Ty Anderson: Lightning begin pivotal stretch with rivalry night

Maybe Doug Armstrong has some "meat on the burner"........or maybe advance scouting for valentine's day. I'm guessing the former.

Ty

Any thoughts on what the Blues offer for Drouin might be?

Honestly, I have no clue what to think it could be.

The initial rumored offer of Fabbri made sense, but Fabbri's been impressive in his role as a first-year pro, so I really don't know if that's a trade you want to make if you're the Blues. There's obvious interest in Shattenkirk -- the Lightning have wanted to add an impact right-shooting d-man all year long -- but Drouin for Shattenkirk swap definitely seems like a tough sell from a St. Louis point of view. I think the Lightning would take a look at moving one of their pricier vets -- like Callahan, Carle, or even Filppula if the right offer came about (I'm a bit more confident in Namestnikov's ability to shift back to center, especially a third-line center role, than I used to be) -- but they'd probably want a piece from the Blues' forward grouping as well to make up for one of those losses.

At the same time, I think it's worth noting that Yzerman has said that he doesn't see himself making any 'major' trades before the deadline. That was of course before the Jonathan Drouin situation blew up entirely, but you still have to wonder how willing he would be to move a significant piece off his NHL roster to make a Drouin trade work.

In essence, I'm still not entirely sure. But where there's smoke, there's fire.

Honestly, I have no clue what to think it could be.

The initial rumored offer of Fabbri made sense, but Fabbri's been impressive in his role as a first-year pro, so I really don't know if that's a trade you want to make if you're the Blues. There's obvious interest in Shattenkirk -- the Lightning have wanted to add an impact right-shooting d-man all year long -- but Drouin for Shattenkirk swap definitely seems like a tough sell from a St. Louis point of view. I think the Lightning would take a look at moving one of their pricier vets -- like Callahan, Carle, or even Filppula if the right offer came about (I'm a bit more confident in Namestnikov's ability to shift back to center, especially a third-line center role, than I used to be) -- but they'd probably want a piece from the Blues' forward grouping as well to make up for one of those losses.

At the same time, I think it's worth noting that Yzerman has said that he doesn't see himself making any 'major' trades before the deadline. That was of course before the Jonathan Drouin situation blew up entirely, but you still have to wonder how willing he would be to move a significant piece off his NHL roster to make a Drouin trade work.

In essence, I'm still not entirely sure. But where there's smoke, there's fire.
- tyanderson

Ty,

The Fabbri rumor never made much sense to me from a St. Louis brass perspective. From what I understand, the organization has been very pleased with him and his progress, especially given that he lost development time last year due to the leg injury. Why would they take a known commodity that they are very pleased with and that is better cost contained and trade it for potential? That never made a lot of sense to me personally. It made sense in a talent for talent sort of way but didn't seem to fit the reality in St. Louis.

Like many have said, including myself, St. Louis has to get a capable D back from someone else (could be a separate trade) if they move Shattenkirk. IMHO, the contracts of Callahan and Carle make them impossible to take back for the Blues.

Is Filppula's play justifying his contract? Does moving him help you afford keeping some of your other players (Killorn, Stamkos, etc)? Lots of interesting things going on her under the smoke.

Honestly, I have no clue what to think it could be.

The initial rumored offer of Fabbri made sense, but Fabbri's been impressive in his role as a first-year pro, so I really don't know if that's a trade you want to make if you're the Blues. There's obvious interest in Shattenkirk -- the Lightning have wanted to add an impact right-shooting d-man all year long -- but Drouin for Shattenkirk swap definitely seems like a tough sell from a St. Louis point of view. I think the Lightning would take a look at moving one of their pricier vets -- like Callahan, Carle, or even Filppula if the right offer came about (I'm a bit more confident in Namestnikov's ability to shift back to center, especially a third-line center role, than I used to be) -- but they'd probably want a piece from the Blues' forward grouping as well to make up for one of those losses.

At the same time, I think it's worth noting that Yzerman has said that he doesn't see himself making any 'major' trades before the deadline. That was of course before the Jonathan Drouin situation blew up entirely, but you still have to wonder how willing he would be to move a significant piece off his NHL roster to make a Drouin trade work.

In essence, I'm still not entirely sure. But where there's smoke, there's fire.
- tyanderson

Callahan needs to goooooo. Terrible contract.

That Coburn primary assist to Brown was very good. Good game for your Bolts and congrats to Big Ben.

Callahan played hard yesterday all 200 feet of the ice, same as I have seen him play in last year playoffs against Habs and Hawks. Not sure why all the hate. You want example of bad contract, try Bickell on Blackhawks.
Stamkos on the other hand was invisible again yesterday, do not understand the hype.

Callahan played hard yesterday all 200 feet of the ice, same as I have seen him play in last year playoffs against Habs and Hawks. Not sure why all the hate. You want example of bad contract, try Bickell on Blackhawks.
Stamkos on the other hand was invisible again yesterday, do not understand the hype.
- vshun

I'm a Callahan fan. He doesn't always hit the score sheet but he does leave it all out there.

Let him leave it all out there for 5.5 million somewhere else. His production based of his contract his garbage is my point. As a hockey player yeah he's not bad but he sure as hell is not worth over 5 million. His production has fallen off a cliff and that's going to sting when kuch, johnson, killorn, palat, and heady need raises.

Let him leave it all out there for 5.5 million somewhere else. His production based of his contract his garbage is my point. As a hockey player yeah he's not bad but he sure as hell is not worth over 5 million. His production has fallen off a cliff and that's going to sting when kuch, johnson, killorn, palat, and heady need raises.
- j.boyd919

I like Callahan and I'm confused by this. You're for Hedman getting $8m-$9m per year and his "production", which I assume you mean points for Callahan, is not worth $8m-$9m but you pay the player for the other things. Blocking shots, hitting, playing defense, having strong possession. I am fine with Callahan at $5.5m if we pay Johnson $3m. Johnson has 3 more points but can't hit anyone, is not hard to play against, will not stand in front of the net if you begged him, goes into the corner about as soft as anyone on the team.

I like Callahan and I'm confused by this. You're for Hedman getting $8m-$9m per year and his "production", which I assume you mean points for Callahan, is not worth $8m-$9m but you pay the player for the other things. Blocking shots, hitting, playing defense, having strong possession. I am fine with Callahan at $5.5m if we pay Johnson $3m. Johnson has 3 more points but can't hit anyone, is not hard to play against, will not stand in front of the net if you begged him, goes into the corner about as soft as anyone on the team.
- Kucherovski

If Tyler Johnson isn't hard to play against, how do you explain 145 points in 210 games? .69 ppg is better than .56 ppg last time I checked and that isn't factoring in Callahan's steep decline.

Johnson has 3 more points than Callahan in 12 less games.

Johnson also has a points per 60 at 1.10, Cally at 1.04

His 52.37 CF% is slightly above Cally's 51.16

Johnson's PDO (On ice save percentage plus on ice shift percentage) is at 103.17
while Ryan Callahan's is at 99.59

Johnson's Corsi Relative is 2.9 where Callahan's is -4.5

Last season Tyler Johnson's 72 pointers were 18 points more than Callahan's 54 points

Where Callahan does have Johnson, is yes in hits and blocked shots, and if you think that alone, oh and his supposed "defense" because as we talked about yesterday.. playing offense in the opposing zone, is still the best defense, is worth a 5.8 million dollar salary for 4 more years for an aging and declining 30 year old 3rd line player with "grit, tenacity, and leadership" (not quoting you, but more so what people I've talked to about Callahan like about him) over a 25 year old who has already hit 72 points, and if wasn't struck by a bunch of injuries could possibly have 10-15 more points now, then you sir, are a fool.

Tyler Johnson is the younger, faster, more skilled hockey player at the age of 25 than Ryan Callahan at the age of, well, any age.

I like Callahan and I'm confused by this. You're for Hedman getting $8m-$9m per year and his "production", which I assume you mean points for Callahan, is not worth $8m-$9m but you pay the player for the other things. Blocking shots, hitting, playing defense, having strong possession. I am fine with Callahan at $5.5m if we pay Johnson $3m. Johnson has 3 more points but can't hit anyone, is not hard to play against, will not stand in front of the net if you begged him, goes into the corner about as soft as anyone on the team.
- Kucherovski

Oh and Johnson is also better at suppressing shots too, which in my mind, is defense. And I'm positive that if you throw Johnson out on the PK, he might have a few shorties to go along with it.

If Tyler Johnson isn't hard to play against, how do you explain 145 points in 210 games? .69 ppg is better than .56 ppg last time I checked and that isn't factoring in Callahan's steep decline.

Johnson has 3 more points than Callahan in 12 less games.

Johnson also has a points per 60 at 1.10, Cally at 1.04

His 52.37 CF% is slightly above Cally's 51.16

Johnson's PDO (On ice save percentage plus on ice shift percentage) is at 103.17
while Ryan Callahan's is at 99.59

Johnson's Corsi Relative is 2.9 where Callahan's is -4.5

Last season Tyler Johnson's 72 pointers were 18 points more than Callahan's 54 points

Where Callahan does have Johnson, is yes in hits and blocked shots, and if you think that alone, oh and his supposed "defense" because as we talked about yesterday.. playing offense in the opposing zone, is still the best defense, is worth a 5.8 million dollar salary for 4 more years for an aging and declining 30 year old 3rd line player with "grit, tenacity, and leadership" (not quoting you, but more so what people I've talked to about Callahan like about him) over a 25 year old who has already hit 72 points, and if wasn't struck by a bunch of injuries could possibly have 10-15 more points now, then you sir, are a fool.

Tyler Johnson is the younger, faster, more skilled hockey player at the age of 25 than Ryan Callahan at the age of, well, any age.
- j.boyd919

Tyler Johnson is younger and faster but not a better hockey player in my opinion.

Tyler Johnson is younger and faster but not a better hockey player in my opinion.
- Kucherovski

All of his stats say otherwise.

All of his stats say otherwise.
- j.boyd919

Time will tell, we will see how long Tyler Johnson is productive in the league.

When cally puts up 50 points hes definetly worth 5.8, which he did last year. This year everything goes wrong for him, faints on the puck when he gets a clear chance and hits alot of posts. Anyone whos seen him 20+ games this year sees this.

Hes having a tough year but i hope he rebounds in the playoffs this year. He had terrible production in last years run and surely will fight with claws and nails this year to make up for it.

I dont think hes on a steady decline, hes just having a tough season

As stats production goes Cally is definitely overpaid. However he is also doing real good work on our "shutdown" line with Flip and Brown right now. At $5M+ cap hit he was "expected" to be a top 6 scorer, however on a team like this devoid of players of his style, the value he brings goes far beyond simple goals and assists. Come playoff time (assuming the 24/51/23 line stays together) his contributions will go a long way to determining how far this team goes.

Understanding a player like Cally and how he helps (and has helped) this young team grow goes far beyond the scoresheet and any advanced statistic, which is where the eye test comes in. And by eye test I don't mean his work ethic and hustle of which nobody can ever doubt Cally. I mean his mentality when he came to Tampa helping to change this team from a skill based but perimeter team with MSL to a skill based team that can win 2-1 games as easily as it can win 5-4 games. There is no way to say it other than this is a much more complete team than was swept by the Habs 2 years ago, and Cally coming here and staying here went a long way to making that happen.

As for any talk about his cap hit, it only becomes an issue down the road (which Yzerman "planned" for with his full NTC changing to a partial NTC after year 4). Yzerman knew that future flexibility would be needed to resign Stammer, Hedman, Kuch, Palat, etc, so he set up the contract as such. These early years (where Calahan brought significant impact to this team regardless of points) the salary doesn't hurt whereas down the road when it could/would hurt we have enough flexibility to trade him for the cap savings.

I recall in last year finals Johnson was highest point scorer till his wrist got broken, Hedman neutralized 10.5 mln Kane in finals and Callahan alternating with Paquette neutralized 10.5 mln Toews. This is pretty good return on the money in playoffs when it really matters. Those players can have mediocre first half of the reason (and so is Toews and Hossa) but they will be judged by what they do in April and in playoffs.
As far as cap crunch I am sure Steve Y. will find the best compromise solution for his team so they continue to be a contender.
Watching the reddit/youtube stream today of Lightning/Pens, pretty entertaining game even without Malkin, Pens giving it all, triplets including Johnson delivering what they should.

J Boyd 919... ... When these two teams meet its always a fun game to watch. Lightning got the best of them again and the view from my seat was great, how was it from the control room... Good game.

I recall in last year finals Johnson was highest point scorer till his wrist got broken, Hedman neutralized 10.5 mln Kane in finals and Callahan alternating with Paquette neutralized 10.5 mln Toews. This is pretty good return on the money in playoffs when it really matters. Those players can have mediocre first half of the reason (and so is Toews and Hossa) but they will be judged by what they do in April and in playoffs.
As far as cap crunch I am sure Steve Y. will find the best compromise solution for his team so they continue to be a contender.
Watching the reddit/youtube stream today of Lightning/Pens, pretty entertaining game even without Malkin, Pens giving it all, triplets including Johnson delivering what they should.
- vshun

Tony Hrkac reportedly taking in the Blues game tonight.

Talking to my friend tonight about the Bolts and I think Cooper finally got something right. He finally has the top 4 offensive producers on two lines so they generate more offense across both lines. Here is how I rank their offensive abilities.

Stamkos 1a, Kucherov 1b, Johnson 2 and Palat 3 are our top 4 offensive threats.
Namestnikov 4, Killorn 5, Filppula 6, and Callahan 7 are our next 4
Boyle, Brown, Paquette, and Condra the final 4
I exclude Marchessault because Cooper is not playing him.

Stamkos has a true playmaker do everything in Palat and Namestnikov continues to establish himself and gives this line real balance, Killorn can fulfill the puck retrieval of Palat while giving up some offensive skill but the hit is minimal with Johnson and the true emergence of Kucherov the potential superstar. That leave the third line to grind on the opposing teams best line but also be a threat to score with Brown, Fil and Callahan. The fourth line is what it is one of the better in the league and filled with PKers.

I hope Cooper sticks with the current lineup, I think it gives the Bolts the best chance going forward over reuniting the triplets and taking away a play maker from Stamkos.