the second period and the Lightning were looking pretty good. They were in a stretch were they were dominating play and racking up shots. Victor Hedman had the puck along the boards and looked down for a few seconds before making his pass. It was just long enough for Jamie Benn to put his shoulder into Hedman's chest. Unfortunately that led to the big Swede's head snapping into the glass. He did not return.

Thoughts:

It's weird. When you see a team give up five goals you think they had a bad game. I won't say that Thursday night's 5-3 loss to the Stars was a great game, but the Lightning didn't play horribly. They got off to a great start with Steven Stamkos scoring two minutes into the game and Tyler Johnson ringing one off the post a few minutes later. Throughout most of the game they dictated play at even strength.

However, their special teams let them down again. They had two power plays and weren't able to get a shot off on either one of them. Heck on the second power play they didn't even get in position to attempt a shot. The good news on the penalty kill is that they actually spent two minutes shorthanded without giving up a goal. Unfortunately they were trying to kill a five-minute major and the Stars scored about halfway through it.

Ben Bishop didn't have his strongest game in net. For the first time all season he seemed to be fighting the puck and leaving rebounds around his net. On the other end Kari Lehtonen came through when his team needed him most – stopping all fifteen shots the Lightning threw at him in the second period. He let in a couple of soft ones in the third that allowed Tampa to get back into the game, but came up with a game-saving stop on Ryan Callahan right at the goal line.

If Hedman is out of any significant time it will be interesting to see what the organization does. Do they roll with Andrej Sustr and Nikita Nesterov in the line up or do they make their first call up from Syracuse?

Speaking of Nesterov – I have no problem with the refs giving him the boot in the game. Yes McKenzie was turning as Nesterov approached him, but even if he wasn't, it would have been a dangerous his along the boards. Brian Boyle picked up the third star with his strong play as an emergency defenseman for a period and a half. I'm sure you'll see some Boyle > Sustr comments on Twitter over the next few days.

The Lightning have dropped their last two games to potential playoff bound teams. Not quite a long enough stretch to panic, but they do need to make a good showing against Nashville next Tuesday. The good news is that the team has a pretty light schedule over the next week (Buffalo on Saturday, Nashville and then the Jets on Friday). Hopefully that will give their walking wounded a chance to heal up a bit and some practice time to fix whatever is broken on the penalty kill.

Jo or Johnny:

Johnathan Drouin had a heck of a game against Dallas. He set up both of Stamkos' goals and was a force in the offensive zone all night long. He is really gaining confidence on the ice. The two helpers put him at a team-leading 6 points (1 goal and 5 assists). Meanwhile in Alberta, Johnny Hockey has still only played 3 games so he still sits at 5 points (1 goal and 4 assists).

Game 1 Recap - Mr. Garrison - Overtime Hero

A new feature for The Hopeful Chase where I will offer my thoughts on all 82 regular season games. I am attempting to watch all of the games either live or the next day.  We'll see how it turns out.

Game: 1

Opponent: Philadelphia Flyers

Result: 3-2 win (OT)

Did I watch Live?: Why yes I did!

Three Stars: 3. Jonathan Drouin 2. Ben Bishop 1. Jason Garrison

Worst Player: Andrej Sustr

Thoughts:

Pretty sure the main talking point of this game is going to be the overtime. After a rather sluggish 60 minutes of regulation time left the game knotted at 2, the Lightning and the Flyers engaged in the first 3 on 3 overtime in regular season history. And that shit was bananas! Up and down the ice, breakaways, dynamite saves, penalty shots and pretty much chaos – all in under two-and-a-half minutes.

In the end it wasn't one of The Triplets or Steven Stamkos that won the game in overtime, it was Jason Garrison. On a breakaway. A breakaway that was set up nicely by Valteri Filppula's soccer-style skate pass and juuuust a bit of interference by Alex Killorn that allowed Garrison to get clear.

There was a lot of positive to take out of the game along with the outcome. Ben Bishop looked solid (it's always nice when it doesn't take your goalie 10 seconds to stand up after a save). The Drouin/Stamkos/Callahan line was productive. Brian Boyle's crash line brought a lot of energy to the game. I thought, despite not getting on the scoreboard JT Brown looked pretty good.

The Triplets themselves were ok. Perhaps we've become used to them always connecting on passes so on a night where several attempts went wayward it just looked weird. That being said, they did have their chances. They were a bit unlucky that the Philadelphia goaltender, Steve Mason, saved his best for them.

As for Mr. Sustr, he didn't have a horrible game, but there were times on the ice where he was noticeably caught out of position or between actions. I try and remind myself that he is only 24 and only has a 138 games of professional experience total. However, I really wonder how long his leash will be this year with Nikita Nesterov on the roster and Slater Koekkoek just a phone call away.

Overall, they were a bit sloppy in the first half of the game, but really started to come together as the night progressed. The “W”is in the books and it's onward to Buffalo Saturday night.

Jo or Johnny: Through one game – Drouin leads 2 points to 1.

Five Questions I Made Up About the 2015-16 Tampa Bay Lightning

Here it is, mere hours before the puck is dropped on the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2015-16 season, and I haven't written a proper season preview. Well guess what, I'm still not going to write a “proper” preview, because there are plenty already out there for you to read. Besides, I'm horrible at predictions. Let's say the Lightning are going to finish somewhere in the top 8 in the Eastern Conference and they will be eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.

Now that we got that out of the way, he is what I'm going to give to you, my loyal readers. A bunch of questions that I am literally thinking up as I'm typing. See you don't have to do outlines or actually think of layout and all of that stuff to be a writer. Just make it up as you go along. Let's get started:

Will a member of the Lightning win a major award?

Not bloody likely. I think Victor Hedman (Norris) and Steven Stamkos (Rocket Richard) have the best shots, but I wouldn't lay money on either one of them. Hedman is always going to be an underdog as long as Duncan Keith (traditional defenseman) is playing 45 minutes a game and Erik Karlson (high-scoring defenseman) is leading Ottawa in scoring. Also, Hedman (did you know Olof is one of his middle names?) has that annoying habit of getting hurt just as he's starting to find he groove. I do think he will win one in the future (after all he's only 24 years old).

Speaking of people still in their mid-20s, Steven Stamkos is in a contract year. Not sure if you've heard about that or not. Superstar players in their contract years have a tendency of producing, at least they did before teams got into the annoying habit of signing their stars to long term deals well before they had a chance to test the free agent market.

Stamkos scored 43 goals last season. In every season that's he's played 82 games he's scored at least 40 goals with the 60 he scored in 2011-12 being his high water mark. Based on what we've seen in the pre-season it looks like he will have to adjust to a new linemate. Luckily that linemate seems to be pretty talented at passing the puck. Having fully recovered from the broken leg suffered a few seasons ago in Boston, look for the former Sarnia Sting forward to challenge the 50 goal mark this season.

With no rookies starting the season on the active roster, it appears Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel don't have to worry about anyone from Tampa challenging them for the Calder.

Will Jonathan Drouin score more points than Johnny Gaudreau?

Remember that talented linemate for Stamkos that I just mentioned. His name is Jonathan (call him Jo) Drouin. Drouin spent most of last season mired on Brian Boyle's line as he learned the boring art of two-way hockey. Even though most of his13 minutes spent on the ice every game was spent not being amazing he managed to rack up a respectable 32 points.

This season it looks like he's going to get the chance to skate with Stamkos and either Alex Killorn (15 goals) or Ryan Callahan (24 goals). That is going to give him a tremendous opportunity to pile up the points, defense be damned. Well, ok, not damned. Because if that happens he's back on the bench, Coach Cooper does demand a bit of responsibility on the ice. Still, if there was an award for best 2^nd year player I'd lay my money on Drouin.

He's already made a lot of the “breakout stars” lists that have been floating around the internet. Which is much better to read than, “Are the Lightning going to trade Drouin?” Whatever was the fatal flaw that kept him out of playoff games last season seems to have been corrected based on his playing time so far in the pre-season. Of course, Coach Cooper could have just been messing with us and Drouin will start game one with Boyle and Erik Condra (per Erik Erlendsson Drouin was skating with Stamkos and Callahan). Which would still be an improvement over Boyle and the skating corpse of Brenden Morrow.

By the way, when I started typing this question I really thought Gaudreau or Filip Forsberg won the Calder trophy last year. Totally forgot that it was Aaron Ekblad. As for “Johnny Hockey” I think he's primed for a bit of regression as the league gets wise to Calgary this season.

Will Kevin Poulin get more wins in a Lightning uniform than Evgeni Nabokov?

Sweet Jesus I hope not. Nabokov, signed as a veteran influence and back up goalie, appeared in 11 games and won 3 of them before being put on waivers and traded for future considerations to San Jose in February. Part of the reason he was let go was because it was obvious he just couldn't cut it as a NHL goalie at that stage in his life. Also, there was a young prospect by the name of Andrei Vasilevskiy waiting in the wings.

Vasya proved that he could hold down the net on a part time basis over the second half of the year. So I'm sure it was with great relief that General Manager Steve Yzerman started the off-season without having to look through the bargain bin sales for a back-up goalie. Unfortunately in August, Vasilevskiy's blood cells got too chummy with each other and he had to have surgery to remove blood clots in his shoulder. That procedure has him sidelined until at least early November.

Mr. Yzerman went into scramble mode and signed Ray Emery to a camp tryout, where he didn't actually play that bad from what I read. However, instead of signing the veteran, Mr. Yzerman cut him and traded for Poulin. Now the former New York Islander (who once beat the Lightning 2-1 in a shootout back in 2014) will back up Ben Bishop as the season gets under way.

Bishop is a bit of a workhorse having played in 63 and 62 games in each of the two seasons he's been the starter for the Lightning. The Lightning do have two back-to-back games schedule in October (12^th and 13^th and 23^rd and 24^th) so look for Poulin to have at least two starts this month. Should Vasya continue to heal in an appropriate manner, the most starts I could see Poulin getting would be 4-5.

Of course, this is assuming Bishop stays healthy. The big netminder (who is only 4 wins away from taking over the all-time franchise lead) suffered through an injury during the Stanley Cup Finals last spring. If he were to re-injure his groin, or suffer a new malady, things could go off the rails quickly for the Lightning. If that were to happen, Poulin would probably split time with Kristers Gudlevskis until Vasilevskiy is healthy.

Will anyone other than Bishop take over the all-time franchise lead in any major stat category?

There is a decent chance that at the end of the season Bishop will be able to lay claim to the title of Greatest Goalie in Lightning history as he has a shot at the wins, shut-outs, goals against and save percentage categories. On the offensive side, it looks like Vincent Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis are safe.

Stamkos trails Lecavalier by 107 goals and 455 points so I don't think he's nicking those leads anytime soon. A strong season on the power play may get him on top of that chart as he only trails Vinny by 8 power play goals.

Will The Triplets spend the entire season together as a line?

The knee-jerk reactions to this is, “Of course not. Are you high?” Let me tell you that I am not under the influence of anything stronger than beer (my one and only Southern Tier Pumking of the year. I tend to like the Christmasy beers more than the pumpkin beers).

In all likelihood Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and MY BOY NIKITA KUCHEROV! will stay together as much as possible for the season. However, should the offense struggle at any point during the season I wouldn't be surprised to see Coach Cooper shuffle things around. With Drouin looking to take on a bigger role with the offense that drops some very talented people down to the “third” line.

Per Erik Erlendsson Alex Killorn is skating with Valteri Filppula and newcomer Erik Condra in the pre-game rushes for Thursday. Killorn spent most of last season on Stamkos' line and Filppula has the talent to skate on the top two lines as well. That's a lot of pieces to shuffle around.

Should something stagnate or MBNK doesn't score on 15% of his shots, would Coach Cooper be tempted to try Drouin with Johnson or Filppula with Palat to shake things up? Long time Lightning fans might remember the endless flip-flopping of St. Louis between Lecavalier's line and Brad Richards line or between Lecavalier and Stamkos despite the success Lecavalier had with Marty.

And let's not forget to factor in the injury situation. Tyler Johnson played a good portion of the Finals with a broken wrist. While he claims to be 100% ready to go, wrist injuries (along with back and foot) tend to linger a bit longer. Again for an example see Vincent Lecavalier. If he is bothered by the wrist and needs to miss anytime then does Coach Cooper blow the whole line up or just slot Filppula or Vlad Namestnikov* into his place?

So, there are five things I'll be watching over the next six months. Who knows, at the end of the season I might even come back and revisit some of these questions to see what actually happened.

Other predictions:

I think Montreal win the Eastern Conference and loses to Anaheim in the Finals.

Conner McDavid wins the Calder and keeps Edmonton in contention for a playoff spot until late in the season.

Phil Kessel scores 35 goals, finds chemistry with Evgeni Malkin forcing the Penguins to find yet another winger for Sidney Crosby. At the deadline they trade their first round pick to Arizona for Shane Doan.

Buffalo and Florida fight for the 8^th spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs with Buffalo edging out the Panthers on the last day of the season.

Patrick Kane settles out of court and is eventually suspended for 4 games for unspecified conduct that is “detrimental to the team/league”. The Hawks make it to the Western Conference finals.

Las Vegas is awarded an NHL franchise. It is announced at the Winter Classic. The Panthers, despite their success, are bought by Quebecor and moved to Quebec.

Some friends' predictions:

Link -

Washington beats Chicago in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Pittsburgh, Nashville and St. Louis all miss the playoffs (for a Penguins fan he never thinks they're good – and that includes the year they won the Stanley Cup)

P.K. Subban wins the Norris and Ryan Johanssen is league MVP.

Superstar Sean –

Hawks will be better than people think (he's having trouble focusing on hockey with the Cubs still in the playoffs. If he survives the postseason we may check back with him)

Scotty -

Ducks vs. Penguins in Stanley Cup Finals. He is also living the Cubs dream.

Anyone else care to make some predictions?

* One of the most annoying things about typing on a new computer is that all of the spellings of names that I have saved to the dictionary have disappeared. Less Russians and more John Smiths please Mr. Yzerman.

Tampa Bay's Mount Forgetmore (Repost from Raw Charge)

This post originally appeared on Raw Charge. I'm reposting it here because I'm battling with another post that I can't quite finish (also a rogue keyboard) and want to keep the site somewhat active. Hey at least I added pictures!

It’s no questions that August is the slowest of months in the hockey world. With weeks left until training camps open there isn’t much news being generated of interest other than the occasional veteran signing a tryout contract with a team (Hi Sergei Gonchar!). So hockey websites have time to put lists together. It’s the time of year where Best Left Wingers in Franchise History is a popular subject.

Every few years some sites like to throw a "Mount Rushmore" type of list together. The four players or people that are the best for each organization. Raw Charge has yet to succumb to the temptations, mainly because we love all of the players equally. That hasn’t stopped some outsiders and insiders to compose their own.

John Buccigross posted the most recent example with an article a few weeks ago on ESPN updating his original 2009 "Mount Rushmore" of each team. His criteria for picking the best four players to represent each franchise: " a combination of impact, love and production, determined by both sides the brain, some research and some feel. It’s not all about the numbers." In 2009 his players were: Dave Andreychuck, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis. The recent update replaced Andreychuck with Steven Stamkos.

A year after Buccigross’ original column, Puck Daddy spent the summer having team bloggers create a "Mount Puckmore" for each team. Jon Jordon listed Lecavalier, St. Louis, Andreychuck and Phil Esposito. Puck Daddy allowed for the spots to be taken up by, "players, coached and executives" thus allowing the Esposito inclusion.

There’s not much to argue with either list. Despite the way he left, St. Louis deserves a spot on the mountain. Lecavalier was the first "superstar" and is at the top or near on most statistical categories. Richards Stanley Cup run in 2004 was one for the ages and Andreychuck brought a Cup and respect to the team. Without Esposito there is no hockey in Tampa.

So I’m not going to even try to compete with them, plus remember I love all players equally. Instead I’m going to present the Tampa Bay Lightning Mount Rushmore of Guys You Forgot Played for the Lightning.

Yes, it’s a bit of an awkward title and for that I apologize. My criteria was pretty basic. Scrolling through the all-time roster of players I chose the four names that made me think, "Oh yeah! He did play for the Lightning!". For the most part I didn’t include players that were part of the original expansion draft or players that were paper transactions only (sorry Niklas Sundstrum). They had to be recognizable names, but, and this is the catch, when most hockey fans thought of them they pictured them in another team’s jersey.

Wendel Clark

Without a doubt he is the George Washington of the mountain. A most-beloved former number one pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Clark played 65 games with the 1998-99 Tampa Bay Lightning. He was one of the few bright sports (another being a young rookie from Ile Bizard named Vincent Lecavalier) on a dismal team that only won 19 games. Before being traded to Detroit at the deadline, Clark notched 28 goals and 14 assists. His 42 points ended up being good for second best on the team behind Darcy Tucker’s 43.

Behold the greatest Lightning card of the Late 90s. The hair, the uniform, the mustache.

Notable memories include: never seeing him smile, the receding hairline/Fu Manchu look and being the lone Lightning representative in the 1999 All-Star game in Tampa (he had one assist).

Stephane Richer

Totally forgot he was an assistant captain till I scanned this card.

Richer was a prolific scorer in the late 80s and early 90s. As a Montreal Canadien he twice scored 50 goals in a season. He ended his career with an impressive 421 goals overall. For the Lightning he played parts of three seasons from 1998 to 2000 and scored 28 goals in in 110 games (which ties him for 38th all time with…..Wendel Clark). He was also the second Stephane Richer to play for the team.

Notable memories include: He was absolutely brutal on breakaways; he fancies expensive suits, loafers and no socks and he was The UNDERTAKER in an existentially hilarious Lightning ad campaign because he "buries goals".

Olaf Kolzig

Kolzig was my favorite goalie during the early years of my hockey fandom. Heck, he might still be my favorite goalie of all time. Awesome name, awesome nickname (Godzilla) and he was pretty damn good. So I was excited to see him come to Tampa as a free agent in the summer of 2008. Sure, Mike Smith was the starter, but in my heart I thought that Olie the Goalie has a shot of rekindling some of the old magic and taking the team to the playoffs. It didn’t happen. Kolzig appeared in 8 games and posted a 2-4-1 record before a ruptured bicep ended his season.

Notable Memories for me: The visceral shock of seeing him in a Lightning uniform and without a beard. Being involved in the most blatant salary dump trade of all time. On March 4th, 2009 he was, while still injured, traded to Toronto along with severely concussed Jamie Heward, prospect Andy Rogers who was dealing with an injured back and a 4th round pick for middling prospect Richard Petiot. So, if you think salary cap circumventing deals like Marc Savard to the Panthers is something new - it’s not.

Gary Roberts

The summer of 2008 was really weird for Lightning fans. The team, with Those Who Shall Not Be Named running the team, were wheeling and dealing throughout the summer. Gone were Marc Denis, Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich. The team also traded picks for pending free agents Ryan Malone, Brian Rolstron and Gary Roberts.

Malone got the big money, signing a 7-year deal worth over $31 million. Rolston ended up signing with Devils. Roberts fell somewhere in the middle. He signed a one-year deal with the Lightning. I honestly have no recollection of Gary Roberts playing for the Lightning. The stats say he suited up for 30 games and recorded 4 goals and 3 assists for that debacle of a team before being placed on waivers. There are pictures of him in a Lightning uniform as well so it must be true.

Notable memories - none.

See. He was a member of the Lightning. Unless Upper Deck photoshopped this card.

One good thing did come out of his brief time with the Lightning. After his rookie season, Steven Stamkos decided to train with Roberts in the off-season. The next season young Stamkos would score 51 goals. Fans would also be treated to you tube videos of Stamkos doing things like this:

Overall a pretty impressive group of individuals with numerous all-star appearances, Stanley Cup rings and memorable moments in the NHL. Sadly, not too many of them with the Lightning.

Honorable Mentions: Bill Ranford, Benoit Hogue, Craig Janney, Brian Holzinger, Mark Fitzpatrick, Evgeni Nabokov.