I think he takes a hit on his contract after no showing in the playoffs IMO. Not a major one but still, I also dont think there is any way you give him more money than Stamkos. I would anticipate this is one of the first things that will get done once trades are made to create cap space. They cant sign him yet because then there will be no trade leverage in trying to move anyone and it will only be a cap dump trade. They have to move some of the expensive role players this summer there really isnt a choice considering what just happened.
- headyhedman77

They need to find a captain.

Cooper in Reg season is mastermind, Cooper in playoffs is a 4 year old who just dropped a load in his pants and doesnt know what to do about it.
- headyhedman77

Coaching really isn't a major impact in the regular season which is great for Cooper where he can just coddle all the players and keep them happy.

They need to find a captain.
- Feds91Stammer

Agreed because that looked like a leaderless and uninspired group getting manhandled shift after shift

I think he takes a hit on his contract after no showing in the playoffs IMO. Not a major one but still, I also dont think there is any way you give him more money than Stamkos. I would anticipate this is one of the first things that will get done once trades are made to create cap space. They cant sign him yet because then there will be no trade leverage in trying to move anyone and it will only be a cap dump trade. They have to move some of the expensive role players this summer there really isnt a choice considering what just happened.
- headyhedman77

I'm sure they'd love if Tyler Johnson waived his NTC

but getting anyone to accept a trade out of Tampa who doesn't have to is difficult

it basically is asking them to take a pay cut because for the most part any team they would go to is not going to take the no income tax that playing in Florida provides

I'm sure they'd love if Tyler Johnson waived his NTC

but getting anyone to accept a trade out of Tampa who doesn't have to is difficult

it basically is asking them to take a pay cut because for the most part any team they would go to is not going to take the no income tax that playing in Florida provides
- jimbro83

Yeah it basically has to go to another team with no income tax as well. Maybe if nashville poops the bed we can just swap a bunch of players

I'm sure they'd love if Tyler Johnson waived his NTC

but getting anyone to accept a trade out of Tampa who doesn't have to is difficult

it basically is asking them to take a pay cut because for the most part any team they would go to is not going to take the no income tax that playing in Florida provides
- jimbro83

But Tanner says taxes are irrelevant in terms of where NHL players decide to go

But Tanner says taxes are irrelevant in terms of where NHL players decide to go
- obie

this Tanner guy is an old wise man

But Tanner says taxes are irrelevant in terms of where NHL players decide to go
- obie

They are semi irrelevant since players pay a jock tax which means only the 41 home games the Lightning play are the advantage, unless the contract is bonus dollars only then it's a big advantage. They all pay the same taxes when they play in Boston.

They are semi irrelevant since players pay a jock tax which means only the 41 home games the Lightning play are the advantage, unless the contract is bonus dollars only then it's a big advantage. They all pay the same taxes when they play in Boston.
- Kucherovski

they are relevant when asking a player to waive his NTC

Just a perfect storm of events...
Cbus being loads better than most imagined-
Bob going full on brick wall -
Tampa w/o 77 & lack of desire on F backcheck D-
Cooper with poor personnel mngmnt -
Coupled with Cbus relentless pressure adds up too getting broomed-
- dozerD10

Everybody has injuries. Columbus missing 2 defensemen. Boston made playoffs missing 5 of top 7 defensemen for 6 weeks and still played strong. Bolts look very unprepared. Unable to adapt to circumstances. It’s all on Coop. Washington series all over again

I'm not sure if Cooper is the problem, but the real problem may be that the players are no longer listening to him. Either he has to go or the roster needs to be shaken up. How many times has he stated the players need to shoot more and pass less, yet they still look to pass first. The top players seem to be too interested in making fancy plays, which work in the regular season but not in the playoffs. They need to readjust to more of a shoot first mindset and then look for the rebounds. This roster needs to be evaluated up and down and some players need to go. I'm not sure who needs to go but Johnson and Palat seem like a good place to start. It seems like the Lightning have too many laid back personalities. It will be interesting to see what happens this summer.

Cooper in Reg season is mastermind, Cooper in playoffs is a 4 year old who just dropped a load in his pants and doesnt know what to do about it.
- headyhedman77

In regular season he lets his superstars play their style, a style that is a recipe to failure in playoffs. All the BJs did was trapping the neutral zone yet the poor (frank) had no answer to that for 4 games? Come on, he had the last change for the home games. Sorry pal, you have a highly talented team poorly coached and not built for playoffs hockey and yes, Vasilevski wasn't good enough neither.

Steven Chokos and Nikita Vanishov, Andrei Sieveleski, Brayden NoPoint, Victor Deadman, Ryan McDonut

Anyone else?

Probably the most disappointing outcome that could have happened. Regardless, I wanted to thank you Sam for the consistent blogs throughout the season.

Now onto the roster, I agree that BriseBois should be looking to trade players like Callahan, Killorn, Johnson, and Palat, not just for salary cap reasons, but to begin retooling our forward depth.

Before, I thought this roster would be able to win with speed and skill alone. Based on the playoffs in the last two seasons, I'm not so sure anymore. I think that the Lightning could benefit from having a player like Josh Anderson or Tom Wilson to play alongside of Kucherov, Stamkos, Point, or Cirelli. I don't know if we have any power-forward type players in the system, aside from Erne, who seems like he'll just end up as a bottom six player.

In terms of defense, I'd get rid of Ruuta and Girardi, and possibly Coburn and Stralman. Hopefully Foote is ready to go next season. Don't know if it's possible to fire Cooper given that we just gave him an extension. If it is, I hope that they move on from him, although I don't know if there are any better options available right now.

It's nice looking towards next season to try and move past the absolute embarrassment that was the Lightning this post-season
- jvar17

I think you can delete the word "probably" from your first sentence.

It's a first round sweep. that literally IS the worst possible outcome.

Steven Chokos and Nikita Vanishov, Andrei Sieveleski, Brayden NoPoint, Victor Deadman, Ryan McDonut

Anyone else?
- RoloTahmasee

Ryan Salarycapllahan

Steven Chokos and Nikita Vanishov, Andrei Sieveleski, Brayden NoPoint, Victor Deadman, Ryan McDonut

Anyone else?
- RoloTahmasee

Alright that gave me a good laugh, well done lol.

They looked like a team that thought the cup would be handed to them as a reward for their outstanding regular season.
- Pat1993

Saying Tampa overlooked CLB diminishes what CLB did.

I don't think Tampa was looking past Columbus. They came out in game 1 and dominated to a 3-0 in the 1st period.

This series was won b/c Torts lambasted CLB in locker room after 1st pd/game 1, and he adjusted to Tampa. Jackets players responded after that period and never looked back. They were simply better all around, and were more disciplined.

Tampa either couldn't or wouldn't adjust and got smoked. McD showed, again, that he is NOT a number one Dman. Losing Hedman due to injury hurt Tampa, but by no means should have been a factor they couldn't overcome

At least the Rays are playing good. Still seats available for their games.

At least the Rays are playing good. Still seats available for their games.
- stan-ley-cups

Yeah, but only like 30,000.

Saying Tampa overlooked CLB diminishes what CLB did.

I don't think Tampa was looking past Columbus. They came out in game 1 and dominated to a 3-0 in the 1st period.

This series was won b/c Torts lambasted CLB in locker room after 1st pd/game 1, and he adjusted to Tampa. Jackets players responded after that period and never looked back. They were simply better all around, and were more disciplined.

Tampa either couldn't or wouldn't adjust and got smoked. McD showed, again, that he is NOT a number one Dman. Losing Hedman due to injury hurt Tampa, but by no means should have been a factor they couldn't overcome
- rrentz

biggest problem as i see it is, game 1 was the first time all year Tampa got kicked in the teeth. until that point they never faced any adversity or had a stretch of games that made them question themselves or situations where they had to make serious adjustments. all of a sudden it happens and it's the playoffs and they're down a game and feeling the pressure. they handled it terribly but credit Torts and the BJs because they clearly recognized this and went for the kill early on.

my guess with Tampa is that they follow Washington's footsteps. they'll stop trying to be a juggernaut in the regular season, make some peripheral roster moves and pace themselves so that they are peaking late in the year. then in 2-3 years when we've all written them off, they'll win their Cup.

To quote the late, great Jack Buck, "I don't believe what I just saw!"

Could this be the single biggest playoff collapse in the history of sport? It's hard to find something to compare this to.

This wasn't a fluke. Columbus dominated this series after the first period of game 1.

I'm shocked.

And being a Blues fan that remembers the President's Trophy upset against San Jose, I feel the fans' pain.

Saying Tampa overlooked CLB diminishes what CLB did.

I don't think Tampa was looking past Columbus. They came out in game 1 and dominated to a 3-0 in the 1st period.

This series was won b/c Torts lambasted CLB in locker room after 1st pd/game 1, and he adjusted to Tampa. Jackets players responded after that period and never looked back. They were simply better all around, and were more disciplined.

Tampa either couldn't or wouldn't adjust and got smoked. McD showed, again, that he is NOT a number one Dman. Losing Hedman due to injury hurt Tampa, but by no means should have been a factor they couldn't overcome
- rrentz

I wonder if Tampa’s cakewalk of a season was detrimental. Not having to face much adversity - tough to ramp up the mental toughness for the playoffs.

Just a theory.

As a Leafs fan, I hope you make knee-jerk reactions to this loss.

Because damn, your team has a poopload of talent. I get that you fellas are bitter and angry this morning, but poop happens.

If you manage the cap well this summer, no reason why you can’t be top of the league again.

To quote the late, great Jack Buck, "I don't believe what I just saw!"

Could this be the single biggest playoff collapse in the history of sport? It's hard to find something to compare this to.

This wasn't a fluke. Columbus dominated this series after the first period of game 1.

I'm shocked.

And being a Blues fan that remembers the President's Trophy upset against San Jose, I feel the fans' pain.
- bcallaway

you can't call it a collapse. they were never even upright.

To quote the late, great Jack Buck, "I don't believe what I just saw!"

Could this be the single biggest playoff collapse in the history of sport? It's hard to find something to compare this to.

This wasn't a fluke. Columbus dominated this series after the first period of game 1.

I'm shocked.

And being a Blues fan that remembers the President's Trophy upset against San Jose, I feel the fans' pain.
- bcallaway

But this was a sweep.

Saying Tampa overlooked CLB diminishes what CLB did.

I don't think Tampa was looking past Columbus. They came out in game 1 and dominated to a 3-0 in the 1st period.

This series was won b/c Torts lambasted CLB in locker room after 1st pd/game 1, and he adjusted to Tampa. Jackets players responded after that period and never looked back. They were simply better all around, and were more disciplined.

Tampa either couldn't or wouldn't adjust and got smoked. McD showed, again, that he is NOT a number one Dman. Losing Hedman due to injury hurt Tampa, but by no means should have been a factor they couldn't overcome
- rrentz

Agreed. The comeback win gave the players faith - in themselves, their coach and their game plan. TB did nothing but assume "we'll get em next time".

The d core really let us down. Hedman's health issues are a real problem. Every team knows he can be taken out and it will continue to happen. Unless he had an injury it was a mistake not to play Coburn the whole series. He sure looked healthy when he got in there and a lot of the after-the-whistle bs from CBJ stopped. He probably won't be worth it but I think Coburn earned another contract this year.