Five questions for the Tampa Bay Lightning on the eve of training camp opening

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
Sept. 13, 2017

TAMPA – Hurricane Irma took a toll on the Tampa Bay area over the weekend, bringing a path of disruption that left many without power for days while leaving some homes and property damaged or flooded.

That has also left the Tampa Bay Lightning in a bit of disarray in the days leading up to the start of training camp, which will open on Thursday (Sept. 14) as originally planned. For the time being, nothing has changed on any of those plans. So players will report, Fan Fest will take place on Saturday and the first preseason is scheduled for Tuesday (Sept. 19) against the Carolina Hurricanes.

As an aside, great gesture by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, the NHL and the NHL Player’s Association for contributing a total of $2.7 million to relief efforts for those affected around Florida. Donations can also be made at upcoming Lightning and Panther preseason games

Fans can expect that open practices will be held at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon on Friday and Sunday (Fan Fest will take place at Amalie Arena on Saturday with details below).

So with everything a go for training camp (no official schedule has been established due to all those within the hockey operations department disrupted by the storm), here are the top five story lines to watch as the 2017-18 season starts to swing in to gear.

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1. What will the defense look like – It’s going to be a crowded blue line in training camp with a bit of a different looking mix of defensemen involved. I can pretty safely (barring injuries/trades) anticipate what the defense will look like when the roster is set ahead of the Oct. 6 season opener against the Florida Panthers. I’d be surprised if Tampa Bay does not start with eight defensemen – Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman, Braydon Coburn, Dan Girardi, Andrej Sustr, Jake Dotchin, Slater Koekkoek and Mikhail Sergachev. Who sees the lineup opening night is a completely different story and could like be decided through preseason action.

We know Hedman, Stralman, Girardi and Coburn are locks to be in the lineup. After that is where the questions begin. Koekkoek is still looking for his breakthrough moment (most of us believed it was in the 2016 postseason) and will be given ample playing time during preseason to see where he’s at as he enters his fourth year. Dotchin was fantastic during his three month call up last season, but it was just half-a-season and he needs to show that he’s ready to take the next step forward (see: Koekkoek, training camp 2016). Sustr, meanwhile, enters a big year as in the eyes of many he took steps backwards last season after taking a big stride forward in in 2014-15 and will be pushed by those coming up behind him. Then there is Sergachev, acquired from Montreal for Jonathan Drouin, who is the wildcard in all of this and will likely see plenty of preseason time for the organization to get their first up-close look at the former ninth overall pick. Unless he has a poor camp, Sergachev almost certainly sticks with the team out of camp as he is only eligible to play in the NHL or back with Windsor in the OHL.

So, assuming all eight are on the roster (only Sergachev is exempt from waivers) that means two defensemen (or one if they decided to dress seven) will be sitting on a nightly basis. In the early stages of the season, it’s not that big of a deal, coaches can set up a sort of rotation system to ensure there is ample playing time for all of them. But at some point it will become an issue, and one I don’t foresee the team sticking with eight defensemen for an extended period of time.

2. How healthy is Steven Stamkos – This may actually be No. 1 on many lists as Stamkos returns to the ice after missing most of last season following knee surgery to repair a partially torn meniscus in his right knee in November. Stamkos pushed to make it back before the end of the season and appeared to be on the cusp of a return late in the season but admitted after the season that he was not quite as ready as it seemed from the outside. After arriving in town ahead of camp, Stamkos said the full summer of training has helped him regain the strength he needs in the knee to be fully healthy. Having recovered from a broken leg previously, Stamkos knows how to deal with the long road to recovery both from a mental and physical standpoint. But until he gets back out on the ice in to a competitive situation, the question will be there. I just expect he’ll provide an answer pretty quick.

3. What will the lines look like – A big question mark, at least on my mind, who plays with whom and in what role. Will Nikita Kucherov and Stamkos be reunited after the magic they showed together before the team captain was injured? Will Vlad Namestnikov skate alongside them, as he did before Stamkos was injured? What about That Line (or the Triplets as some others refer to them), do they get put back together to rekindle their sometimes-mesmerizing chemistry? How does Brayden Point factor in to all this, as a second line winger or third line center? Is Ryan Callahan healthy? Is Alex Killorn a part of the top six? Where does Yanni Gourde fit in to the lineup? Where does Chris Kunitz play? What is the role of Cedric Paquette, J.T. Brown and Gabriel Dumont?

Lots of questions, not many answers heading in to camp.

4. Is Andrei Vasilevskiy ready to assume the No. 1 role in net – The answer to this is yes, he’s ready. But I’ve seen it tossed around the Twitterverse from outside observers wondering whether or not the former first-round pick is ready to handle the duties of being the regular starter in net. I can see why some might wonder this, after all he’s replacing a two-time Vezina finalist in Ben Bishop, and those are some big skates to fill. Just as he showed at the end of last season, however, Vasilevskiy is ready for the job. The only thing he was missing was experience, and now he has it. So we are talking about a soon-to-be 23-year-old who has all the physical attributes and work ethic one would expect who now has started a Stanley Cup Final game, six Eastern Conference final games and spent the final six weeks of the regular season last year as the starter.

I feel comfortable saying that he’s ready, but nothing is every really answered until an answer is provided.

5. Will there be a hot seat under Jon Cooper – The short answer is no. Entering training camp there is no issue with the coaching staff, even after missing the playoffs last season. With the number of injuries and a difficult goaltending situation to navigate on top of the number of players who participated in the World Cup of Hockey, last season proved to be as much of a transition year than anything else. The fact this team fell one point short of getting to the playoffs after being last in the Eastern Conference midway through the season is likely more of the type of team to be expected.

Now, having said that, if the team gets off to a slow start and struggles in the first couple of months of the season, the burner could easily get turned up. But entering training camp, this is not any sort of an issue.

Here are the details for Fan Fest on Saturday at Amalie Arena.

The Tampa Bay Lightning will host their annual Fan Fest, presented by Florida Blue, on Saturday, September 16 at AMALIE Arena. Doors will open to the general public at 9:30 a.m., while Season Ticket Members will have access to an exclusive practice starting at 8:30 a.m. Fan Fest will be the first chance for fans to see and interact with the 2017-18 Lightning team. The event is free and open to the public, but fans must obtain a mobile ticket by visiting the team web site.

Fan Fest programming is scheduled to conclude at 2 p.m., but fans will be welcome to stay and watch the final practice of the day.

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