Renaissance Man Brian Boyle hopes to remain with Lightning next year

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
December 15, 2016

Superstars garner headlines.

Role players fill in the paragraphs.

The stars score the goals that lead to success.

Role players do the detail oriented jobs that rarely show up in a box score.

Then there is Brian Boyle, hockey’s version of a Renaissance Man who can do it all.

Yes, Boyle has a specified role on the Lightning as a penalty killer and shutdown forward – his defensive zone starts in three seasons with Tampa Bay is 58.5 percent – something he’ll likely be asked to do when Tampa Bay visits Vancouver on Friday (Fox Sports Sun, 10 p.m.). But make no mistake, Boyle is not defined by the one or two roles he’s been asked to fill.

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Boyle can perform any task assigned to him – penalty kill, power play, top six role and checker as well as sliding in and taking shifts on defense if the need arises. He’s not a jack-of-all-trades, because that implies he does everything average.

Instead, Boyle does all of them well.

“He knows all the positions,’’ Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “He’s big and strong, but he has a good mind for the game. When you are smart, you can pretty much play most positions. And he’s really good at it, which is a really good luxury for us to have.’’

Everything short of putting on the pads and playing goal, Boyle has done it all for the Lightning in his two-plus seasons with the Lightning.

On Wednesday in Calgary, with Nikita Kucherov out of the lineup, Boyle stepped up to play on a line with Valtteri Filppula and Jonathan Drouin. Boyle has also been used on the power play as a net-front presence and against the Flames, he showed off his offensive skills, tipping a puck that was heading wide for a power play goal and putting on a quick deke while in alone on Chad Johnson to lift a back hand in to the net.(See highlights of both goals below)

Nothing new for the former first-round pick to chip in when and wherever the Renaissance Man is asked to play.

“I guess that probably means I’m not particularly great at one of those things,’’ Boyle joked about the moniker. “But growing up it was always told to me to understand the whole game as much as you can, know all the positions. Certainly ones I’m much more comfortable in, obviously, but that happens throughout the season and in games sometimes. You just want to be prepared. You can learn more each day and just try to be ready, especially when you are not a top six guy, you need to be able to do certain things and be a utility guy if you can.

“It’s something that I’ve tried to work at a little bit and I’ve been put in different positions throughout my career and when I was younger, I didn’t have a choice but to try to get better at it. So I just take a little piece here and there from playing in a bunch of different spots – center, penalty kill I understand more because I’ve done them more – but I’ve always thought about myself having some confidence around the net on the power play and when I’m put in that role, I want to be good at it and take advantage of it.’’

Boyle’s presence on this team goes well beyond just the roles he can play on the ice at any given time. He’s an experienced leader with 100 games of playoff experience under his belt, which includes two Stanley Cup Final appearances and four trips to the conference final.

He is a key voice in the leadership group, capable of providing a kick in the pants or offer a voice of reason depending on the situation.

Proving that he really can do everything for this team.

“He can play all three forward positions, he can play D, does very well on the power play, big body and he blocks a lot of shots on the penalty kill,’’ associate coach Rick Bowness said. “So he does a lot of things that help us win hockey games.’’

But how much longer Boyle will remain a key element with the Lightning is unclear.

The 31-year-old is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and with Tyler Johnson, Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat, Andrej Sustr and Slater Koekkoek also up for new contracts, it’s unclear if Boyle is in Tampa Bay’s plans beyond this season.

Boyle was very clear what he would like to see happen but without any talks between the two sides at this point, he admits his future with the team is something he’s thought about to a certain degree.

“It definitely enters your mind, you want to play well and do your job well and I want to do this as long as I can,’’ Boyle said. “But you see what happens around the league, teams are going away from certain age guys, it’s amazing, it’s getting younger and younger. I still feel like I’m pretty effective in this league, but you have to prove it every night.

“I’m fortunate to (have versatility) because it keeps you working hard unless you don’t want to do it anymore. But you have a family, you have kids and that’s enough motivation, too. It’s way too fun to go away quietly.

“And I’d like to be here, this has been phenomenal for me, for my wife, we love it here and it would be great to stay, but you never know what is going to happen. But there are a lot of moving parts so it’s something not to think about right now, I try not to think about it. They bring you back if you have success.’’

Showing his versatility, being able to excel in whatever role he’s asked to fill might be enough to convince the Lightning he’s worth bringing back.

“You need 20 guys like that,’’ Bowness said. “Guys that can do whatever it takes to win hockey games. And Brian is one of the key guys in all those situations, so he’s a very important part of our team.’’

Boyle redirects Hedman shot for a power play goal



Boyle pulls backhand deke for second goal of the game

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