Civilizations around the world have been celebrating the start of each new year for at least four millennia. Today, most New Year’s festivities begin on December 31 (New Year’s Eve), the last day of the Gregorian calendar, and continue into the early hours of January 1 (New Year’s Day). Common traditions include attending parties, eating special New Year’s foods, making resolutions for the new year and watching fireworks displays.
For puckheads, it is a time to think back on the top moments of their team throughout the past year. In that vein, we present the Tampa Bay Lightning’s top five stories from January 1, 2016 until the present.
The Eastern Conference Run
After making it to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final the Lightning seemed stacked and ready to make another deep playoff run in 2016. They got there but their renewed quest for the Cup was littered with adversity and obstacles. Before the regular season ended they lost cornerstone defenseman Anton Stralman to a broken leg and captain Steven Stamkos due to blood clot issues. The team slid their way into the playoffs thanks to a Boston Bruins loss and their postseason prospects seemed grim at best.
The Lightning’s depth and perseverance has been one of their hallmarks and the 2016 playoffs put that to one of their biggest tests. A depleted roster faced off against their old foes the Detroit Red Wings in the first round and defeated them in 5 games. A returning Jonathan Drouin bolstered the Bolts’ offense and send them on to meet the New York Islanders.
It was only the second playoff meeting between Tampa Bay and the Islanders. After New York won the first game the Bolts took control and won four straight to finish the series. Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov provided much needed scoring and Ben Bishop remained solid between the pipes.
Tampa returned to the Eastern Conference Final for the second consecutive year and they faced a daunting task in the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Ben Bishop suffered a leg injury in Game 1 and the reins were handed to Andrei Vasilevskiy for the remainder of the series. Even with all of the injuries to key players and Pittsburgh taking a 2-0 series lead the Lightning fought back and made it to Game 7. Unfortunately a returning Steven Stamkos couldn’t stop the Penguins 2-1 victory that sent Tampa home for the summer.
When pundits discuss the Lightning they focus a lot on their skill. The 2016 playoffs showed their toughness and will in full effect. They weren’t healthy and definitely weren’t at their best but they were still dangerous. They want to win a Stanley Cup with this group and that fire still burns heading into 2017. – Alexis Boucher
The Jonathan Drouin Soap Opera
Jonathan Drouin asked to be traded. He was demoted to Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate in Syracuse. When he wasn’t traded immediately, Drouin didn’t report to a game. Drouin was trying to force GM Steve Yzerman to act, either recalling him or trading him. Instead, he was suspended.
With Steven Stamkos injured, Drouin was needed in the Lightning’s top six. After Drouin decided to return to Syracuse, he started to play at the level the Lightning had hoped he would all along. And with Stamkos out, Drouin has become an important player. He has sick hands that make him a top-10 point man.
At Syracuse, Drouin had 11 goals in 17 games.
This year he has accumulated ten goals and 20 points in 28 games, fifth in scoring on the team.
“All Jonathan needed was an opportunity to show what he can do,” said his agent, Allan Walsh. “What people are seeing now is Jonathan Drouin firing on all cylinders. Other than that, now is the time to play hockey. The focus is on the ice. Nothing else matters to Jon right now except winning hockey games.” – W.B. Philp
Steven Stamkos Signs With The Lightning
Stamkos took it all in and stood true to his word that no matter what decision he was going to make, he wasn’t chasing a contract.
Instead he’s chasing a legacy.
“I grew up a kid there and this team is on the verge of hopefully competing for Stanley Cups for years to come,’’ Stamkos said during a conference call. “Staying here in Tampa and being the leader of that team, I felt in my heart that was always the place that I wanted to stay.’’
Stamkos wants to win. He wants to lead his team to a championship. After listening to the pitch of less than a half-dozen teams – Montreal, Toronto and Buffalo among them – Stamkos knew his best chance at building that legacy was going to come at home – no, not that home – in Tampa Bay where he’s grown from an 18-year-old kid in to a 26-year-old leader.
He committed to the Lightning for eight years at a team salary cap figure of $8.5 million per year, about $1.5-3 million less per year than he might have received in the open market.
“If I didn’t want to be in Tampa, I wouldn’t be in Tampa,’’ Stamkos said. “The only reason why I re-signed there is because I love it there. The organization has been nothing but first class to my family and I over the first eight years of my career and the potential to win is there. Those are things that for me make the difference in wanting to be here, so I’m really excited about the decision that I made.’’
“For me to realize the situation, I understood that I might have left some money out there, but that’s not what it’s all about,’’ Stamkos said. “It’s about going to an organization that I was most comfortable with and that gave me the best chance to win in my mind. It was a very tough decision. I can’t sit here and say that this past week has been fun. I’m sure everyone experiences different things when they go through free agency, but it was pretty stressful. So I’m glad it’s over with and I’m very happy with my decision and I’m looking forward to winning a lot in Tampa.’’
Needless to say it’s a banner day for the franchise. – Erik Erlendsson
[protected-iframe id=”159095c0d6061d8e2a99b9753b7e4feb-114320562-46289989″ info=”hash” class=”twitter-video”]Steven Stamkos Injured And Out Long-Term Again
Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos limped off the ice and went straight to the dressing room in the game against the Detroit Red Wings on November 15.
Stamkos stayed in Detroit for an MRI and later returned to Tampa for “further evaluation.”
All Lightning fans feared the worst and those fears were correct as the Lightning captain was diagnosed with a lateral meniscus tear and the out four months prognosis.
[protected-iframe id=”30b2efbb9080a407d0d896fb5d7e2474-114320562-46289989″ info=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” class=”twitter-tweet”]Injuries have haunted Stamkos’ NHL career. He broke his right tibia after crashing into the goal post during a game at Boston on Nov. 11, 2013. He missed 45 games. He also missed all but one game of the 2016 Eastern Conference playoffs while recovering from a rare blood clot near his collarbone. – W.B. Philp
Injuries
As of the Christmas break, the Tampa Bay Lightning sit just three points behind the Boston Bruins, who currently occupy the third playoff position in the Atlantic division. Before the season, this would have been disappointing news. How is a team as talented as this one on the outside looking in?
On the flip side, their position should be celebrated. What other team in this league could lose their starting goaltender and four of their top nine forwards for extended periods of time and still be part of the conversation? It’s mind-boggling, frankly. Steven Stamkos is gone for months (again). Ben Bishop caught another bad break (again). Ryan Callahan doesn’t seem fully recovered from offseason hip surgery. Young engines Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov have been out for weeks. Kucherov is still the leading scorer, and he hasn’t played since December 10th!
The team has 79 man games lost by injuries this season. (As of 12/30)
This is what depth does for you. Jonathan Drouin has continued to mature and been a scoring machine. Valtteri Filppula nearly has as many points this season (24 in 31 games) as he had all last season (31 in 76 games). More importantly, re-enforcements from Syracuse have seamlessly entered the lineup and held their own. Cory Conacher, Tanner Richard, Joel Vermin and Erik Condra have all made their case to stick around if injuries or trades shake up the roster. While Andrei Vasilevskiy is tabbed as the goalie of the future, it’s still tremendous to see how well he’s handling the spotlight.
The quest continues with a big game Wednesday night against Montreal. Our friend Erik Erlendsson indicates many of the injured players will return to the lineup, including a direct confirmation from Nikita Kucherov. – Jason Haas
Player Of The Year
Nikita Kucherov – With Steven Stamkos injured, Kucherov is the most important player on the team. In the past calendar year Kucherov led the Bolts in scoring with 30 goals and 84 points in 71 games. This doesn’t count his 11 goals and 19 points in just 17 playoff games.
Happy New Year puckheads!
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