Cory Conacher Photo by Alexis Boucher
Three glimmers of light could soon give way to an entire sky full of shining stars. This lame analogy is in reference to the three Lightning rookies currently on the roster – Alex Killorn, Cory Conacher, and Richard Panik – and how their success at the NHL level could be indicative of what’s to come for this franchise.
Think about the talent waiting in the AHL: Brett Connolly. J.T. Brown. Tyler Johnson. Mark Barberio. Radko Gudas. These five could all make a legitimate impact in Tampa right now. If injuries are light and time allows, imagine their growth with another AHL playoff run and an offseason of training.
Here’s a look at this offseason (only including players mostly likely to be in Tampa):
Forwards: Lecavalier, Stamkos, St. Louis, Malone, Purcell, Conacher, Panik, Killorn, Tyrell, Pyatt, Connolly, Johnson.
UFA or RFA: Thompson, Crombeen, Labrie, Brown, Hall, Pouliot
Defense: Carle, Hedman, Salo, Brewer, Lee.
UFA or RFA: Taormina, Mikkelson, Aulie, Oberg, Bergeron, Barberio, Gudas.
My thoughts as of right now:
- Forward free agents: Brown and Thompson are definite keepers. Pouliot is RFA, but if he continues to play well he may cost too much. Crombeen, Labrie, and Hall are likely to be let go. If Brown, Thompson, and Pouliot are all re-signed, that puts the team at 15 forwards — 2 more than they typically carry. Malone and Pouliot could be trade targets, but most of it would come down to camp battles between the kids.
- Defense free agents: Aulie, Barberio and Gudas are definite keepers. Oberg, Taormina and Mikkelson are good depth but they could want one-way contracts. There’s no way that Bergeron will stay in my mind. If the first three were signed that would make eight defensemen, which is the team’s preferred number.
I won’t delve into the goalie discussion since, at this point, it appears to be simply a matter of who will be backing up Lindback. What I like most about this is that it appears the Lightning will have a quality roster and that’s only counting internal players. This doesn’t account for trades, free agent signings, Jedi mind tricks…and we all know Steve Yzerman is good for a few of the latter.
