Speculation: 2024-2025 General Lightning Discussion I

[LightningStrikes]

Do the Lightning have a guy with a heavy shot, left or right?

Look at the Edmonton PP. McDavid, a lefty, is on the left, and Draisaitl, a lefty, is on the right. Draisaitl doesn't have a scorcher, and generally scores closer to the net.

Drai is also one of the best at scoring from a bad angle.

Hedman probably has the hardest shot on the team now.

 

[Rschmitz]

Drai is also one of the best at scoring from a bad angle.

Hedman probably has the hardest shot on the team now.

Hasn’t he always done better than Stammer on the hardest shot competition? Stamkos snipes, Hedman blasts

 

[Felonious Python]

Hasn’t he always done better than Stammer on the hardest shot competition? Stamkos snipes, Hedman blasts

Both can shoot it over 100 mph in a skills competition setting.

Hedman shoots from the blueline, or top the circles at most, so it's hard to compare accuracy.

We're used to Bagel being more of a rush scorer, and empty net specialist. Being on the power play, with a lot of settled offense, is something we just haven't seen much.

Not a lot of tic-tac-toe. The goal against Carolina just after the 2-minute mark is maybe the closest to the type of PP role we're looking for.

 

[Felonious Python]

Hagel quote


I think the quote has copypasta qualities.

“And we’re here trying to replace one of the best power-play guys in the entire world. So that’s impossible. We’re not going to be able to do that. I’m definitely not going to be the guy to do that.

“But listen, I think it’s just repetition. Figure out what works. It’s not going to be pretty at times.”

 

[Stammertime91]

Hagel quote


I think the quote has copypasta qualities.

Coop school of rhetoric

 

[BoltsFanSinceDay1]

Rough seeing Stammer's one timer with another team.

 

[DFC]

We've used Palat over there. We've used Drouin over there. I believe we have even used a set up with Hedman and Sergachev at the point. The PP has been lethal from the moment we put Kucherov on it.

The harsh truth is it has never really mattered if Stamkos was on it.

 

[Felonious Python]

We've used Palat over there. We've used Drouin over there. I believe we have even used a set up with Hedman and Sergachev at the point. The PP has been lethal from the moment we put Kucherov on it.

The harsh truth is it has never really mattered if Stamkos was on it.

It mattered. Stamkos contributed a lot, but I feel that there's a lot of homerism that makes it seem like we were actually scoring way more than anyone else. Teams were on our heels.

2.3% in PP% is all that separated first from fourth. 4.6% is what separated first from seventh.

We were also somewhat weak at 5v5, so the PP was our crutch.

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[DFC]

It mattered. Stamkos contributed a lot, but I feel that there's a lot of homerism that makes it seem like we were actually scoring way more than anyone else. Teams were on our heels.

2.3% in PP% is all that separated first from fourth. 4.6% is what separated first from seventh.

We were also somewhat weak at 5v5, so the PP was our crutch.

No, we just had a top 5 PP for most of the last decade. But that was also true in the extended periods of time when Stamkos wasn't on it.

Just saying, it's unlikely that the pp will suffer that much without him.

 

[Sky04]

No, we just had a top 5 PP for most of the last decade. But that was also true in the extended periods of time when Stamkos wasn't on it.

Just saying, it's unlikely that the pp will suffer that much without him.

Peak Stamkos was an absolute game changer on the PP, a true superstar sniper that guy was was pretty much only matched by Kovalchuk and Ovechkin on the PP. Felt like every shot in his wheelhouse was a goal and that was off a relatively weak PP minus MSL.

The Stamkos for most of the last decade has been less of that and more of a finisher gifted a lot by playing on stacked offensive team after his prime, don't know why people are talking like that Stamkos is unreplaceable, pretty most of the top-20 goal scorers in the league could've done what he did on last year's PP.

It's not like his one timers are picking corners with minimal time and space like they used to, he's getting half empty nets and boat loads of time with those Kucherov passes and we're still getting every other shot sailing high and wide clearing the zone not to mention he might be the worst player on the team under pressure from a defender, it's pretty much a free turnover every time you force him on his backhand.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Stamkos was (an integral) part of a spectacular powerplay unit, no use in downplaying it. But. That #1 PP couldn’t help us win a playoff round two years in a row. I take a better all around 5v5 game over what we saw for long stretches of last season anytime.

 

[DFC]

Stamkos was (an integral) part of a spectacular powerplay unit, no use in downplaying it. But. That #1 PP couldn’t help us win a playoff round two years in a row. I take a better all around 5v5 game over what we saw for long stretches of last season anytime.

The PP was also fine for long, long stretches without him. It will be fine this year too.

 

[EmptyNetAssassin]

PP1 is favoring the left side, but Point is netfront while Guentzel is bumper, which makes a lot more sense, IMO.

Who is in the left circle doesn't really matter too much. There's nothing special about that spot. The question is who is the one to take the Stamkos role, and that's Hagel.

If I had to guess PP2 (favor right)
netfront: Cirelli
left circle: Raddysh (as reported)
bumper: Atkinson
right circle: Paul
blueline: Moser

PP2 (favor left)
netfront: Atkinson
left circle: Raddysh
bumper: Cirelli
right circle: Paul
blueline: Moser

Nick Paul and Anthony Cirelli are somewhat interchangable on either side, but I think of Cirelli as more of a distributor, and Paul as more of a shooter.

Having both PPs prefer the same side makes more sense, IMO. It makes players more interchangeable between units, and partial line changes less confusing.

That is the ugliest and least star power pp I have seen in years. Yuck.

Coop school of rhetoric

He will be replaced by sheary abs Atkinson because they got a vet presence is the real coop logic

 

[Felonious Python]

That is the ugliest and least star power pp I have seen in years. Yuck.


He will be replaced by sheary abs Atkinson because they got a vet presence is the real coop logic

Hagel and Kuch have trained for two months already, but Atkinson is a right-handed shot, and it just might come down to that.

 

[These Are The Days]

I really don't know where all this improved 5 on 5 is supposed to be coming from when we're probably gonna roll 3 lines that can't score worth a damn.

 

[LordStanlersCup]

I really don't know where all this improved 5 on 5 is supposed to be coming from when we're probably gonna roll 3 lines that can't score worth a damn.

The improved 5v5 was probably more targeted defensively than offensively given that we were 5th in GF last year and we have pretty much the same offense aside from swapping stammer with guentzel

 

[Sky04]

I really don't know where all this improved 5 on 5 is supposed to be coming from when we're probably gonna roll 3 lines that can't score worth a damn.

lol that hard I guess.

 

[Master P]

I feel like people are forgetting Hagel is a good goal scorer and can put up some good points.

 

[Felonious Python]

hot off the YouTube presses

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Stammer has the 14th most ppgs all time. By the first or second week of the season he could be top 11. There's no replacing a guy like that. That said we still have Nikita Kucherov, who's as good as any player this generation at making plays and running a pp



If I were Halpern, I would take a step back and hand this all off to him. Don't try to be the smartest person in the room. Let Kuch make personnel or scheme changes, and operate the pp as he sees it, and then use your role to support that. Letting Kuch get creative with it could be fun.

 

[Felonious Python]

same YouTube creator as the video from before.

 

[DFC]

I really don't know where all this improved 5 on 5 is supposed to be coming from when we're probably gonna roll 3 lines that can't score worth a damn.

We have added a guy who scores a lot of 5v5 points.

 

[These Are The Days]

I'm not responding to all that at once. Stacking Guentzel with Kucherov isn't going to alleviate the even strength scoring problems of the other 3 lines. We had defensive issues because the other 3 lines both never sustained any pressure and the go to system was for the forwards to run a fly route back to the defensive zone unless Kucherov was on the ice.

This only works if Jake and Kucherov are split among 2 lines or you take Point off and pair him with Hagel and we try Cirelli with Jake and Kucherov. Otherwise you're running a TKO line redux and praying they don't get the kitchen sink thrown at them.

 

[Felonious Python]

I'm not responding to all that at once. Stacking Guentzel with Kucherov isn't going to alleviate the even strength scoring problems of the other 3 lines. We had defensive issues because the other 3 lines both never sustained any pressure and the go to system was for the forwards to run a fly route back to the defensive zone unless Kucherov was on the ice.

This only works if Jake and Kucherov are split among 2 lines or you take Point off and pair him with Hagel and we try Cirelli with Jake and Kucherov. Otherwise you're running a TKO line redux and praying they don't get the kitchen sink thrown at them.

Lines don't last. Coop is willing to put them in a blender between periods.