Tampa Bay Lightning preview: Nikita Kucherov leads Stanley Cup hopefuls
Could this be the season everything falls into place for the Tampa Bay Lightning?
The Tampa Bay Lightning have been one of the most consistently successful teams of the past five seasons. While they have no championships to show for it, the Bolts have been to four of the past five Eastern Conference Finals, winning one of them. The Lightning have lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champions three times, each time taking them to seven games.
So while the Bolts haven’t won a Stanley Cup in the past five seasons, they’re a darn good bet to be one of the few teams contending for it. All you can do to win a title is put together the best darn team you can and hope you’re lucky enough to win. The Lightning have done the first part, clearly.
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Even with all the moves the Toronto Maple Leafs have made to improve their team over the years, the Bolts are still the class of the Atlantic Division. They also might be the only Eastern Conference team without any glaring weaknesses, which leaves them with very few things that could cost them a Stanley Cup.
The Lightning, as usual, are going to be up against the salary cap this season. And though their Stanley Cup window is open, it’s starting to close. This is a critical season for the Lightning. They’ve done their homework, putting together arguably the deepest roster in the NHL. Now it’s time for them to have things go their way.
Offseason Recap
Additions: D Cameron Gaunce, F Andy Andreoff
The Lightning were busy in rumors this offseason, as they nearly traded for Erik Karlsson. But let’s be fair. The Lightning didn’t have any glaring weaknesses going into this offseason. And most of their summer was spent taking care of their own. When you have the organizational depth the Lightning have, you don’t need to spend money in free agency.
Stats courtesy of Corsica, Natural Stat Trick, and All Three Zones