Player Discussion: Former Bolts Thread

Sky04

Registered User
Jan 8, 2009
29,615
18,943
Imagine we actually get Palat back...

Adding him to the middle six would be huge. Him or Gourde. Pipe dreams? Probably. But still, that would be awesome.

Lets be honest here, Palat would be useless without being stapled next to Kucherov and Point and thats hoping the injuries from the last 2 years along with age arent the primary reasons hes struggling.

Gourde at least has his motor and tenacity and would be an impact player regardless.
 

JTBF81

Registered User
Dec 6, 2018
4,361
2,311
Tampa, FL.
Not sure yet about Koepke because of the small sample size, but I don't think there's any doubt that both JAM and Verhaeghe would have been successful in Tampa if given the top 6 opportunity.
 

Hockeyville USA

Registered User
Dec 30, 2023
3,421
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Central Ohio
Not sure yet about Koepke because of the small sample size, but I don't think there's any doubt that both JAM and Verhaeghe would have been successful in Tampa if given the top 6 opportunity.
Cooper is so stubborn with his top 2 lines. You basically have to be Brayden Point or 2017-18 Yanni Gourde to break through if you're an organizational prospect/young player.
 

These Are The Days

I need about tree fiddy
May 17, 2014
35,224
21,237
Tampa Bay
Cooper is so stubborn with his top 2 lines. You basically have to be Brayden Point or 2017-18 Yanni Gourde to break through if you're an organizational prospect/young player.
You could say the same thing about developing prospects. If you aren't a near finished product who can play the role he has in mind for you within 50 games, expect a very short Lightning career and a lot of time in Syracuse
 
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JTBF81

Registered User
Dec 6, 2018
4,361
2,311
Tampa, FL.
Cooper is so stubborn with his top 2 lines. You basically have to be Brayden Point or 2017-18 Yanni Gourde to break through if you're an organizational prospect/young player.
Pretty much. And whike Verhaeghe did have his share of struggles on the 4th line, when he did get a chance to play top 6, he looked pretty good. I believe he had a hat trick in one of his early games. I get why he left, but it was a mistake from Tampa not to even give him a QO and try to keep him.
 
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Hockeyville USA

Registered User
Dec 30, 2023
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Central Ohio
Pretty much. And whike Verhaeghe did have his share of struggles on the 4th line, when he did get a chance to play top 6, he looked pretty good. I believe he had a hat trick in one of his early games. I get why he left, but it was a mistake from Tampa not to even give him a QO and try to keep him.
Like I've said in other threads, Yzerman & then BriseBois chose JT Brown and Mitchell Stephens/Alex Volkov over Jonathan Marchessault and Carter Verhaeghe. And at the time, not the worst moves based on the data we had, but you're paid to make the right decisions, and we now know that those were the wrong moves. I will say that Stephens and Volkov were never big junior producers in their DY, D+1, or D+2 while Verhaeghe got better and better in junior and then obviously became really good in the A.
 

TampaIceman

Registered User
Jun 29, 2024
47
42
Good for Koepke but he is about as dime a dozen bottom six forward as it comes.

Stamkos got his first goal on the pp but was -3 in the game, indicative of his limitations at this point in his career.
 
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DFC

Registered User
Sep 26, 2013
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Good for Koepke but he is about as dime a dozen bottom six forward as it comes.

Stamkos got his first goal on the pp but was -3 in the game, indicative of his limitations at this point in his career.
Koepke is on a hot line. He's still what he always was.

Stamkos might not hit 10 5v5 goals all year.
 

ccman68

Registered User
Dec 9, 2017
4,443
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When we call up guys to the 4th line they have to play with 0 offense glendening so it's no surprise they can't show anything. Not that I think Koepke is all that good, but we could use some good bottom 6 players.
 

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