Are The Lightning Tanking The Year Away?

By Tyler Santana

The sky is falling! The sky is falling! That is the feeling around the fan base after a series of trades moving out big names. Ben Bishop, Brian Boyle, and Valtteri Filppula all of whom are fan favorites that have been big pieces of the Lightning’s playoff runs the past two seasons. So it’s understandable that the Lightning faithful may feel management has given up on the season by moving these guys out. However, this is not a case of management mailing it in, they’re still very much in it for a cup this year.

Most people, even if they’re upset, know why the trades were made. Bishop is a pending UFA and will more than likely be elsewhere in 2017. Boyle is also a UFA but I could see him back next year if he’s willing to take less than what he could get from other teams. Fil had a contract that he was not living up to and with the cap crunch that contract needed to go. So why do I not see a bolts team that’s given up on the year? Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat are both UFAs and are both in Bolts Blue still. While Bishop was moved, the team and management both have unwavering confidence in Vasilevskiy’s ability to carry the team after seeing his performance against Pittsburgh in the ECF last season. Maybe the biggest thing has nothing to do with who was moved, but how the Bolts have moved up the standings and are now sitting only 3 points behind Toronto for the last wildcard spot.

Have the Bolts been “sellers” this deadline?

Yes, they have, they have gotten rid of guys who they may have lost due to the upcoming expansion draft or free agency in exchange for multiple picks and prospects. This is something a team with an enriched prospect pool can afford to do. Look at the Blackhawks, arguably the most dominant teams this decade. They don’t pay big money to guys they know they can replace with prospects. So, rather than letting them walk for nothing, they trade these guys for picks and prospects to bolster their pool. This allows them to retain their core of Kane, Toews, Keith, Seabrook, and Crawford, filling in guys around them on ELCs to stay under the cap. This is a formula the Lightning can follow, and that little tax help from the state makes it easier to retain our core. This is the plan I believe Yzerman is following, filling in holes in his prospect pool and creating cap room to retain core guys like Johnson and Palat while shedding guys he knows he can’t keep rather than losing them for nothing at all.

To conclude, are the Bolts tanking? Should we descend as a mob on Amalie and go after Yzerman for sending away our favorite players? Or should we go cheer on our boys and get excited over the possibility of more playoff hockey in Tampa? All I can say is we are just five points out, Kuch and Dru tearing it up, Vasy is keeping the team in games and Stammer is finally nearing his return.

Get excited Tampa Bay and let’s watch our boys go!

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March 4th, 2017