With seven rounds of drafting behind us, it’s a good time to look back on what was, what wasn’t, and what could have been. Perhaps one of the most interesting stories to come out of draft weekend in Philadelphia was that the Tampa Bay Lightning made a serious run at the first overall pick.
Aside from Vancouver, hearing Philadelphia and Tampa pushed real hard for first overall pick.
— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) June 28, 2014Panthers GM Dale Tallon said he was close on one particular offer to trade away the No. 1 overall pick Friday night.And while Philadelphia and Vancouver made strong pitches, the club that made Tallon think the most was Tampa Bay, a source said.
Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times confirmed the Bolts’ interest on his Twitter account.
#TBLightning Yzerman did talk a few times with #Panthers about moving up to No. 1 overall pick Friday night. Obv Fla stood pat
— Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) June 28, 2014Consider that the reported offer from Vancouver was the 6th overall pick, the 24th overall pick, and prospect Hunter Shinkaruk. The Lightning’s offer was better than that? It’s almost hard to believe.
I don’t even want to begin to speculate what kind of offer it would have taken to pry that first pick away from Florida, especially when you consider that the Panthers would likely be looking for more from their state rival Lightning than most other teams.
The point is that Yzerman and Director of Amateur Scouting Al Murray clearly had at least some interest in moving up to first overall. Anyone with a little bit of hockey intelligence can probably deduct that they were targeting defenseman Aaron Ekblad. Given the price to move up, you can’t blame the Lightning for simply walking away.
Are you happy with the Lightning’s decision to keep their picks and prospects, or would you have liked to see them move up to first overall? What would you have been willing to give up? What do you think the Lightning offered, keeping in mind that it was reportedly more than the Vancouver proposal? Let me know in the comments section.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.