Tampa Bay Lightning: Top 3 lessons teams can learn from the champions
What can the rest of the NHL learn from the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning?
The Tampa Bay Lightning are your 2019-20 Stanley Cup champions. Nearly a full year after the season started on Oct. 2, 2019, the Lightning beat the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final to bring home their first title since 2004. They emerged from the most chaotic Stanley Cup Playoffs of all-time as the champions.
It’s not a secret the NHL is a copy cat league. Teams see what works and they quickly adapt. After the Los Angeles Kings won two Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014, teams focused heavily on defense and physicality. Two title wins from the Pittsburgh Penguins got teams to re-focus on offense and having three scoring lines instead of just two.
So what should teams be trying to copy from the Tampa Bay Lightning? What lessons can they learn from the Stanley Cup champions? Let’s take a look at what teams should hone in on as they try to follow in the Lightning’s footsteps.
No Pain, No Gain
Just like babies have to fall down many times before they learn to walk, teams have to suffer quite a bit before they can learn what it takes to win the toughest trophy to win in all of sports. It’s painful, but necessary.
The Lightning suffered the most embarrassing postseason loss in NHL history back in 2019. They got swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets. To this day, they are the only President’s Trophy winners to fail to win a single postseason game.
Tampa learned from their pain. They confronted it head on. Instead of letting it break them, the Lightning used it to motivate them to greatness. As head coach Jon Cooper told the media, the Bolts went from the outhouse to the penthouse.
It’s easy to let frustrating losses get to you. But teams need to be patient. Pain is necessary for growth. The Penguins’ struggles from 2010 to 2015 helped them win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. Without all their past failures, the Washington Capitals wouldn’t have been the champions in 2018. And without a wakeup call from the Blue Jackets, the Lightning wouldn’t have won.
Believe In Your Stars
Though Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois was a finalist for the General Manager of the Year award, he didn’t win. Rather, it was Lou Lamoriello of the New York Islanders who won. While Lou did a great job building a team that made it to the Eastern Conference Final, I think BriseBois should have won.
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Why? Because he did what so many general managers fail to do. BriseBois trusted his stars after their horrific loss to the Blue Jackets in 2019. He had every reason to want to blow things up. If BriseBois had fired Jon Cooper, who would have blamed him?
Instead, the rookie general manager showed patience. He believed in his stars. BriseBois believed in Steven Stamkos, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, and Brayden Point. Instead of subtracting from his core, he supplemented his core by tinkering with the roster. He trusted his head coach, who has won at every level.
It’s so easy to blame the stars of a team when things go bad. Nobody blames the bottom-six forward who doesn’t produce. Oh no, it’s always the fault of the star who played great but couldn’t carry his team.
It’s brave to trust your team. The Lightning rewarded BriseBois for his trust in them. Back in 2017, Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan trusted his talented team. A year later, they rewarded him. Heck, the St. Louis Blues were tied with the Ottawa Senators for the fewest points in the league on Jan. 1, 2019. Five months later, they were champions. When you have great players, you need to believe in them.
Skilled Grit Is The Way To Go
Grit is quite possibly the worst cliche in hockey. Nobody really knows what it means. People usually refer to “grit” when somebody doesn’t fight or doesn’t hit people enough. However, grit is a thing. I’d define it as winning battles and outhustling your opponents.
That said, grit isn’t enough to win in the NHL. At the end of the day, skill is the name of the game. Sure, you win games by not allowing goals, but by the same logic, don’t you win games by scoring goals? Scoring goals requires skill.
The Lightning needed grit after their 2019 postseason debacle. But they didn’t go after enforcers. Instead, the Lighting targeted players like Pat Maroon. Maroon isn’t a top six forward, but he’s a Stanley Cup champion who stands up for his teammates, wins battles along the board, and would swan dive into an active volcano if it would help his team win a game. Most importantly, he’s got skill. Not as much as, say, Brayden Point mind you, but enough to be a very capable NHL player.
At the trade deadline, the Lighting still needed a little bit more grit. They were hoping to optimize their third line internally, but it didn’t happen. Instead of going for a grand slam with the bases empty, BriseBois made two smart acquisitions in Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow.
Neither the New Jersey Devils nor the San Jose Sharks were too keen on losing them. And rightfully so. Though Coleman and Goodrow aren’t elite players, they’re important guys who can play with skill and grit. It’s hard to find those kinds of players. But BriseBois knew who he wanted and was willing to pay the hefty price tag to add those two players.
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So while grit is important in the NHL, you know what’s even more important? Skilled grit. That’s what wins you games.