June 19th, 2013 at 12:09 AM
By Kyle Alexander AbneyAt this summer's NHL Entry Draft, it was all but predetermined that Seth Jones — elite defensive prospect for the WHL's Portland Winterhawks who grew up a Colorado Avalanche fan — would be selected first overall by hometown team.
That would likely leave an elite forward for the Tampa Bay Lightning at 3rd overall, one of Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, or European forwards Aleksander Barkov or Valeri Nichushkin.
And then this bombshell from Avalanche beat reporter Adrian Dater:
Suddenly, the player almost everyone considered the consensus best player available that fills an immediate need for the Tampa Bay Lightning might just fall into their lap.
While Dale Tallon — GM of the Florida Panthers and the guy holding the 2nd overall pick — could still select Jones, speculation out of Florida has been than the Panthers need to add a dynamic scoring forward to their lineup, and there is little reason to suggest that plan should change if Colorado selects a forward after all.
Read more... Join the Conversation... June 18th, 2013 at 4:17 PM
By Kyle Alexander AbneyOndrej Palat appeared in 14 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning this season, mostly due to injuries to the forward corps of the big club.
If there is one AHL forward or prospect that may be the "dark horse" to make the Lightning next season, I would have to say it is Ondrej Palat, based partly on those 14 games.
While AHL MVP Tyler Johnson would seem to have an inside track to Tampa Bay next year, he may be hurt by the position he plays. With Steven Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier filling the 1C and 2C roles, Johnson is better served continuing to develop in a top-6 role in the AHL rather than playing a bottom-6 role in the NHL. His time in the NHL may have to wait for the inevitable, annual injury to Lecavalier.
With a Ryan Malone buyout seeming more and more likely as the offseason continues (Damian Cristodero considered it in a piece yesterday) there is a definite opportunity for an AHL winger (or two) to claim an NHL roster spot come training camp.
So why Palat? What did he show in those 14 games?
Read more... Join the Conversation... June 15th, 2013 at 1:29 PM
By Kyle Alexander AbneyDespite his best effort not to, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis won his third career Lady Byng Memorial Trophy this year, it was announced today.
The Lady Byng is awarded annually to the "player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability".
In layman's terms, the award is usually handed out to the player who manages to score the most points while keeping his penalty minutes down — usually close to single digits in an 82-game season.
For St. Louis, 14 penalty minutes in only 48 games is something of an aberration, and it was a bit surprising that the Professional Hockey Writers Assocation handed him the award given how many penalties he did take this year.
He was on a pace for a rather significant amount of penalty minutes this year, especially considering the two prior years when St. Louis won the Lady Byng — 2010-2011 and 2009-2010.
Read more... Join the Conversation... June 11th, 2013 at 6:22 PM
By Kyle Alexander Abney2013 was an up and down season in Tampa Bay, mostly down, and for the second straight year the Tampa Bay Lightning finished the year on the outside looking in.
This year saw a lockout-shortened (48-game) season, four different goal tenders start games for Tampa Bay, a once-likely Calder Trophy nominee and fan favorite traded away, a head coaching change, and much more. To call 2013 a tumultuous season for the Bolts is actually a gross understatement.
As the Stanley Cup Finals are primed to begin between the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks, I begin a 28-part series that will be part of the focal point of Lightning 101 this offseason alongside coverage of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and free agency — a "year in review" series evaluating and analyzing the performance of each player that dressed for at least 10 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning this season — a list that includes 25 skaters and 3 goalies — as well as projecting if and how they fit in for the 2013-2014 season.
Read more... Join the Conversation... June 10th, 2013 at 12:52 PM
By Kyle Alexander AbneyWhen the lottery balls were drawn, a lot of hockey fans in Denver got excited — and for good reason.
The Colorado Avalanche won the 2013 NHL Entry Draft Lottery this year, moving up from the 2nd overall position and displacing the Florida Panthers, who finished with the worst record in the NHL this year.
As a result, the Tampa Bay Lightning now hold a much-coveted top three pick in this summer's NHL Entry Draft (3rd overall), and the ability to select whichever of the three so-called "big three" remain after the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers make their picks at 1st and 2nd overall respectively.
A trio of prospects playing their junior hockey in the CHL have made the biggest splash over the course of the past year, pushing themselves to the top of many draft ranking boards.
While the exact order shuffles around a bit based on subtle differences, the unquestioned "big three" consists of the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin as the top forwards and defenseman Seth Jones of the WHL's Portland Winterhawks. Each ranker from the above link has those three as the top players off the board. Ignoring obvious North American bias, these three players are the presumed best players available in the draft, with many considering them an elite tier separate and not equal to the rest of their draft class.
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