Will The Tampa Bay Lightning Remain a Playoff Team?
NHL Network: Last week on NHL Network, Tony Luftman and Bruce Boudreau discussed the two divisions in the Eastern Conference. They moved to the Atlantic Division, and Boudreau was asked which team would be the most surprising this season. He said the Tampa Bay Lightning.
** NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Tony Luftman: “So coach your team most likely to surprise. These Lightning, Why?”
Bruce Boudreau: “You know what I just think that they didn’t, you know, they, everybody talks about losing Stamkos and everything, and I get it, great player incredible history. But you add Jake Guentzel. I think it is a wash.
And people say, Well, what about the power play? And I’m looking at it right now, and I’m going, Okay, you got Kucherov on the right hash mark. Why don’t we move Brayden Point, who was great in the middle, but so Jake Guentzel, let’s put him in the buffer position and put Point on that on the other half wall. So now Guentzel becomes the shooter a little bit more.
And from that side where I think, it will be just as good, and the rest of the power play stays the same. And I think he’s a better five-on-five player than Steve is and I mean, when I look, they lose Sergachev and even though Ryan McDonagh is a couple years older than when they last had him, I still think he is really solid, solid defenseman.
And, I mean, who knows if Cam Atkinson has anything left in the tank? Then he’s a good addition to. Plus I mean, you know, I mean, Vasilevskiy is getting to the age where he’s going to say, hey, this has got to be, I got to get back completely to form. And if he does, you got the great goaltender you got.
And the one thing we didn’t talk about in the when the production room was I think they got the best coach, I’m pretty sure they got the best coach, longest tenured, in Jon Cooper. And I don’t think he will allow them to lose. He’s never had a losing year. Even in the last year in the American League, he won the Calder Cup going away, and then he just continued to do it right through the NHL.
So, I mean, I think you add all those things, and everybody is saying, Oh, they’re getting old. They’re getting old. They’re going to be done. They’ve been saying it for two years now. I don’t think they’re done. I think they’re going to be right there. I think they’re going to be better than they were last year.”