TAMPA, Fla. — As the Lightning approach the midway point of the regular season, general manager Julien BriseBois likes where his team sits atop the NHL standings.
Despite being without stars Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point for lengthy stretches, Tampa Bay entered Wednesday’s off day tied with the Florida Panthers for the most points in the league with 53.
During his midseason state-of-the-team availability at Amalie Arena, BriseBois was quick to point out that the team is on pace for the second-most points in team history, trailing only the NHL record-tying 62-win team of 2018-19.
“Our objective in the second half is to secure that playoff spot and keep munching points, keep improving our play, keep improving our chemistry and build our game so that we’re at our best when it matters most,” he said.
Still, the goal is a third straight Stanley Cup. And as BriseBois sees it, the Lightning has a group that can do it.
“It is very hard to win a championship,” he said. “... Odds are we’re not going to win the Stanley Cup this year, but someone’s winning the Stanley Cup. Someone’s going to defy the odds and win the Cup. The last two years, we’ve been fortunate enough for that to be us, and we’re going to do everything we can for that to be us again this year.”
The Lightning had to replace many key parts of last season’s Cup team, and the low-cost acquisitions of forwards Corey Perry, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, defenseman Zach Bogosian and goaltender Brian Elliott have worked out well.
BriseBois is pleased with the team’s 5-on-5 play. If there were any “low-hanging fruit” areas he’d like to see improve, they are on special teams. But he expects the power play to get going with the additions of Kucherov and Point and the team’s penalty kill, which was without defenseman Erik Cernak for several weeks, to improve as well.
Looking ahead to the March 21 trade deadline, BriseBois said it’s unlikely the Lightning will be able to upgrade by making a deal. BriseBois made savvy moves to acquire key pieces the past two seasons, trading for forwards Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow in 2021 and defenseman David Savard last season.
Last season, the Lightning had no cap space but were able to send defensemen Cal Foote and Luke Schenn to the minors to free up daily space on a cash-in, cash-out basis. They don’t have that same roster maneuverability this year, BriseBois said.
“This year, we have no cap space, we have no one that we can send to the minors without them requiring waivers,” he said. “None of our players would clear waivers. So if we’re looking at adding a player, it means subtracting a player.
“Most of our players, I would say all of our players, are good players on good contracts. They provide us with really good value. So it’s unlikely that we’re going to find a player that we can acquire that brings more value for the cap hit than whatever player we would be moving out.”
Still, if BriseBois thinks there is an opportunity to put the team in a better position to win another championship, he is willing to move top draft picks or prospects.
“Nothing is off the table in terms of improving our odds of winning a Stanley Cup,” BriseBois said. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to win the Stanley Cup. So, if there’s an option for me to make a decision that I feel will increase our odds of winning another Stanley Cup, then I will make that decision.”
Evander Kane
BriseBois wouldn’t say specifically whether the Lightning pursued forward Evander Kane, whose contract was terminated by the Sharks on Sunday but said the the team always does its due diligence on players who become available.
“On most occasions, we’re not going to pursue acquiring that particular player,” BriseBois said.
Kane, who served a 21-game suspension earlier this season for submitting a fake vaccination card and then was sent to the AHL, was cut by San Jose for an alleged breach of contract for traveling to Canada while he was still in COVID protocol. He has filed a grievance through the NHLPA.
A beneficial break
Though the league’s restructured schedule has yet to be released, BriseBois expects the Lightning to get a significant break in February since the team has only three games that need to be rescheduled at this point.
“The fact that we’ve been able thus far, and knock on wood, to avoid outbreaks means that we’re probably going to have a pretty good schedule in the second half, especially compared to some of the other teams that have had numerous games that needed to be rescheduled,” BriseBois said.
“It looks like we’re going to have a nice break in February now that we’re not going to the Olympics, as well. So hopefully that’s a good time for our players to heal up some bumps and bruises that you know occur over the course of a season, and by the time we come back from that break we’re ready to go full throttle and hopefully go on another magical run.”
Outdoor game in Tampa?
BriseBois said he hopes the Lightning playing in the Stadium Series game Feb. 26 in Nashville will be the first step toward Tampa hosting an outdoor game of its own. He said he didn’t think there were any obstacles — including weather — that would prevent it.
“As far as our organization is concerned, there is no doubt we could pull this off and it would be a huge success,” BriseBois said. “We have the fan support. We have the longest sellout streak in the league. We have a number of star players, so we should be able to attract eyeballs on TV.
“We have one of the fastest growing cities in North America. We have a great stadium, a great rink here, a great game presentation. Our fans deserve an outdoor game here in Tampa.”
