For Tampa Bay:
Center
Brayden Point (A+): Hard to imagine him being better. He's had one bad game that I can think of, and, even in that one, he had a good third period.
Steven Stamkos (B): A lot of people are going to jump on this, but I'm combining everything that happened up to the first game with Nashville (F), and everything that's happened afterward (A+). Stamkos single-handedly cost us that game with two terrible plays that led to Nashville goals, but, credit to him, he recognized something had to change. He stated he needed to get back into a shoot-first mentality, and then, lo and behold, actually did it. Since then he's been serving up a lot of crow to his doubters, those of us (and I was a huge doubter) who didn't believe he could find his game. Even when he's not scoring, he's creating chances. It's been a few weeks now. Enough to give us hope.
Anthony Cirelli (B): He's settled down a little bit from the usual energy we see with rookies, but still looks like a solid 3C at the NHL level.
Cedric Paquette (A): By Paquette's standards, we really couldn't ask for much more. The thing about Paquette is there's a huge difference between his A-game and B-game, and we've gotten his A-game in all but a couple of games so far.
Left Wing
Ondrej Palat (F): For those of you who don't know, Palat is among the slowest starters every year. He commonly puts up about 0.3 ppg in the first half and then roughly 1.0 ppg in the second half. Before his injury, he had 5 points, all assists, in 9 gamesm, and his overall play was uninspired to say the least. It's getting frustrating to watch because he's capable of being one of our best players.
JT Miller (B+): He just keeps producing. We put him on the 4th line, he produced. Moved him back up, he produced.
Yanni Gourde (A+): Getting great players from nowhere seems to be Tampa Bay's M.O., and, since Gourde is considered a Brisebois find, as opposed to an Yzerman find, I'm confident the trend will continue. Scores all his goals around the crease. We need more guys doing this. (Plays Right Wing a lot too.)
Alex Killorn (A): He's probably the steadiest 0.5 ppg producer in the league. In good years or bad, you can count on him being right around, or exactly on, that mark. This year has been a good one. He's created a lot more chances than we're used to. His skating seems improved too, after several years where it appeared to be declining.
Adam Erne (B-): Much improved lately. Looked a little lost early on and was a healthy scratch for a while. Seems to have his feet under him now. He's a different player when he has confidence. Is probably playing his way off our bottom line.
Right Wing
Nikita Kucherov (C-): There are a lot of TB fans who'd argue for a lower grade, even though I'm sure this surprises a lot of fans. He has definitely not been good by his own standards, which is something he's talking about a lot himself. He's frustrated with his level of play. That said, he sneezes out points as well as anybody in the league. He can have a downright awful game, full of turn overs, dead plays, and ill-advised decisions, and then show up for a split second to create a goal more/less on his own. So I can't bring the grade down too far. He's leaving a lot to be desired, but has shown some flashes of his "old self" lately.
Tyler Johnson (B): He's been one of the bigger positives on the team this year, because I don't think anybody expected him to be as good as he has been. That said, the production has dried up a bit. I think he's taken on a more responsible role with his current linemates and often seems to be the guy covering for a pinching D. (Plays Left Wing a lot too.)
Mathieu Joseph (B+): He surprised some people by making the team out of camp, but has been a huge net positive. Even when he's not scoring, he brings a lot to the table with his speed and tenacity. But lately, pucks are starting to go in for him. Looks like he's going to be part of our future.
Ryan Callahan (B): Expectations are in the basement. I don't know if anybody expects him to beat a goalie ever again. So I'm not weighing this against his contract, but against what he realistically could bring to the team. And all we could really expect was good defense. He's brought that, and has had the occasional offensive bright spot too.
Defense
Victor Hedman (C+): He's been a little hard to gauge. His best games have mostly been quiet games, rather than the offensive outbursts he had last year. But he's had some bad games too. I think it's hard to give him a higher grade when he's our most talented defenseman but has been playing like our second best defenseman. But Hedman goes through stretches like this every year. You never know when he's going to start dominating.
Ryan McDonagh (Is there a Grade higher than A+?): Our fanbase is pretty much stunned. We knew he underachieved last year, like a lot of D who get traded at the TDL, but I don't think anybody expected him to show up like a legit #1D this year, and one of the better ones in the league at that. He's been an absolute monster. If he'd come in last year and played like this, we would have been shocked, but, having come in last year and underwhelmed, and then a few months later come in and be arguably (but probably) our best player through 21 games? Can't say enough good things.
Anton Stralman (A-): He looked a little rejuvenated up until his injury. Mainly that comes from playing with McDonagh. But together those two can throw a tarp over just about anybody.
Mikhail Sergachev (C): It's been a mixed bag. I think he's going through a sophomore slump. There are nights where he's downright horrendous and nights where you don't notice him much, in a good way, which I guess is a thing most defensemen of his ilk go through. He's the one guy on our team who I wish would shoot less because it's so predictable, and rarely a real threat to score or create a rebound.
Brayden Coburn (A): The most rejuvenated member of the Lightning. His skating is back to what it was when he first came to the team, if not before that even. I question whether or not we had a few guys spending too much time in the weight room (Johnson has said this caused him to lose speed), and, if that's true, it could be why Coburn has refound his extra Big Man gear. He's been very effective, while most of us thought those days were over. So he's destroyed expectations.
Dan Girardi (B-): He's pretty much in line with his expectations. We know he's our worst defenseman, and we know we're playing him over his head more often than not, next to Hedman, so mistakes happen. That said, he still seems to be a net positive, which is all we're really asking from him.
Slater Koekkoek (B): Honestly, I'd given up hope on Koekkoek, and the only reason why his grade is so high here is because he's shown enough flashes this year for me to think we can still salvage something out of him. That said, he seems to have instilled very little faith in the coaching staff, and is still our most regular healthy scratch.
Erik Cernak (A-): We called him up from Syracuse shortly after Stralman went down and he immediately replaced Koekkoek as a regular. This is a guy we need to be a regular next year, and hopefully play in the top-4, and, so far, he's showing signs that that's a real possibility. He plays with a bit of an edge, which can get him into trouble, but, IMO, it's an edge we need as a team. The fact that he looks like a solid NHLer, right out of the gate, warrants the high grade, I think.
Goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy (A): When he's "on," I'm not sure there's a better goalie in the league. Sometimes he relies way too much on athleticism and reflexes, but, when he combines that with a calm, controlled game, where he's aware of situations, smothering pucks when need be, and keeping his rebounds in check? He's lights out. Still struggles a bit with regular "young goalie" issues, but seems to have made a huge step forward this year. This is the best I've seen him control rebounds consistently. Hopefully the injury doesn't set him back.
Louis Domingue (B-): Sometimes he's so lights out he makes us believe he's a real asset, one we can trade somewhere down the line as a #1 to some other team. Other nights he reminds us why he's a back-up, and a pretty average back-up at that. That said, I think being an average back-up is kind of in line with the expectations on him, and a drastic improvement over what we've gotten used to with this team (Lindback, Nabakov, Budaj).
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