The Tampa Bay Lightning announced today that they have “entered into a long-term partnership… with Amalie Oil Company. This partnership means that the Tampa Bay Times Forum is no more. The new arena, which plays host to the Lightning, Tampa Bay Storm, and various events every year, is now named Amalie Arena.
Amalie Arena had been ‘The Forum’ since 2002. From a blogging perspective, it’s going to take some time to get used to the fact that Lightning games are being played at ‘The Arena.’ Forgive me, as I’ll likely make that mistake once, or twice, or one thousand times this season.
Moving on…
Today we’re wrapping up the first section of that multi-part series, in which I’m slowly releasing my perfect Tampa Bay Lightning lineup for 2014-15. So far, this is what I’ve built:
Jonathan Drouin-Steven Stamkos-Ryan Callahan Alex Killorn-Valtteri Filppula-Brett Connolly Ondrej Palat-Tyler Johnson-Richard Panik
This blog will likely be shorter than the previous ones, as there’s not a whole lot to analyze with a fourth line. It’s sort of a “who’s left… exercise. The real analysis will start again when I begin building defense pairings.
For those of you who haven’t been following, I’m working with the assumption that Brian Boyle will be the team’s fourth line center. That leaves two spots open on his wings.
One of the things that has consumed the Lightning blogosphere this summer is talk about the team’s abundance of forwards. As I noted in the third line blog, there are only so many spaces to go around. That problem was compounded further when the team went out and signed Brenden Morrow to a one-year contract.
I think it’s probably safe to assume that the long-time Dallas Star will be in the Lightning lineup right from the start. While his possession game is really quite dreadful, Morrow does bring a number of the intangibles that Steve Yzerman spoke about during the summer. He’s a veteran voice with nearly 100 games of playoff experience. That should help out a number of the Lightning’s younger, more inexperienced players.
While I’d caution against awarding contracts on the basis of intangibles, it’s hard to argue with a cheap, one-year deal. Combine that with the fact that Morrow has established himself as an above-average shooter over the years, and it’s really quite easy to see him fitting in and thriving on the team’s fourth line.
Pencil Morrow in on Boyle’s left.
As far as the right-wing position on that fourth line goes, there’s an abundance of opinions out there. Some people think that it should go to Cedric Paquette, who was relatively impressive in a short stint with the team to end last year. Others think it should go to J.T. Brown, the young speedster who was the recipient of some terrible luck last year. Then there’s the group who thinks that Nikita Kucherov should be on my roster. I’m going to ignore that last group, as I’ve already noted that Kucherov’s waiver-eligibility makes him a prime candidate to start in Syracuse.
Me? Well, I’m going to put J.T. Brown on the right side. Aside from the fact that he adds some much-needed speed to that fourth line, Brown is also the kind of player who can play that gritty, checking style when needed. I would be incredibly surprised if he were to deal with such a bout of bad luck again, so this really wasn’t a difficult decision. Brown has NHL experience, he’s responsible at both ends of the ice, and he can move up or down a lineup whenever necessary. He is truly a useful utility player.
For the Paquette crowd, I’ll just say that I think he needs more seasoning. While we were all impressed with him at the end of 2013-14, it’s important to remember that we were watching such a small sample. Based on the fact that the team went out and signed Morrow and Boyle, I have to believe that they feel the same way. Paquette will likely be a good fourth liner in the NHL one day, but that day isn’t today.
Mike’s Fourth Line: Brenden Morrow-Brian Boyle-J.T. Brown
Who’s on your fourth line? Sound off in the comments section.
As always, thanks for reading.