Speculation: 2023-2024 General Lightning Discussion - Part 4

[Rschmitz]

Here's the thing with this: he has to have a plan to improve the team if he doesn't want Stamkos back. It's not like Stamkos is being traded and we're opening up a bunch of cap to reallocate on better players. His contract is just expiring. So letting him walk without any substantial replacement doesn't seem to make sense. And at the moment, we don't have enough cap to bring in quality (or better) players.

Bringing in McDonagh was his big move to improve the team, he'll use the pittance of remaining cap space to do what he's done the last two years i.e. Namestnikov replacing Palat, Sheary replacing Killorn, Cole replacing McDonagh.

I bet he isn't even trying to talk to him now, and he's working on a Hedman extension for July 1st.

 

[Todd1a]

Bringing in McDonagh was his big move to improve the team, he'll use the pittance of remaining cap space to do what he's done the last two years i.e. Namestnikov replacing Palat, Sheary replacing Killorn, Cole replacing McDonagh.

I bet he isn't even trying to talk to him now, and he's working on a Hedman extension for July 1st.

Last year I got laughed at when I told people Sheary was Killorns replacement lol

God JBB has been bad in free agency namestnikov and Sheary lol

Cole was ok for 1 year I’ll give him that

 

[Outl4w]

He won't move Cirelli for maybe 2 more good years tops of Stamkos. Cirelli is not an average forward anyway, so replacing him isn't some simple thing. If the next two or three years were all that JBB cared about, then Serg remains the correct choice to move for many reasons(worst bloated contract, still best trade value, excess talent at that position).

Just because there hasn't been any news doesn't mean much really. Very little news ever leaks out of Tampa until the signing/trade etc is basically happening. The money for Stamkos and enough other players to reach 22 is still there as long as Jeannot and Sheary are moved, and Stamkos is willing to take maybe 6. Tampa was never likely offering him 8.5 or even 7-7.5, and Stamkos and his camp had to know that, even before they signed McD (as whether it had been Hanifin traded for, McD, or other space needed, Tampa was going to need a decent amount of space for other positions thos offseason).

Maybe JBB is fine letting him walk if Stamkos won't take what his best offer is. Yzerman basically did the same thing 8 years ago with the considerably under market number of 8.5. If Stamkos wants a big aav for 2 or 3 years, more power to him, but it won't be in Tampa. Either way, moving Jeannot and Sheary should still occur, as JBB could then still be able to go out and spend 5.5-6 on a good ufa F to help replace Stamkos should he leave. I think JBB is fine having 2 or 3 800kish contracts this season, and hopefully he will be able to find some value in a couple of ~1 million type ufa's that could be signed(not to mention likely thinking a Syracuse promotion like Goncalves, Groshev, Finley etc contributing).

Moving jeannot, sheary, and possibly perbix would open up more than enough to sign Stamkos. We use lilleberg , Crozier, and sign another nhl minimum vet d like like fleury. Then we sign stamkos possibly add one or two players with grit to bottom 6 like goodrow types one a one year deal, take a shot at rebuilding top 6 forward like mantha/duclair/Tarasenko, and fill the other forward spots from cuse and prospects. If any serious offers are made for cernak, cirelli, or sergachev we should listen.

 

[The Gongshow]

The team gets drastically worse if we don't re-sign Stammer. How do we replace a PPG player who is also elite on the PP.

Teams cooked

JAM ain't gonna fix the top 6 as the 91 replacement

 

[Rschmitz]

The team gets drastically worse if we don't re-sign Stammer. How do we replace a PPG player who is also elite on the PP.

Teams cooked

JAM ain't gonna fix the top 6 as the 91 replacement

Agreed and most of the board I assume agrees.

We all agreed about McDonagh 2 years ago too though, this is another one that JBB will want to take back

 

[These Are The Days]

People. We have literally and actually spent this long pouring of Stamkos' career. Or at least I was in 2007/2008



(Same footage but the 2007/2008 videos)

That's how long it's been. Since literally the early days of youtube


We're gonna figure it out.

 

[Five Alarm Fire]

People. We have literally and actually spent this long pouring of Stamkos' career. Or at least I was in 2007/2008



(Same footage but the 2007/2008 videos)

That's how long it's been. Since literally the early days of youtube


We're gonna figure it out.

What a time to be alive. Miss that era of hockey so much.

 

[Felonious Python]

Bringing in McDonagh was his big move to improve the team, he'll use the pittance of remaining cap space to do what he's done the last two years i.e. Namestnikov replacing Palat, Sheary replacing Killorn, Cole replacing McDonagh.

I bet he isn't even trying to talk to him now, and he's working on a Hedman extension for July 1st.

McD asked to be traded, so it's not like JBB went out of his way to make a splashy deal.

 

[DFC]

for whatever reason I wouldn't want to be the team paying Sam Reinhart right now. I feel like we just saw his career year, and it will be a decent martin.

 

[These Are The Days]

for whatever reason I wouldn't want to be the team paying Sam Reinhart right now. I feel like we just saw his career year, and it will be a decent martin.

He's gonna get like $11 million probably. Absolutely nuts

 

[Rschmitz]

McD asked to be traded, so it's not like JBB went out of his way to make a splashy deal.

He wasn't forced to make the deal. All of the smoke around Hanifin to TB with an extension showed JBB's hand, he was going to get a high end D like he said at the presser, it just so happened to be McDonagh.

 

[The Gongshow]

He wasn't forced to make the deal. All of the smoke around Hanifin to TB with an extension showed JBB's hand, he was going to get a high end D like he said at the presser, it just so happened to be McDonagh.

I think he maybe got caught up in Hannafin and thought that would be his golden goose signing this offseason (probably at the expense of Stammer) but then Vegas swooped in and then went to see if McD was available, since he wanted a clear cut shutdown, top 4 d. I was inboard getting Hannafin. I'm intrigued to see if McD can still go for 2 more years, he apparently played well in Nashville.

Stamkos is #1 priority. I think had Hanafin made it to FA, any Stammer money would have been offered to Noah. Our top 6 is screwed with either option of letting 91 walk

 

[These Are The Days]

You don't hold up the entire defense just because Stamkos needs a new deal. The deal probably wasn't done because we had other priorities. These are different problems of different priorities

The only thing more noticeable than how bad our defense was without McDonagh was how quickly it happened. And it's frightening to imagine how badly things would have gotten were it not for Ian Cole. Last year we got the full exposure and it is abundantly clear that unless Cernak can stay healthy, we don't have a 2nd pairing. End of story. Getting McDonagh back fixes that.

JFBB was hellbent on getting another player for months. Hanifin was ready to fall into our lap and Calgary refused it. McDonagh *DID* fall into our lap and I can say with confidence we're going to be better.

 

[Sky04]

The team gets drastically worse if we don't re-sign Stammer. How do we replace a PPG player who is also elite on the PP.

Teams cooked

JAM ain't gonna fix the top 6 as the 91 replacement

The PP makes him look so much better than he is. Which is thanks to Kucherov, take him off and Stamkos significantly exposed for his poor puck decisions. He's also poor at ES (Bryan Rust had more ES points than Stamkos....) and carry a line at all, Stamkos is easily the most replaceable of our top players.

The only reason anyone is entertaining him coming back is because we'd hope for a huge discount contract with great value. Everyone knows he's not worth what his numbers say unless you're someone who can confidently say you'd want him back at ~9.5-10M.

 

[Todd1a]

You don't hold up the entire defense just because Stamkos needs a new deal. The deal probably wasn't done because we had other priorities. These are different problems of different priorities

The only thing more noticeable than how bad our defense was without McDonagh was how quickly it happened. And it's frightening to imagine how badly things would have gotten were it not for Ian Cole. Last year we got the full exposure and it is abundantly clear that unless Cernak can stay healthy, we don't have a 2nd pairing. End of story. Getting McDonagh back fixes that.

JFBB was hellbent on getting another player for months. Hanifin was ready to fall into our lap and Calgary refused it. McDonagh *DID* fall into our lap and I can say with confidence we're going to be better.

You’re talking about a 35 year old mcdonagh now he did play well last year but we’ll see how it goes for 2 more years . My first choice would have been try to get someone in there prime or closer near there prime but we’ll see how this goes.

 

[Rschmitz]

I'm 100% on board bringing back McDonagh, but it probably cost us Stamkos.

If JBB built a second line around Stamkos, his 5v5 issues would probably go away. Having Cirelli as his second line center and a revolving door at RW, the second line is just poorly constructed. If we wanted to, it could be fixed.

It won't be though, because the real issue is Stamkos's injury history and playoff performance. JBB isn't going to role the dice on fixing a line for a guy he probably considers damaged goods.

 

[Rschmitz]

Thoughts on Lafferty? If we really wanna reconstruct our bottom 6 he's near the top of my list.

 

[DFC]

If we try to keep Stamkos by shaving pennies and replacing players with AHL talent, I think we are in a lot of trouble. To me, this requires a big move, where we free up Stamkos money AND add players to the roster. That's why I'm so adamant on Sergachev being the clear guy to go. He could bring back talent and clear money in the same move.

 

[Todd1a]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1804152154761929013

 

[bov]

BriseBois tends to make moves in late June/early July. I'm guessing Cernak could be involved for a good draft pick, barring a goodwill deal for Stamkos. As someone suggested previously, maybe you find a way to get a player like Weber for LTIR flexibility.

 

[Outl4w]

The team gets drastically worse if we don't re-sign Stammer. How do we replace a PPG player who is also elite on the PP.

Teams cooked

JAM ain't gonna fix the top 6 as the 91 replacement

I thoguht we had a power forward that was good at screening the goalie out wait that is Jeannot.
May have to go back to three forwards and two defense
Paul- Point-Kucherov
Sergachev-Hedman

PP2
x-Cirelli-Hagel
Mcd-Raddysh

 

[Flat Ronnie]

It won't be though, because the real issue is Stamkos's injury history and playoff performance. JBB isn't going to role the dice on fixing a line for a guy he probably considers damaged goods.

He's played a full season 7 of the last 8 years. I think the one he missed was from a blood clot?

 

[Rschmitz]

He's played a full season 7 of the last 8 years. I think the one he missed was from a blood clot?

Up until 2022 you couldn't sneeze without Stamkos coming down with a major injury. His last few seasons have been great, but I think JBB made up his mind when he took over.

 

[These Are The Days]

If we try to keep Stamkos by shaving pennies and replacing players with AHL talent, I think we are in a lot of trouble. To me, this requires a big move, where we free up Stamkos money AND add players to the roster. That's why I'm so adamant on Sergachev being the clear guy to go. He could bring back talent and clear money in the same move.

+100

Sergachev by about 21 was a 2nd pairing defender who needed a babysitter. That is amazing for that age. But the problem is that what he has been ever since and that isn't going to move the needle for us in 4 years when we need to rebuild anyway.

 

[Sky04]

Pretty safe to say when Hedman's done we're done, getting McD was to kind of cushion that so his workload isn't as brutal again this year. Hedman had a rough start to the year but that's where your 8.5m defenseman should come into play, instead he had an even worse start and we dug ourselves into a hole where our top 2 defenseman couldn't play defense very well. Again Hedman and Sergachev are too similar in skillsets and don't compliment eachother, the only time they help is when the other is injured.