Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

One Thing the Lightning Need to be Complete

November 30, 2020, 2:56 PM ET [22 Comments]
Michael Stuart
Tampa Bay Lightning Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
As part of a HockeyBuzz-wide series, I’m left to ask: What’s the one thing the Tampa Bay Lightning need to be complete?

The answer: Cap casualties.

Typically when one thinks about what any given team needs to be complete, the answer is perceived to be a position player, or a new coach, or a superstar draft pick; the need is an on-roster add. For the Bolts, though, the story is a little bit different. This is a Stanley Cup Championship roster that is heading into next year with all of the major pieces in place. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Steven Stamkos, Mikhail Sergachev, and many others, will all be back in action for the Lightning in 2020-21. So, there’s not really an immediate need for anything to make this roster complete. It already is.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the Lightning are geared up and ready to make another run at the Cup quite yet. They currently sit approximately $2M over the salary cap, and still have Erik Cernak and Anthony Cirelli left to sign. Hence, my conclusion: To be “complete,” the Lightning need cap casualties. Once they get back underneath the cap, this team is as good as any and will be ready to challenge for the back-to-back win.

With the Lightning having recently signed Sergachev to a three-year contract extension, there is some thought that things might finally be happening behind the scenes on the salary cap front. Since the season ended, the fan base has been waiting with heightened anticipation to see what Julien BriseBois is going to do to fix his cap problem. Outside of trying to dump Tyler Johnson on waivers, the General Manager has been eerily silent.

That silence hasn’t stopped online speculation from coalescing around a common set of potential cap-clearing targets: Johnson, Alex Killorn, Braydon Coburn, and Cedric Paquette

The question for BriseBois is what it might cost to dump one or two of those names onto other teams around in the league in a flat-cap, cash-strapped environment. Outside of maybe Killorn, the usual targets don’t appear to have much perceived value around the NHL. With a dearth of high-end prospects on hand, that likely means BriseBois will be forced to add draft pick sweeteners to get the cap space he needs.

As even the most casual fan can deduce, trading draft picks isn’t a strategy for long-term success. It can pay off in the short-term in the right situation, but eventually the roster will be older and the cupboards will be bare. On that note, it’s quite easy to see that the Lightning are on a trajectory that will see them experience at least a few rough years down the road. That’s what made the 2020 championship so special; all the hard work that has gone into building a winning roster since Jeff Vinik bought the team paid off, and any future pain will have been worth it.

So, what do the Lightning need to be complete? Cap casualties. This roster isn’t going to be able to stay together forever; winning right now needs to be the priority.

As always, thanks for reading.
Join the Discussion: » 22 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Michael Stuart
» Steven Stamkos and the Olympics
» Steven Stamkos is Showing Hart
» Victor Hedman is Back
» Lightning, Predators Release Stadium Series Jerseys
» With Nothing Left to Prove, Lightning are Proving Something