Well, we lost. We got swept. Oh well.

Lets keep this in perspective here. After that miraculous run of '11 to the ECF, we went into rebuild mode. We had to, the vets were getting old and broken (and retiring), there weren't a ton of kids ready to play and the team didn't have much direction.

This is the third year into the rebuild and we went from 28th overall to capturing the 3rd seed in the East. That's a damned good improvement.

As for the playoffs, we were just out of gas. Dealing with Vinny being gone, Stammer's injury, Marty's hissy-fit... and then Big Ben gets banged up before the playoffs. It was just too much.

But that's fine. Next year we'll have the services of one Jonathan Drouin. We've found a heck of a 4th line center in Cedric Paquette. Slater Koekkoek may push for a call-up next year. Andrej Sustr is starting to look like a real NHLer.... the list of positives go on.

16 teams make the playoffs. Only 1 wins the Cup. It wasn't going to be us this year even with Bishop, but the fire this loss has ignited and the experience gained on hockey's biggest stage will be invaluable.

Stevie Y's plan is going well, let's not forget where we were before he joined this franchise, and where we are now.
- OzBolts

I wouldn't expect too much out of Drouin. Yes hes a great prospect but I highly doubt he comes in here and tallies 60 pts. Let's not put extra pressure on the kid. He has a lot to learn in order to be a force in the NHL. Let's relax on him being the second coming...

I wouldn't expect too much out of Drouin. Yes hes a great prospect but I highly doubt he comes in here and tallies 60 pts. Let's not put extra pressure on the kid. He has a lot to learn in order to be a force in the NHL. Let's relax on him being the second coming...
- TBolts4

It's not a stretch to imagine he does, but I would tend to agree

Where did I say anything like that, whatsoever?

I said we'll have the services of Jonathan Drouin. Probably on the second line with Fullpula and Callahan (if he's resigned and, if not, Killorn).

I wouldn't expect too much out of Drouin. Yes hes a great prospect but I highly doubt he comes in here and tallies 60 pts. Let's not put extra pressure on the kid. He has a lot to learn in order to be a force in the NHL. Let's relax on him being the second coming...
- TBolts4

He'll win the Calder next season. Book it.

It's not a stretch to imagine he does, but I would tend to agree
- RileyB77

He's too good for junior hockey as it is. The only reason he didn't make the bolts was because he was nursing an injury to start the season. Once he got healthy....he was like a 2.5 PPG player.

Where did I say anything like that, whatsoever?

I said we'll have the services of Jonathan Drouin. Probably on the second line with Fullpula and Callahan (if he's resigned and, if not, Killorn).
- OzBolts

I didn't mean you per se, just a lot of people seem to put their Faith in a 19 year old playing top line with Stammer.

He's too good for junior hockey as it is. The only reason he didn't make the bolts was because he was nursing an injury to start the season. Once he got healthy....he was like a 2.5 PPG player.
- mykokes

Juniors and NHL is a MASSIVE difference.

Juniors and NHL is a MASSIVE difference.
- TBolts4

I never said it wasn't, what I did say was if Drouin had been fully healthy in preseason odds are he would've been your team's third great rookie this season. And 2.5 ppg pace in any league is unreal. This isn't some Cody Hodgson hype.....if the draft were redone today I'd still take him over Nicushkin, Monahan and Lindholm. You guys chose to suck in a great draft year. Unlike my Leafs-----

What's even more impressive is that he's shifted to center.

I never said it wasn't, what I did say was if Drouin had been fully healthy in preseason odds are he would've been your team's third great rookie this season. And 2.5 ppg pace in any league is unreal.
- mykokes

Drouin didn't make the lightning because he got beat out at training camp, not because he was hurt. 2.5 PPG in the Q does not automatically to immediate superstardom in the NHL. Drouin will hopefully be great, but there will be some growing pains. Lets remember Stamkos didn't reach the 50pt mark in his rookie season. Does that mean he s*cked? No. And he was a much more heralded prospect than Drouin.

Drouin didn't make the lightning because he got beat out at training camp, not because he was hurt. 2.5 PPG in the Q does not automatically to immediate superstardom in the NHL. Drouin will hopefully be great, but there will be some growing pains. Lets remember Stamkos didn't reach the 50pt mark in his rookie season. Does that mean he s*cked? No. And he was a much more heralded prospect than Drouin.
- TBolts4

Drouin had groin issues in preseason that carried over into his Q season. Or do you forget his crappy start to the Q season? And Drouin was in the discussion right till the end for #1 overall.

as for heralded....
May 2013 - Jonathan Drouin of the Halifax Mooseheads scored 41 goals and 64 assists to finish with 105 points in 49 regular season games this season. The young sophomore scoring star also finished with an impressive plus-minus rating of plus-49. Drouin is the first player to claim the award in their first NHL draft-eligible year since Sidney Crosby won the award with the Rimouski Oceanic in 2005 leaving him to join some pretty illustrous company. Jopnathan Drouin just helped his Halifax Mooseheads to the CHL Memorial Cup Championship and remains the top undrafted fantasy hockey prospect.

Drouin didn't make the lightning because he got beat out at training camp, not because he was hurt. 2.5 PPG in the Q does not automatically to immediate superstardom in the NHL. Drouin will hopefully be great, but there will be some growing pains. Lets remember Stamkos didn't reach the 50pt mark in his rookie season. Does that mean he s*cked? No. And he was a much more heralded prospect than Drouin.
- TBolts4

I said Calder Trophy, not Hart Trophy.

Drouin had groin issues in preseason that carried over into his Q season. Or do you forget his crappy start to the Q season? And Drouin was in the discussion right till the end for #1 overall.

as for heralded....
May 2013 - Jonathan Drouin of the Halifax Mooseheads scored 41 goals and 64 assists to finish with 105 points in 49 regular season games this season. The young sophomore scoring star also finished with an impressive plus-minus rating of plus-49. Drouin is the first player to claim the award in their first NHL draft-eligible year since Sidney Crosby won the award with the Rimouski Oceanic in 2005 leaving him to join some pretty illustrous company. Jopnathan Drouin just helped his Halifax Mooseheads to the CHL Memorial Cup Championship and remains the top undrafted fantasy hockey prospect.
- mykokes

And Stamkos was known to be the first overall pick in January. Listen, Drouin is an amazing prospect, but at this point, thats all he is. He hasnt played one NHL game thus far. We don't know how he'll react playing against MUCH bigger competition. All Im saying is we need to temper our expectation for the kid. Im not saying you or pointing at anyone in particular, But I dont think we should expect Drouin to slide in with Stammer just yet. I would love nothing more than for him to come in and tear it up, but if he doesnt, I still believe he'll develop into a great, great lightning player.

http://giant.gfycat.com/SmartFlamboyantBonobo.gif

http://giant.gfycat.com/SmartFlamboyantBonobo.gif



- FLdevilsFAN

It happens.

Did anybody else notice that the radio station 98.7 the fan gave this Tina C- rating for this season? WTF? What a load of horse crap!

Missing Bishop had a huge impact. The bolts play loose and free which means more possession when he is backstopping and played much more tight with lindback in net which I think led to mistakes which led to more hab chances. When the bolts in the third said (frank) it amd wemt for it people finally saw the bolts we saw most of the year.
- stammerman

True but the Bolts were starting to cheat on defense a bit with Bishop in net and were too overconfident when he was in the goal. When he got his wrist injury and wasn't 100% the defense was already overdependant and they stopped playing team defense like they were earlier in the year. From just before the Olympics to the end of the year he went from about 1.90 GA to 2.20. In the beginning of the year we were happy to have this drop from 3 to 2.75. Really can't complain with the 2.20 though, it's better than we've seen around here in years.

http://giant.gfycat.com/SmartFlamboyantBonobo.gif



- FLdevilsFAN

Bah, that's a clean play until the trip

Sincerely,

Montreal

True but the Bolts were starting to cheat on defense a bit with Bishop in net and were too overconfident when he was in the goal. When he got his wrist injury and wasn't 100% the defense was already overdependant and they stopped playing team defense like they were earlier in the year. From just before the Olympics to the end of the year he went from about 1.90 GA to 2.20. In the beginning of the year we were happy to have this drop from 3 to 2.75. Really can't complain with the 2.20 though, it's better than we've seen around here in years.
- tpd11

A capable backup goaltender that can spell bishop for 30 games or so will make it a lot better for us in the long run.

A capable backup goaltender that can spell bishop for 30 games or so will make it a lot better for us in the long run.
- Artyukhin76

True and it will,probably be Gudleveskis next year with Vaseilesky in the wings in a few years

I expect to see quite a bit of movement this off-season.

Killorn, Palat, TJ, Panik, and Sustr are all RFA and damn near guaranteed re-signs.

Connolly is also RFA which is where the speculation begins. No way he signs a 2-way deal meaning he will make NHL money and count against the cap even if he's in Cuse next season. So there's one spot that needs to be "opened". Drouin is definitely in regardless of what line he skates on. And then of course the Calahan aspect as well.

Kunyk is RFA but he will be in Cuse next season

Salo is gone so we need to fill his top 4 slot on D. (Niskanen please)

Being captain obvious Malone is a buyout. I would be shocked if Teddy comes back. I think his relegation to the 4th line in the playoffs tells you all you need to know about his status.

I won't even pretend to try and put lines together as there are simply too many what-if scenarios to try and decipher but expect the top 9 forwards to be Stammer, Flip, Palat, TJ, Drouin, Kucherov, Killorn, Brown, Panik. Connolly is obviously a huge wild-card for this organization and this depth chart.

Did anybody else notice that the radio station 98.7 the fan gave this Tina C- rating for this season? WTF? What a load of horse crap!
- Artyukhin76

It's Anthony Booger McFarland giving that rating. He doesn't know poop about hockey.

I admit I have listened and called in to their show a few times especially when Deumig is talking about horse-racing or golf or some stupid poop like that but overall their show is awful. Quite a few times I have called in to talk but they come back the next segment with a brand new subject and basically move on from the previous talking point. It's infuriating and I only listen if the other station(s) are commercials

I expect to see quite a bit of movement this off-season.

Killorn, Palat, TJ, Panik, and Sustr are all RFA and damn near guaranteed re-signs.

Connolly is also RFA which is where the speculation begins. No way he signs a 2-way deal meaning he will make NHL money and count against the cap even if he's in Cuse next season. So there's one spot that needs to be "opened". Drouin is definitely in regardless of what line he skates on. And then of course the Calahan aspect as well.

Kunyk is RFA but he will be in Cuse next season

Salo is gone so we need to fill his top 4 slot on D. (Niskanen please)

Being captain obvious Malone is a buyout. I would be shocked if Teddy comes back. I think his relegation to the 4th line in the playoffs tells you all you need to know about his status.

I won't even pretend to try and put lines together as there are simply too many what-if scenarios to try and decipher but expect the top 9 forwards to be Stammer, Flip, Palat, TJ, Drouin, Kucherov, Killorn, Brown, Panik. Connolly is obviously a huge wild-card for this organization and this depth chart.
- uf1910

Drouin 3.225/Stamkos 7.5/ Johnson 2
Palat 2/Filppula 5/ Callahan 6
Killorn 1.5/ Namestnikov .925/ Kucherov .65
Brown 1/Thompson 1.6/ Panik 1
Paquette .925
Total= 27.825

Hedman 4/ Sustr 1
Carle 5.5/ niskanen 6
Brewer 3.875/ Gudas .995
Barberio .85
Total= 22.215

Bishop 2.3
Nabokov 1.5
Total= 3.8
LTIR/BO= 4.775

Grand total= 58.585
Trade Purcell and buyout Malone.

Drouin 3.225/Stamkos 7.5/ Johnson 2
Palat 2/Filppula 5/ Callahan 6
Killorn 1.5/ Namestnikov .925/ Kucherov .65
Brown 1/Thompson 1.6/ Panik 1
Paquette .925
Total= 27.825

Hedman 4/ Sustr 1
Carle 5.5/ niskanen 6
Brewer 3.875/ Gudas .995
Barberio .85
Total= 22.215

Bishop 2.3
Nabokov 1.5
Total= 3.8
LTIR/BO= 4.775

Grand total= 58.585
Trade Purcell and buyout Malone.
- Artyukhin76

And the all mighty question comes. "Where's Connolly, Arty"?

I like:

Drouin Stamkos Palat
Killorn Filppula Johnson
Brown Namestnikov Kucherov
Paquette Thompson Panik
Connolly

Hedman Sustr/New
Carle Sustr/New
Gudas Barberio
Brewer

bishop
lindback / new . dont care. whoever wins more games.

Gudas Barberio is a very risky pairing. They both have potential, and if they both round out next season after a good solid summer, the pair could work well. If gudas straightens out positioning, and barberio as well, it would work. It wouldn't work right now, obviously, but it could

potentially you could rotate barberio, gudas, and brewer, as 5th/6th/7th as youd please. brewer and gudas are both slow-ish and seem to get tired easily, so

Drouin 3.225/Stamkos 7.5/ Johnson 2
Palat 2/Filppula 5/ Callahan 6
Killorn 1.5/ Namestnikov .925/ Kucherov .65
Brown 1/Thompson 1.6/ Panik 1
Paquette .925
Total= 27.825

Hedman 4/ Sustr 1
Carle 5.5/ niskanen 6
Brewer 3.875/ Gudas .995
Barberio .85
Total= 22.215

Bishop 2.3
Nabokov 1.5
Total= 3.8
LTIR/BO= 4.775

Grand total= 58.585
Trade Purcell and buyout Malone.
- Artyukhin76

damn thats a young team. bolts future always suprises me, and we still have depth in the minors.

i think Drouin makes it big. remember that there was that about him being better than MacKinnon (maby not fair considering he handeled the step up to pro like a boss)

damn thats a young team. bolts future always suprises me, and we still have depth in the minors.

i think Drouin makes it big. remember that there was that about him being better than MacKinnon (maby not fair considering he handeled the step up to pro like a boss)
- Cloud

drouin may , or may not. it all depends. i have a hard time not seeing him flourish under cooper though. cooper is the rookie whisperer.