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Post by blny on Jul 14, 2017 15:31:13 GMT -5
5 years and $5.3 million aav.
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Post by folatre on Jul 15, 2017 21:59:05 GMT -5
Lightning top six is quality. Stamkos, Kucherov, Palat, Johnson, Killorn, Point. Forward depth is also pretty good with third line perhaps to be Kunitz, Namestnikov and Callahan.
My thought is maybe the d-corp rates average. Ultimately though it is the injury factor and the consistency of Vasilevsky between the pipes that seem determinate.
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Post by blny on Jul 16, 2017 12:13:19 GMT -5
As long as Hedman continues to eat 30 minutes a night their D will be okay, but it's definitely not as deep as their forward group. Stralman, Coburn and Girardi are all in their 30s. Stralman is likely the closest to first pair. Dotchin and Koekkoek will have to step up.
They may run into problems in two years. Kucherov's contract will be up. They're gonna have to go cheaper on the bottom six than they are presently so that they can afford the massive raise he'll require. Even then, that won't be enough I don't think. He's their best forward. He'll command at least what Stamkos is making ($8.5 million). That means double the present hit. Callahan will have a year left. Maybe they try and sell him off to a team with space. Those defenders in their 30s all expire at the same time as Kucherov, and are UFAs, but if they're not re-signed similarly priced players will come in. So, there's not really much to save there.
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Post by folatre on Jul 16, 2017 16:11:02 GMT -5
You are right about Hedman, he is a todo terreno beast. It is huge to have a guy that inclines the ice in his clubs favor in every phase of the game.
The perception around the league, more right than misguided in my opinion, is that Tampa is likely to bounce back in a significant way this season.
A thought looking back on 2016-17: man, with Lightning erased from the picture it is so disappointing that Montreal possess so little scoring and so little playoff clutchness (?) that Habs could not take advantage of pretty nicely pave path to conference finals.
A thought looking forward for 2017-18: no matter the order of finish in Atlantic, the path is harder.
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