It’s time to continue with that multi-part series, in which I’m slowly releasing my ideal Tampa Bay Lightning lineup for 2014-15.
For those of you who haven’t been following, I’ve been building my lineup piece by piece over the last week-plus. Working with the assumption that Steven Stamkos, Valtteri Filppula, Tyler Johnson, and Brian Boyle will center the team’s four lines, here are the combinations I’m hoping to see come opening night:
Jonathan Drouin-Steven Stamkos-Ryan Callahan Alex Killorn-Valtteri Filppula-Brett Connolly Ondrej Palat-Tyler Johnson-Richard Panik Brenden Morrow-Brian Boyle-J.T. Brown
With that section of this series behind us, it’s time to get started on the defense pairings.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Victor Hedman is going to be the team’s number one guy heading into this year. He had a Norris-caliber season in 2013-14, and certainly looks poised to build on that success. Teams often go crazy searching for a true, top-tier defenseman; the Lightning are lucky enough to have one.
The question Lightning fans have been asking all summer is this: Who will Jon Cooper put next to Hedman?
Over the last two seasons, Sami Salo has held down that spot. The options this year are Matt Carle, Jason Garrison, and Anton Stralman. I think it’s probably fair to say that his new partner will be an upgrade, regardless of which one is chosen.
I’m going to take Matt Carle out of the running right now. If there’s anything Carle has shown us since re-joining the Lightning it’s that he’s not a top-pairing guy. There’s nothing wrong with that. He’s a serviceable second-pairing guy when placed next to a solid partner. While Hedman would likely (read: definitely) be able to carry Carle around the ice, it probably doesn't make sense to move Carle off the left side and into unfamiliar territory.
That leaves Garrison and Stralman.
Most people around these parts seem to think that the newly signed Stralman should be put next to Hedman. After all, it’s probably true that he’s a better player than Garrison. Why wouldn’t you want your second best defender playing as your number-two guy? Oh, and then there’s that whole Swedish connection.
Well, I’m going to go in another direction. If this blogger was calling the shots, Jason Garrison would be Hedman’s partner. Here’s a small excerpt from a blog I wrote earlier in the summer.
What were the Lightning left with? Rather than having Carle carry Gudas, as the team probably intended, they were left with a second pairing that struggled night after night.Adding Stralman and Garrison changes that. In short, the second pairing from hell is no longer a thing. The key for the Lightning now is to build a second pairing, likely one with Carle on the left side, that can contribute solid minutes.
I spent a great deal of time earlier this summer discussing Stralman’s possession heroics, so I won’t go into great detail here. What I will say is that the Lightning signed a player who has consistently proven that he has the ability to improve the players with whom he’s playing.
That, if you ask this blogger, is exactly what Matt Carle needs. He’s had success with possession drivers before. As uf1910 noted in the comments section of the last blog, Carle can be a solid top-four contributor with the right partner. Given his body of work prior to joining the Lightning, Stralman could be that partner.
Getting Garrison, another positive possession player, in there just gives the team even more options. Bowness and Cooper can shift Gudas down to the third pairing, a place he’ll be more sheltered and able to contribute. They can put Carle with a positive possession player, which should help get him out of the Corsi doghouse. And they can give Hedman a better partner than Sami Salo.
You probably get where I’m going here. Putting Garrison on that top pairing lets me slot Stralman in somewhere else. Without giving away EVERYTHING that will be said in my next blog, it’s quite easy to deduce that Stralman’s steady presence is needed somewhere else on the Lightning blue line.
Mike’s First Defense Pairing: Victor Hedman-Jason Garrison
Who’s on your first pairing? 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.