Photo illustration RON BORRESEN | Times
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Sunday, October 8, 2023 | Tampa Bay Times
CONTENT
TAMPA BAY
3
The full 82-game schedule, with the season opener at Amalie Arena on Tuesday.
4
If you want to know the real rival that the Lightning have to conquer, look at the salary cap.
6
The Lightning have gotten used to being in Cup finals. How they plan to get back into the hunt.
9
Can these five players bring a little more juice to the ice in this pivotal season?
10
A closer look at Andrei Vasilevskiy’s injury, recovery and prognosis.
LIGHTNING
DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Fans fill Amalie Arena during the first-round series against Toronto in April. Expect another playoff run this season.
Don t count out the Bolts ’
How will the team hold up without its star goalie? Is this finally Cirelli’s year to gain national notice? Which fresh face will make an impact?
THE LIGHTNING MIGHT HAVE US RIGHT WHERE THEY WANT US,
Slow down. The Lightning aren’t done yet. The success that the team had over the past decade was largely done in the shadows. The Lightning aren’t a Canadian team. They don’t play in a huge hockey market. They go largely ignored nationally — their greatness often questioned — until the eve of the postseason when those who speak loudest suddenly notice Tampa Bay exists on a map. Here, where we watch the Lightning every game, we know better. Which leads us to three predictions about the 2023-24 Lightning, who are probably better than even local diehards think.
first 13 games come against division foes. After that the Lightning have just one game (a Nov. 20 home game against Boston) against an Atlantic Division opponent over their next 16 matchups. Also, just 13 of the Lightning’s first 30 games are against teams that made the playoffs last season. That suggests an easier path to munching points early, but one thing’s for sure: They will have to play better on the road than last season; from the beginning of November into mid-December, 15 of 23 games are away from Amalie Arena. Whether Jonas Johansson or Matt Tomkins carries the load or the Lightning end up seeking an external option, the team’s early-season success is less about who is in net and more about how the Lightning play in front of the goalie. They leaned on Vasilevskiy to bail them out many times and that ends now. They made some defensive system changes they believe will help, and history says they can thrive.
12
Five questions with Brandon Hagel, who picked up a long-term extension.
with pundits predicting their downfall, setting Tampa Bay up to prove everyone wrong again on the way to another deep playoff chase of the Stanley Cup. EDUARDO Yes, last season’s first-round playoff exit was disappoint- A. ENCINA ing, especially the three home overtime losses that led to the Lightning Maple Leafs taking the series. But it was a valuable reminder that it’s not that easy to get to the Cup final in today’s NHL, and if offered the Lightning time to recover mentally and physically after some short offseasons. Still, national experts are predicting doom in Tampa Bay, some saying this is the year the team actually misses the playoffs. And that was before learning that the Lightning would be without goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to open the season.
Anthony Cirelli finally enters national spotlight LUIS SANTANA | Times
Andrei Vasilevskiy (back surgery) will be sidelined to start the season.
Lightning will be fine short term without Vasilevskiy Make no mistake, going into the season without the league’s top goaltender could be devastating. But the Lightning have overcome the loss of a top player before. They played a whole regular season without Nikita Kucherov, were without Anthony Cirelli for the first eight weeks last season, and have been through stretches missing Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point. They were fine every time. Let’s say Vasilevskiy doesn’t return until two months into the season as expected. He will rejoin the team 30 games in, which is more than one-third into the regular-season slate. That’s more than enough time for the Lightning to either put themselves in a favorable playoff position or even fall out of the race. And the past several seasons, the Lightning have done the former, essentially locking up a playoff position by the end of the calendar year. The Atlantic Division should be a lot more competitive from top to bottom, so there won’t be as many easy points on the schedule. But outside of the first two weeks, the Lightning really don’t have many division games through the first two months. Three of their first four games — all making up the first road trip of the season — and seven of their
Cirelli has been one of the league’s top two-way forwards for a while now, but outside of Tampa Bay, he never quite gets the credit he deserves. The Lightning will need more from him — and he already does a lot, playing second-line center and on both power-play units. He could see additional time on the top power-play unit, filling Alex Killorn’s spot down low at the net. Cirelli is an easy fit because it involves a lot of important roles: screening the net, digging the puck out from behind the goal while being a facilitator down low, and of course, pouncing on rebounds around the net. Cirelli has finished in the top five in voting for the Selke Trophy — given to the league’s top defensive forward — twice in the past four seasons. But his lack of big offensive numbers has kept him from winning. Being on the power play will help that because he’ll certainly get more scoring chances.
DIRK SHADD | Times
Anthony Cirelli seems overdue for a little national recognition.
Remember that Killorn’s goal-scoring numbers got a boost when he became a major part of the Lightning’s power play. Also, Cirelli is healthy. Last season, offseason shoulder surgery shelved him for the first eight weeks of the season, and he struggled to find his footing early on. We see Cirelli’s career-low shooting percentage of 9.9% last season as an anomaly. By the playoffs, he was unquestionably one of the Lightning’s top players. He’s been able to have a normal offseason and is clearly embracing a bigger leadership role as veterans continue to depart. Consider those factors and there’s enough to believe that Cirelli can jump from a 40-point player to a 60-point producer. And others will take notice.
Waltteri Merela will score 10 NHL goals this season This is a bold one, but Merela has already made the case that he’s worth going out on a limb for. He might not make the opening night roster, but Merela has certainly shown he’s worthy of a roster spot. While his NHL arrival might not be immediate, he definitely has worked his way to the top of the short list of forward callups if a hole opens up. Because he’s playing in North America for the first time, he could be better suited to start the season at AHL Syracuse so he can continue adjusting to smaller rinks and a faster pace. That way he’s a more complete player when he comes to Tampa Bay because once he’s here, the Lightning prefer that he remains for good. But it shouldn’t take that long. Merela has a winning pedigree after claiming back-to-back championships in Finland’s top pro league. He already has shown a strong work ethic. He has size and can skate. He can kill penalties. He is a relentless forechecker, which will suit him well in the bottom-six role that he’d likely have initially. But he can also play in front of the net and outrace opponents, which will earn him scoring opportunities, and maybe even some looks on the power play or in a top-six forward position. When you consider that, it’s not necessarily a reach to think he could reach double digits in goals. Remember, Ross Colton scored nine goals in 30 games when he received his first taste of the NHL as a midseason callup in 2020-21. Merela could be next. Contact Eduardo A. Encina at eencina@tampabay.com. Follow @EddieintheYard.
Tampa Bay Times |
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LIGHTNING
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Sunday, October 8, 2023 |
DIRK SHADD | Times (2022)
Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak takes to the ice before last season’s home opener at Amalie Arena. Tampa Bay starts this season at home against the Predators before hitting the road for three games.
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Sunday, October 8, 2023 | Tampa Bay Times
TAMPA BAY
LIGHTNING
DIRK SHADD | Times (2022)
Steven Stamkos, center, Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman have reached a conference final six times, and the Stanley Cup final four times, winning two Cups.
The real nemesis? ’ It s the salary cap
S
TAMPA tanley Cups. Vezina, Norris and Hart honors. A Presidents’ Trophy and 40 more playoff games than any other hockey team. For the better part of a decade, we have watched the Lightning leave their mark across NHL record books. Which brings us to today, to a new season, and what may be their boldest quest yet: Remaining relevant. Ten years after their first playoff appearance under Jon Cooper, the Lightning are trying to extend their stay among the NHL’s elite well beyond the normal expiration date of such things. If this was 1973 or 1983 or some other bygone era, the aim would not seem so audacious. But in today’s world of free agency, salary caps and expansion, the Lightning are pushing the boundaries of accepted wisdom. If you doubt that, consider the fortunes of the two most successful franchises of the salary cap era: From 2009 to 2015, the Blackhawks reached the conference finals five times and won three Stanley Cups. But since that seven-year stretch, they have gone eight consecutive seasons without winning a playoff series. From 2008 to 2017, the Penguins won four conference championships and three Stanley Cups. But after that 10-year run, Pittsburgh has won only one playoff series in the next six seasons. So have the Lightning reached the edge of a similar cliff? Has free agency (Alex Killorn, Ondrej Palat, Blake Coleman, Kevin Shattenkirk), salary cap-necessitated trades (Ryan McDonagh, Tyler Johnson, Barclay Goodrow, Ross Colton, Pat Maroon), the expansion draft (Yanni Gourde) and go-for-broke deals that wiped out several draft classes come at the cost of an inevitable rebuild?
How many stars is too many? JOHN ROMANO Columnist
The circumstances are not exactly alike, but there are similarities between the journeys taken by the Lightning, Blackhawks and Penguins. Chicago won that first Cup in 2010 when Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were 21 and 22, and defenseman Duncan Keith won the first of his two Norris trophies. Other players came and went, but that trio remained constant throughout the three Cup runs. Pittsburgh won for the first time in 2009 when Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were 21 and 22, and All-Star defenseman Kris Letang and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury were also in their early 20s. That core group of four players had a hand in all three Stanley Cups. The Lightning, similarly, have been built around Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy since reaching the Stanley Cup final against Chicago nine seasons ago. That foursome, along with Brayden Point, played all 17 games in the 2017-18 postseason when the Lightning reached the Eastern Conference final, and have remained at each other’s sides ever since. So here’s the question: What happened in Chicago and Pittsburgh, and how do the Lightning avoid it? It’s the usual story of time and injuries as star players grow into their 30s, but the salary cap is the real culprit. As teams enjoy more success, the status of core players is elevated along with their paychecks. Soon, half the payroll is eaten up by a handful of stars and it’s challenging to keep a solid supporting cast around them. Toews and Kane, for instance, were on entry-level contracts when Chicago won the Cup in 2010 with base salSee ROMANO, 5X
The Penguins, Blackhawks and Lightning have all won multiple Stanley Cups since 2013. They also have struggled with the salary cap. The goal is to build a core of players that can grow together, but the trick is fitting an emerging group of stars under the cap. Typically, if your top five players combine to make more than 50% of the salary cap, you’re going to struggle to fill out the rest of the roster with enough quality role players. Pittsburgh, Chicago and Tampa Bay were all below that 50% threshold when they won their final Cup. They were all above 50% the following season.
Chicago Blackhawks A year after winning a third Stanley Cup, new contract extensions for Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews in 2015-16 increased their share of the team’s salary cap by 11.54%. The Blackhawks have not won a playoff series since. Player
2014-15 salary
Cap %
2015-16 salary
Cap %
Patrick Kane
$6.3M
8.91%
$10.5M
14.68%
Jonathan Toews
$6.3M
8.91%
$10.5M
14.68%
Corey Crawford
$6.0M
8.49%
$6.0M
8.39%
Patrick Sharp
$5.9M
8.35%
—
—
Brent Seabrook
$5.8M
8.21%
$5.8M
8.11%
Duncan Keith
—
—
$5.5M
7.74%
Total
42.8%
53.6%
Pittsburgh Penguins The Penguins were already pushing the limit of the salary cap when they won their final Cup in 2017, although they got some relief when Kris Letang was placed on long-term injured reserve after neck surgery. When Letang returned the following season and Justin Schultz’s extension kicked in, the Penguins hit 50% and lost in the second round. Since then, they have yet to survive the first round. Player
2016-17 salary
Cap %
2017-18 salary
Cap %
Evgeni Malkin
$9.5M
13.91%
$9.5M
12.77%
Sidney Crosby
$8.7M
11.92%
$8.7M
11.70%
Philip Kessel
$6.8M
9.32%
$6.8M
8.39%
Marc-Andre Fleury
$5.7M
7.88%
—
—
Patric Hornqvist
$4.2M
5.82%
—
—
Kris Letang
—
—
$7.2M
9.75%
Justin Schultz
—
—
$5.5M
7.40%
Total
48.8%
50.0%
Tampa Bay Lightning The Lightning managed to stay under the salary cap threshold during the regular season in 2020-21 because Nikita Kucherov was on long-term injured reserve the entire regular season and Stamkos was on it for a good chunk, although both were on the ice for the Stanley Cup run in the postseason. When they returned for the 2021-22 regular season, the Lightning had to dump Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde, Tyler Johnson and others to get cap compliant. Player
2020-21 salary Cap %
2021-22 salary
Cap %
Andrei Vasilevskiy
$9.5M
11.66%
$9.5M
11.66%
Nikita Kucherov
—
—
$9.5M
11.66%
Steven Stamkos
—
—
$8.5M
10.43%
Victor Hedman
$7.8M
9.66%
$7.8M
9.66%
Brayden Point
$6.7M
8.28%
$6.7M
8.28%
Ryan McDonagh
$6.7M
8.28%
—
—
Ondrej Palat
$5.3M
6.50%
—
—
Total
44.38%
Information from spotrac.com was used in compiling salary figures.
51.6%
Tampa Bay Times
TAMPA BAY
| Sunday, October 8, 2023 |
LIGHTNING
ROMANO
continued from 4X aries below $1 million. Still, the Blackhawks were over the salary cap and had to part ways with starting goaltender Antti Niemi, as well as Kris Versteeg, Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, Colin Fraser and Brent Sopel in the offseason. After Chicago had won Cups in 2013 and 2015, Toews and Kane had signed contract extensions that, combined, were eating up nearly 30% of the salary cap. Since then, the Blackhawks are 4-12 in the postseason. The trick, or perhaps it is an impossibility, is to have enough stars to be a Stanley Cup contender year after year while having enough salary cap space for the necessary role players. It’s easier in the earlier stages of a Cup run when the stars haven’t yet cashed in with fat contracts and when the farm system is fully stocked. When the Lightning began the 2019-20 season, Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak were all 22 or younger, and playing meaningful minutes every night. The Lightning also dealt a pair of first-round draft picks to bring in Goodrow and Coleman at the trade deadline. Later, they would give up three more firstround picks in trades for Brandon Hagel and David Savard. Now, all these years later, Cirelli, Sergachev, Cernak and Hagel have signed lucrative deals that will take an increasing chunk out of the salary cap, and a generation of Tampa Bay first-round picks are scattered around other NHL systems. Please, do not confuse any of this with criticism. The Lightning have been bold when it comes to bringing in necessary help and ruthless when it comes to recognizing when to let familiar faces walk away. In fact, the hope is that the lack of sentimentality is what will set Tampa Bay apart from other teams facing similar questions. That explains why the Light-
LUIS SANTANA | Times
Brayden Point, left, and Nikita Kucherov have been integral to the Lightning’s success together since the 2017-18 postseason.
ning are facing a possible future without Stamkos. There is not a single Lightning player — there may not be a single athlete in Tampa Bay history — who can match Stamkos’ impact, longevity and popularity in the community. It would be a crying shame if he did not finish his career in a Bolts uniform.
But general manager Julien BriseBois is doing the prudent thing to wait out this season to get a better feel for the team’s direction and Stamkos’ future. Three things must coincide — the salary cap, the Lightning’s chances of winning and Stamkos’ continued value — for another long-term deal to make sense.
I’m pretty sure Stamkos will continue to play at a high level, and I’m certain the salary cap will continue to be a challenge. The only remaining question is can the Lightning continue to win? Contact John Romano at jromano@ tampabay.com. Follow @Romano_ TBTimes.
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Sunday, October 8, 2023 | Tampa Bay Times
TAMPA BAY
“It sucked losing in the first round, but it gave us a chance to regroup physically and mentally, and the guys seem to be in a good spot,” captain Steven Stamkos says.
DIRK SHADD | Times
LIGHTNING
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Sunday, October 8, 2023 | Tampa Bay Times
FASTER
,
STRONGER&
DETERMINED
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TAMPA he Lightning have certainly paid the price for success. The purpose of the salary cap is to suppress dynasties, and in the three years since the Lightning won their first of back-to-back Stanley Cups, they have seen a massive overhaul of their roster. Last season’s first-round playoff exit was an abrupt reality check for a group that had been used to playing the final game of the season for three years straight. But it allowed those players returning for this season a reset — time to refresh their bodies and EDUARDO minds. And it allowed the Lightning’s decision-mak- A. ENCINA ers an opportunity to take a step back and assess Lightning what kind of team they needed to assemble to get back to the Stanley Cup final in an ever-evolving league. “We didn’t see the results,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. “That’s the frustrating part. We’ve had a long time to kind of just digest everything that has happened. It sucked losing in the first round, but it gave us a chance to regroup physically and mentally, and the guys seem to be in a good spot.” As long as the Lightning’s star core— Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Andrei Vasilevskiy — remains together, the Lightning will remain contenders. They also largely have locked up their young core players, headlined by Mikhail Sergachev, Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel. And in the offseason, coming off the frustration of that early exit, the Lightning made personnel moves that they believe will make them a better team, especially in their own end. General manager Julien BriseBois’ goal was to build a team that would limit scoring chances and protect leads. “The core is as good as anyone’s,” BriseBois said. “All of those players are still in their prime. Some are entering their prime and I think a lot of players still have their best hockey coming ahead. And then I think all the new guys that came in, they should make us a better defensive team. We should be able to protect leads, keep the opponents’ scoring down. “Those are the types of ingredients that good teams have if you want to win. You have to be able to protect a lead, protect your net, protect your end of the ice, spend as little time as possible there.” BriseBois watched Alex Killorn walk in free agency. He traded Pat Maroon and Corey Perry. Ross Colton was a cap casualty, traded instead of being re-signed. In free agency, the Lightning signed wing Conor Sheary and center Luke Glendening. In early September, they signed forward Tyler Motte when a spot opened up after Josh Archibald, who signed in the summer, decided he wasn’t going to play. Though the three newcomers bring their share of physicality, they make their living with their speed and forechecking ability, and Glendening is one of the top faceoff men in the game. All three can kill penalties. See SUCCESS, 8X
That’s the Lightning’s blueprint to get back in the Stanley Cup chase after a premature playoff exit a season ago.
8X
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Sunday, October 8, 2023 | Tampa Bay Times
TAMPA BAY
LIGHTNING
Meet the
NEW GUYS DIRK SHADD | Times
In today’s NHL, you can’t keep everyone. So when key players leave, all eyes are on their replacements. In recent years, we’ve seen homegrown Lightning stars exit the nest in free agency (Alex Killorn, Ondrej Palat). We’ve seen leaders that had to be traded (Ryan McDonagh, Pat Maroon). And there have even been some promising youngsters that the Lightning payroll just could no longer fit in (Carter Verhaeghe, Ross Colton). Because the Lightning have little to work with under the salary cap, their replacements arrive without much fanfare. And after years of attrition, these players may be leaned on a little more. Here’s an introduction to the newcomers:
DIRK SHADD | Times
DIRK SHADD | Times
GEORGE WALKER IV | Associated Press
F Conor Sheary
C Luke Glendening
F Tyler Motte
D Calvin de Haan
Age: 31
Age: 34
Age: 28
Age: 32
Contract: Three years, $2 million average annual value
Contract: Two years, $800,000 average annual value
Contract: One year, $800,000
Contract: One year, $775,000
The skinny: A wing who fits well as a middle-six forward, but can also play with top line talent. In Pittsburgh, he skated with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and most recently with Alex Ovechkin in Washington. He can score, having averaged 17 goals the past two seasons, and he should see time on both the power play and penalty kill. He finds a way to be around the puck and is a strong forechecker. He also won the Cup in his first two years in the league with Pittsburgh.
The skinny: A self-described overachiever who has been a bottom-six center and is a pain to play against. Glendening isn’t big and he won’t score much, but he’s what you want in a fourth-line center, a relentless forechecker who hounds the puck and plays with physicality. Glendening is a wizard in the faceoff circle — an area the Lightning have lagged in the past few years. Over the past six seasons in Detroit and Dallas, he owns a 57.9 faceoff win percentage, which will earn him ice time on the penalty kill.
The skinny: A valuable bottom-six wing who plays physically, can block shots, kill penalties and provide a bit of offensive punch with between six to nine goals a year. Motte signed late for the second straight season, and a roster spot opened for him on Sept. 9 only because Josh Archibald decided not to play. The Rangers traded for Motte at the past two deadlines, and last season he had five goals, 10 points and an 11.4 shot percentage with New York. He’s another strong forechecker and should see a lot of work on the penalty kill.
The skinny: A veteran stay-at-home defenseman who plays bigger than his lean 6-foot1 frame. Another asset on the power play, he eats pucks to the tune of 172 blocked shots two years ago in Chicago. He had to earn a roster spot last season after signing with Carolina on a personal tryout. He lost his job at the trade deadline last season, so he’s hungry to show he can still be formidable and trustworthy. Teaming with Erik Cernak gives the Lightning a strong set of third-pair defensemen who can skate and hit.
On joining the Lightning: “For whatever reason, it felt like (the Lightning) were always a step faster on home ice. I don’t know if that’s just the environment and it being loud and them coming to be a fast team in general. To be on this side of it now is something I’m looking forward to, to kind of overwhelm teams. As an opposing team, you felt overwhelmed sometimes.”
On joining the Lightning: “They’re hard to play against. They stick up for each other. They’re their friends, but they hold each other accountable. And it’s a great atmosphere for a locker room. A lot of guys who are here expect a lot out of each other, and I think it shows in the way they play. … It’s a great atmosphere to come into.”
On facing Lightning in 2022 conference final: “Ultimately it was a war, a battle. That’s the way it felt every night. I learned a lot from that. On the losing side of it, you see what it takes to win as a team and as a player the sacrifices you have to make if you just try to get to that point and have that opportunity again.”
On joining the Lightning: “Just the success they’ve had over the past 10 years goes a long way and they kind of have that aura about them because, you know, it’s almost like playing the Blackhawks throughout the 2010s in a sense. (Amalie Arena) is a tough place to play in. Tampa is a hockey city. ... Being here, we approach every game like you want to win and obviously you think you can with the lineup that we have.” Eduardo A. Encina, Times staff writer
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SPEED OVER SIZE On paper, the additions will make the Lightning a faster team, though they do give up a significant amount of size. Neither Sheary, Glendening nor Motte is taller than 5-foot-11, but all three boast reputations for having incredible work ethics and being students of the game. “It’s become a young, fast league,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “But I always say this, the players that can think it out, they may not have the quickest feet in the world, but if you know where to be, that kind of makes you fast. So there’s many more meanings to the word. ... “Play the game fast, think it fast, you will be fast.” Setting an example is important, because the Lightning are largely a different team than the one fielded at the beginning of last year. Of the 26 players remaining on the camp roster going into the final week of the preseason, 13 were not on the roster on opening night last season. The Lightning also added Calvin de Haan as a third leftshot defensemen. Trade deadline acquisitions Tanner Jeannot and Mikey Eyssimont enter their first full season in Tampa Bay, and right-side defensemen Nick Perbix and Darren Raddysh opened last season in AHL Syracuse. Still, the Lightning have the reputation of a winner, and that’s been seen from the players who chose to come here on team-friendly deals for a chance to win a Cup. “They’re hungry and they want more,” said Glendening, a Lightning opponent for 10 years playing for Detroit and Dallas. “And I think that’s what you want to be a part of. It’s something that when you play against them, you can tell how close of a group it is, how much they care about each other and care about winning. The guys who are here expect a lot out of each other and I think it shows in the way that they play. They want to play for each other and they want to do well for each other. “It’s a great atmosphere to come into.”
Photos by DIRK SHADD | Times
Center Luke Glendening is one of the Lightning’s new acquisitions who adds speed and physicality to the lineup.
A new hunger Despite a longer offseason, the players certainly showed their dedication to this season. By the time training camp opened in the third week of September, most players had already been skating and working out on their own every morning for the previous month and a half. “I think a lot of guys, Stammer, Heddy, Kuch, they don’t know what to do with all the free time so they go right back in the gym and on the ice,” center Nick Paul said. “So when you’ve got leaders like that and you’ve got guys that are putting in work every day, it’s easy to get behind.” It definitely served as an example to younger players, like Eyssimont, a trade-deadline acquisition last season who was entering his first offseason with the Lightning. Eyssimont was back in Tampa in July, and he saw first hand the intensity of the team’s workouts. “It made it so that there’s really not much of a transition into training camp,” he said. “We were having some pretty fast-
Mikhail Sergachev, left, and coach Jon Cooper know that the team needs to be better defensively this season.
paced practices and scrimmages in the days leading up to camp. You see Stamkos out there, Kuch flying around, back-checking full speed in the scrimmages, and that makes everyone else kind of have to try to keep pace.”
Overcoming absence Roster retooling aside, the biggest obstacle the Lightning will face, especially early on, is being without Vasilevskiy
for the first two months as he recovers from back surgery. The Lightning will open the season leaning on newcomers Jonas Johansson and Matt Tomkins. But regardless of which goaltender starts, the focus already has been on making his job easier by getting better defensively. Even before there was any concern about Vasilevskiy’s health, the Lightning installed some defensive system tweaks
to better protect the middle of the ice in their own end. Last season, the Lightning allowed too many Grade-A scoring chances by leaving that area uncovered, and on many occasions, Vasilevskiy bailed the team out. A repeat of that to open this season could be disastrous. “With the new D-zone, everybody stays on the inside and it kind of helps prevent those Grade A’s,” Sergachev said. “So hopefully we will shave them down and be better defensively. That’s our goal, and we won the Cups that way. There were a lot of 2-1, 1-0 games, so that’s how it’s done in the playoffs.” Added Stamkos: “When you make little tweaks, it’s not just going to be perfect right away. So you need those games to try to work on some things, might take a little while to get them down. But for the most part, I think each game you’ve kind of been a little better in certain areas, and that’s what you want.” Contact Eduardo A. Encina at eencina@tampabay.com. Follow @EddieintheYard.
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Injuries and/or inconsistency limited these veterans to modest seasons (by their standards) in 2022-23.
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in the NHL. Barely two years after hoisting another Cup, Tampa Bay is at a crossroads. Salary cap confinements prompted some roster refurbishing, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is sidelined for at least the season’s first two months, and venerable captain Steven Stamkos is skating out the final year of his contract with no new deal in the works. All of which increases the need for serious bounce-back years from key JOEY figures. KNIGHT If the Lightning are to remain in Lightning the Eastern Conference’s elite stratosphere, these five players must elevate their respective games in the 2023-24 season. While none played especially poorly last season, they all did take their turns swooning and skidding from time to time. If they can rebound in unison, another banner year is plausible.
F TANNER JEANNOT
LUIS SANTANA | Times
DIRK SHADD | Times
Erik Cernak has been limited to 55 and 70 games, respectively, the last two seasons.
Victor Hedman has indicated his body is refreshed from the extended offseason.
Tanner Jeannot, acquired via trade, had 24 goals for the Predators two seasons ago.
2022-23 STATS: 14 assists, 100 blocks, 209 hits
2022-23 STATS: 9 goals, 40 assists, 136 blocks
2022-23 STATS (20 GAMES): 1 goal, 3 assists,
For the team’s best right-handed shot defenseman, tangible progress this season mostly would involve staying on the ice. Widely hailed for his penalty-killing prowess and for putting his body in the path of some of the NHL’s top puck shooters, Cernak nonetheless has paid the price physically. He has played 55 and 70 games, respectively, the last two regular seasons, and missed the last five games of the 2023 playoff series against the Maple Leafs after taking an illegal hit to the head. With Vasilevskiy sidelined at the season’s outset, keeping quality, veteran defensemen on the ice becomes even more critical.
While Hedman had a solid season statistically and remains one of the planet’s premier defensemen, he finished only 15th in the voting for the Norris Trophy — his lowest in eight years. His plus/minus rating fell to 10, his lowest in six years (excluding the shortened 2020-21 season), and he admitted he struggled to get his legs under him to drive his team. But at the dawn of training camp, the four-time AllStar said the extended layoff due to the Lightning’s early playoff exit refreshed him. “For me, it’s about trying to get better than I was last year, and trying to be as good as I can every single game,” he said. “It’s all about team and what can I do to help the team win, but if you’re not playing to your standards, you’re not going to help the team.”
77 hits Pat Maroon’s departure leaves Jeannot as the team’s resident enforcer. Acquired from the Predators (for a load of draft picks) at the trade deadline last season, his 77 hits from Feb. 28 to the season’s end led the team. If he can complement his physicality with some offense (he had 24 goals for Nashville two seasons ago), the Lightning become more dangerous and diverse by a considerable margin. Filling Alex Killorn’s role as a sturdy penalty killer would be an added bonus.
G ANDREI VASILEVSKIY
F NICK PAUL DIRK SHADD | Times
DIRK SHADD | Times
Nick Paul could stand to increase his production as he had only one goal over the 2022-23 regular season’s final six weeks.
It will be interesting to see how quickly goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy returns to form once he comes back from back surgery.
2022-23 STATS: 17 goals, 15 assists, plus-11
2022-23 STATS: 34-22-4 record, 2.65 goals-against average, 4 shutouts
A five-goal scorer in the 2022 playoffs who signed a seven-year deal shortly thereafter, Paul had a career-best 17 goals last season, but managed only one over the regular season’s final six weeks. He then had only one goal (in Game 5) in the playoff series against Toronto as speculation spiked over his health. A special-teams cog and the roster’s second-biggest forward (6-foot-3, 223 pounds), Paul’s contributions go beyond scoring, but his offensive production must increase now that Alex Killorn and Ross Colton have left the building.
By conventional keeper standards, Vasilevskiy had a solid season last winter, but this guy’s standard was elevated long ago. When he does return from back surgery, expect a modified workload that could benefit him. Vasilevskiy has acknowledged he didn’t adequately manage his body while fighting through his physical issues last season, and he struggled with his consistency down the stretch. Now, he’ll have no choice but to pay more attention to his recovery after games and practices. “I think last year we had already made some adjustments with Vasy,” general manager Julien BriseBois said at the start of training camp. “He made some adjustments, and I think this year he has a plan to continue to make some adjustments.”
Contact Joey Knight at jknight@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_Bulls
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AS THIS TRANSITIONAL LIGHTNING OFFSEASON HAS SHOWN, fortunes can fluctuate pretty briskly
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Medical experts say it can be rare for “someone in their 20s” to have the type of back injury that Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy had surgery to correct.
Will Vasy be the same? The goaltender’s recovery from back surgery is expected to keep him out at least two months. What does his future hold after that?
BY EDUARDO A. ENCINA
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Times Staff Writer
TAMPA he Lightning have long leaned on goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. His teammates call him the best goalie on the planet, and NHL player
polls agree. But through at least the first two months of this season, Vasilevskiy will be sidelined as he recovers from surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back. Early in the 2018-19 season, Vaslievskiy missed a little more than a month with a fractured foot, and backup Louis Domingue did a good job of carrying the
load in his absence. The Lightning went 12-3-0 without Vasilevskiy. When he returned, they led the Atlantic Division with a 24-7-1 record on their way to the Presidents’ Trophy before losing in the postseason’s first round to Columbus. That was the last time Vasilevskiy missed a significant amount of game action. “It seems like light years ago,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. “We’re just going to have to play really well defensively and buckle things down a little bit, but it’s going to be tough. Any time you’re without a really important player, you just try to stay afloat until that guy gets back and try to push from there.
“We have a really good group, we know that. But it’s going to be difficult. We’re going to have to find a way” Vasilevskiy’s long-term health has long been a concern, especially as he draws closer to age 30, which he turns next July, and considering that no goaltender has played more hockey over the past four years than him. Medical experts, however, say he can return to his old form. It is unclear how Vasilevskiy initially sustained a herniated disc in his lower back, but it happened in August, well before training camp started. Initially, an injection alleviated the issue, but Vasilevskiy felt pain again during his first pracSee VASILEVSKIY, 11X
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continued from 10X practice of camp; a second injection, treatment and rest didn’t work. “I always say the best analogy is like a car tire getting a tear and the air is leaking out,” said Dr. Neel Anand, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Director of Spine Trauma at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “In this particular case, there is a jelly in the disc … and that jelly comes out through a tear in the disc. But unfortunately when it comes out, the nerves are right behind, so it starts pinching up on the nerve and it can create pain going down the leg. ... Many times it gets better on its own at some point, but if not, you have to do surgery.” The microdiscectomy procedure Vasilevskiy had on Sept. 28 is a minimally invasive surgery that removes the portion of the disc that is putting pressure on the nerves and generally, the disc itself remains largely intact. “We have a lot of athletes with microdiscectomies who are in major professional sports who have gone back doing what they do, but then unfortunately, it is genetics to a large extent that ultimately will determine, and his disc, just where that will go,” Anand said. “Being a goalie, the load on the spine from squatting up and down is tremendous and actually even more than your regular hockey player. “But he’s a professional athlete and extremely gifted and motivated and he can get back to normal. I feel confident that, as long as the surgery went well, he can get back to where he is and get back to the level he was at, as most professional athletes do.” The injury Vasilevskiy had is more common in a football offensive lineman than a hockey goaltender, said Dr. Robert Volk, an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in sports injuries at The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics in Washington, D.C. “For a goalie, in particular, with just some of the way they make kick saves and some of the things that they have to do to contort their body in order to tend the goal, (they) have stresses that they can put on their back,” said Volk, who has served as a team physician for the Tampa Bay Bucs, Miami Dolphins and Florida Panthers. “It’s not a super common injury, but it does happen.”
Photos by DIRK SHADD | Times
“Being a goalie, the load on the spine from squatting up and down is tremendous,” says Dr. Neel Anand, a spine trauma expert.
Vasilevskiy likely would be able to keep working out with cardiovascular training like cycling or swimming shortly after the procedure, but wouldn’t be able to do much weight training until about four to five weeks after the surgery. Exercises like lifting weights overhead from a seated position or doing weighted squats would put pressure on the disc. “He’ll be able to bounce back relatively quickly, which is why you’re hearing projections of eight weeks after surgery,” Volk said. “A lot of times after surgery, it’s a couple months.” “It’s rare for someone in their 20s to have this type of injury,” he added. “It’s not super rare, but it does happen more commonly in the third or fourth decade of life. But it’s actually maybe a good thing for him that he’s a little bit younger, and, obviously genetically, very gifted. So he should bounce back much quicker than the average 40-year-old who has this type of injury.” The Lightning said Vasilevskiy is expected to miss the first two months of the season. If that is in fact the case,
he wouldn’t return until the 30th game in mid-December. Anand said that two months is an average, but sometimes it can take up to three months to fully recover. As far as a long-term prognosis, Volk said that studies predominantly focusing on NFL players who have had the same injury saw that they can return to form for several years after surgery. “Those research studies sug-
gest that on average, players are able to return to their same level of sport for an average of two and a half to three and a half — or an outlier of four — years after their surgery,” Volk said. “And one of the best prognostic indicators we found in the study is the number of games played at that level prior to injury. So the prognosis is good for (Vasilevskiy) to make a good recovery given the amount of time he’s already
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played at a high level. ... “Obviously, as you get a bit older through professional sports, you’ve got to spend that much more time on things like conditioning and core stretching, things like that. And I’m sure he’ll take a professional work ethic towards this and get himself back to where it needs to be.” Contact Eduardo A. Encina at eencina@tampabay.com. Follow @EddieintheYard.
Andrei Vasilevskiy’s goalie mask and equipment sit in the locker room on the first day of training camp. He’ll remain idle from game action for at least the first two months of the season.
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Lightning forward Brandon Hagel celebrates a goal against the Avalanche last season, one of many that helped him reach 30 in a season for the first time.
Can’t stop W Hagel’s hustle
BY EDUARDO A. ENCINA
Times Staff Writer
The forward’s eight-year extension makes him a cornerstone player, but he is more concerned with his work ethic than becoming a star.
BRANDON hen you have learned to grind for everything you have achieved in life like Lightning forward Brandon Hagel has, there’s little time left to celebrate your achievements. Hagel arrived in Tampa at the 202122 trade deadline still trying to establish himself as an NHL player. His first full season in a Lightning uniform was a breakout — setting career highs with 30 goals and 64 points while playing a two-way game that earned him the team lead in plus/minus at plus-23 and established him as a key piece of the Lightning’s future. Coach Jon Cooper often calls Hagel the team’s Swiss Army knife
because he can play on the top scoring line with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov, and skate on a matchup line with Anthony Cirelli. Over the summer, the 25-yearold was rewarded with a $52 million extension that keeps him in a Lightning uniform for the next nine seasons, longer than any other player. Following a recent training camp practice at the TGH IcePlex, we sat down with Hagel to discuss his new deal, what has made him the player he is and how he’s found a home in Tampa. (Some comments were edited for clarity and brevity.) Because of your path to the NHL, you’ve always played with a chip on your shoulder. (Buffalo didn’t sign him after drafting him in the
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continued from 12X sixth round in 2016, and he spent four seasons in juniors before Chicago signed him as a free agent.) Now here you are, a $52 million man with the security of an eightyear extension. How do you keep that same drive? I think the biggest goal for myself is always to win a Stanley Cup, and whether I’ve got a contract or not, that’s just the way I play. I believe that the way I’m going to help this team get to that point is with my work ethic. That’s just who I am, and that’s what I believe in. This is my job and I’m going to come to work and give 100%. I don’t think anything changes from the contract. I’m still here. I still want to win. The reason why I want to stay in the league for another, I guess nine years you can say, is to try and win. I come to the rink every single day wanting to get better, wanting to try and help and give 100%. I think I’ve said it before. My parents go to work and give 100%. I might as well do the same. You now carry the distinction of being a 30-goal scorer. Because opponents have to account for you, do you anticipate that will make it more difficult to duplicate last season’s success? I never honestly came into a season seeing myself as this big goal scorer who is always going to put up these crazy numbers. And that was never my goal. Obviously, it worked out that way for me, but I’ve gotten to play with some unbelievable players. And a lot of credit goes to them. Who knows what I would have done without them? They’re superstars, they’re AllStars. They’re players that not many people get to play with. I want to come out, work hard, trying to be good on the offensive and defensive side of the puck, and hopefully the chances come. I will never sit here and say that I’m a 30-goal guy every season. Do I want to do that? Am I going to try to do that? Of course I am, but
DIRK SHADD | Times
The stability a long-term contract offers is a boon for Brandon Hagel, who says that extra level of comfort aided his breakout 2022-23 season.
I wouldn’t say I come into every season like, ‘Hey, I need 40 this year.’ It’s just come in and work hard, do what makes me successful and hopefully opportunities come and I am able to put in 30 again. When you signed your extension, you talked about how great it was to have a team to call home for the long term. We’ve talked about how tough it was getting traded at first and having to start over. What does the current stability mean to you? It’s not easy living out of a suitcase all the time. You never know what can happen, obviously, but you just feel a little bit more secure and a little bit more comfortable and you have a home instead of bouncing around all over the place. It’s never easy (when you’re new). You don’t know where
to go to eat. You don’t know anything about the city. (When I was traded), I was kind of struggling with some off-ice stuff. Personally, it was never easy, but being able to come in last year and kind of have a home and I was used to the city, was able to start training camp with everyone, got here a little early, played some golf with the guys and got to know them better, just made me feel so much more comfortable and I believe that was a big part of the success I had. When did you see Tampa as a place where you might want to be for the long term? You come to games, they’re sold out. Outside the arena, you see Bolts stuff everywhere. That’s a big part of it, too. It’s not just like the city and the weather. It’s the fans and the
people around all of it. It’s how the community is. I mean, you want to play in front of a sold-out barn. It doesn’t matter if it’s a nice place or not a nice place. It’s my job. That’s what I love to do. And that brings excitement to the game and makes you get up for a game. So I think that was a big part of it and obviously, it’s Tampa, it’s Florida. You can’t complain. You get the best of both worlds. You want to win, so how important was it that the Lightning locked up their young core players with lengthy extensions? That’s huge. Obviously I’m still young. You want to come into a team that’s going to be together for a long time and you know you’re going to have success. You’ve got guys like (Cirelli), (Mikhail Sergachev), Kuch, Pointer, (Nick Paul), you
LUIS SANTANA | Times
Hagel, here battling for the puck with Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary last season, is part of a young group of players the Lightning have locked up for multiple years.
go down the list. You know these guys are supposed to be here for a long time. Obviously things change and you never know. But the way the picture is, right now for a long time, you’ve got a ton of incredible players locked up. The team has a plan to continue being good and I believe the next nine years I have here that I have
to live my dream and win a Stanley Cup. Contact Eduardo A. Encina at eencina@tampabay.com. Follow @EddieintheYard.