Tampa Bay Lightning Season Review

Overtime Heroics Editorial

2229 days ago

The Tampa Bay Lightning jumped out to a fast start but did not take over the league until they beat, and surpassed, a hot Buffalo Sabres team on November 29th, 2018. Thus began the dominance on every other National Hockey League team via the Lightning. They went on multiple winning streaks, including one 14 game win streak. They were high-flying through the competition all the way to the end of the season, tying the Detroit Red Wings all-time wins in a season record with 62. Unfortunately, they got swept in the very first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

2018-19 Record (62-16-4) 128 points

Season Recap

Season MVP – Nikita Kucherov

**Courtesy of Dinur Blum** **@rabbi_d** **via** **Flickr**

Nikita Kucherov had a season to remember. He crushed the rest of the league en route to taking home the Art Ross, the Hart and the Pearson trophies at the NHL Awards. There were several options to choose from, as the Lightning are stacked, but Kucherov made it easy to pick after putting up 128 points. That’s not a typo, he was just that good. He was also the Lightning’s best transitional player. He played a complete game, and he did it really well.

Most Improved Player – Anthony Cirelli

Anthony Cirelli, who I like to call Little Italy, came in as a rookie for the Lightning after having played 18 games last season. He put up five goals and six assists for 11 points in those 18 games. However, he played all 82 games with the NHL squad and produced 19 goals and 20 assists (39 points). For a guy who played in a third-line role on a team who had a stacked top six, those are uber-impressive numbers. He was a near 20 goal scorer with bottom-six minutes, and can only improve from here.

Disappointment – Ondrej Palat

Ondrej Palat went from putting up 52 points in 75 games two years ago, to putting 35 and 34 points the last two years, respectively. But what is even more glaring is how he lost an average of over two minutes of time on ice per game from last season into this season. That’s right, he averaged 17 minutes of ice time per game last season, and just 14:53 time on ice this year. What this ultimately means is Palat, a veteran at this point in his career, was passed over in the lineup by the likes of Mathieu Joseph, Yanni Gourde and Brayden Point, who are the young guns on the Lightning. He is likely to be buried beneath Cirelli next season as well, with how Little Italy played last season.

Highlight of the Year

Current Depth Chart

Top Three Prospects

Callan Foote: Drafted in the first round, 14th overall, in the 2017 NHL entry draft, Callan Foote has taken long strides to become a full-time NHL talent. Foote is 1 to 2 years out from a full role with the Lightning, and with where he was selected and what many analysts suggest, he has a very high ceiling and could be one heck of an NHL defenseman one day.

Maxim Cajkovic: Probably my favourite Lightning prospect, Cajkovic (pronounced Chi-Ko-Vich) was selected in the third round, 89th overall, in this past draft. He plays with a tenacity similar to that of Brad Marchand. He has strong skating abilities and a great offensive skill-set. Cajkovic is always moving his feet, displaying a high motor. Likely three or more years away from playing in the NHL, Cajkovic is a project, but a steal nonetheless.

Nolan Foote: Brother of Callan Foote, Nolan Foote was also a first-round selection at 27th overall. However, he was ranked as a late second-round selection by many experts in the league and was viewed as arguably the worst first-round pick in 2019. However, he is still a solid prospect. He plays a strong two-way game, with good awareness. Foote has a strong shot and decent play-making abilities as well. While he isn’t the best skater, Foote could be ready for an NHL roster spot in two to three years, similar to his brother.

Players Primed For a Breakout Season

Mathieu Joseph: With the departure of JT Miller and the slow, painful decline of Palat, Joseph is likely to benefit the most next season.

Key Additions/Departures

Curtis McElhinney: Potential new back-up to Andrei Vasilevskiy

JT Miller: Sent to the Vancouver Canucks. Garnered a strong return, but will be sorely missed.

Ryan Callahan traded to the Ottawa Senators for goaltender Mike Condon

Trade Bait

Ondrej Palat

Tyler Johnson

Alex Killorn

Offseason Needs

Re-sign their Restricted Free Agents (RFAs)

Trending Up or Down

Unfortunately, they can’t do much better than 62 wins, but they made solid moves overall, and if they bring back their RFAs, the Lightning could have a better roster next season. They just need to stay healthy.

All stats via hockey-reference.com

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