#AskKrenner obviously you’re at camp and seeing things play out on a daily basis, is there any line combos/D pairings you’re particularly excited about or even that you feel would benefit from a shuffle around? (From: Pre-Season Marty @martin__14)
Steven Stamkos could end up slotting into that left wing spot at times throughout the year, but we will inevitably see heavy doses of Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov all on the same line together once again this season.
One of the most dynamic trios in the NHL last season, the success of the Hagel-Point-Kucherov line helped all three players put up big numbers in 2022-23.
Point joined Vinny Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos as the only two players in franchise history to score 50 goals in a single season and was as good as you can possibly be from the bumper position on the power play with 20 goals on the man advantage, the second-most in a single season in Lightning franchise history. He set a new career high with 95 points and was a Lady Byng finalist with just seven penalty minutes all season. The clutch factor was also there for Point with nine game-winning goals, the most among all Tampa Bay skaters and tied for the fifth-most in the NHL.
Hagel had a career year, setting new highs in essentially every category, including goals, assists, points, plus/minus, power-play goals, power-play points, shorthanded goals, shorthanded points, time on ice and shots on goal.
Additionally, Hagel used his speed and tenacity to set a franchise record with 92 takeaways, the second-most among all NHL skaters. That dog on a bone mentality was the perfect complement to the Kucherov-Point duo, with Hagel working tirelessly on the forecheck and winning puck battles left and right to get the puck to two of the most dynamic offensive players in Lightning history. But he wasn’t just a spark plug on the forecheck. He was a big part of the offense, becoming just the 11th player in franchise history to score 30 goals in a single season.
Then, you have Kucherov. One of the true superstars of today’s NHL, Kucherov still manages to fly under the radar, despite being one of just 10 players in NHL history to record multiple 30-goal, 80-assist seasons in his career. On home ice, Kucherov was virtually unstoppable last season, finding the scoresheet in a ridiculous 37 of 41 games and averaging 1.61 points per game at AMALIE Arena.
Averaging over a point per game in each of his last six seasons, Kucherov has become one of the most difficult players to defend in the NHL. And on top of that, his work ethic is through the roof. For fans who haven’t read it, check out my story below on Kucherov’s summer training, which included being on the ice for five to six days a week for nearly the entire summer.
Read More: Pursuit of perfection drives Kucherov's intense summer training
The chemistry that Kucherov and Point have developed over the years makes them one of the most dangerous duos across the league, while the speed, tenacity and skill of Hagel serve as the perfect complement to the line as a whole.
Hagel is 25 years old. Point is 27. Kucherov is 30. With a full season of chemistry to build on, this line is set to do some serious damage in 2023-24.
“Last year was our first year kind of doing it together, so obviously we know each other a lot more,” Hagel said when asked about playing with Kucherov and Point in Tampa Bay’s fourth preseason game. “It takes time. You see lines that have been together for a long time and with the years we have left together on our contracts, hopefully this continues and our chemistry just gets better and we’re one of the best lines in the league.”
On the back end, I’m really excited to see what kind of year Victor Hedman has this season. In his exit interview at the end of last season, Hedman described his year as, “Not the best. Kind of up and down.” He added, “I’ll be back stronger next year and hope to have a good season.”
At media day a few weeks ago, Hedman outlined his expectations for the upcoming season.
“For me, it’s about trying to get better than I was last year and trying to be as good as I can every single game,” said Hedman. “If you’re not playing to your standards, you’re not going to help the team. I want to help the team, so I have to play to a high standard, and I’ve got to set those goals every single night and go out there and try to be a difference maker.”
Throughout training camp, Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev have been rotating and taking turns as the point man on the top power-play unit. That will be a fun competition to watch ahead of Opening Night. At the end of the day, it’s great that the Lightning have a one-two punch of Hedman and Sergachev on the left side. But Hedman said it himself last season. Sergachev’s growth and success motivates him.
“It’s great to see that growth that he’s had, and it keeps a fire in me as well, so that’s great.”
In my mind, that fire combined with an extended offseason will end with Hedman having a big season for Tampa Bay. He’s still an elite defenseman in the NHL.
With McDonagh, Maroon, Killorn, and Perry all departing, what’s the plan for team leadership moving forward? Who could we see stepping up and wearing the As this season? #AskKrenner (From: avery @cosmicholiday)
This is a great question and a topic that I’ve discussed previously with Greg Linnelli and Dave Mishkin on Lightning Radio. Not only have the Bolts lost talent on the ice, but they’ve lost some big locker room guys over the past few years.
Veterans are extremely important to have on an NHL roster. When times get tough, you need strong leadership to keep everyone together. When you get into the dog days of the season, you need someone to keep the energy and enthusiasm high.
And while Tampa Bay has lost some of those players on the roster, I think they have the necessary pieces that can step up and fill the void. Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul stick out as two guys that bring a lot of positive energy. Both have played a full season with the Lightning and are comfortable in the locker room.
The team added veteran players with valuable playoff experience, like Conor Sheary, Tyler Motte, Luke Glendening and Calvin de Haan.
Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman were the pillars in building the current culture and standard for the Bolts. Add in guys like Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Mikhail Sergachev, Anthony Cirelli and Andrei Vasilevskiy, and that’s a lot of players that hold themselves to an extremely high standard and know what it takes to win the Stanley Cup. So, although the Lightning have undeniably lost some valuable leaders, I don’t think there’s much to worry about based on the players they still have in the locker room.
And for what it’s worth, team chemistry and morale have both looked very high throughout camp, in my opinion. I expect Hedman and Kucherov to wear the A’s this season, but there could be a rotation between home and away games.
After seeing 4 preseason games, best guess at opening night lines. #AskKrenner (From: Ben Galloway @BenGalloway96)
The key word here is “guess.” The Bolts have experimented with quite a few combinations throughout camp, so this will probably be way off, but here it goes.
Hagel-Point-Kucherov
Stamkos-Cirelli-Sheary
Jeannot-Paul-ABB
Eyssimont-Glendening-Motte
Hedman-Perbix
Sergachev-Raddysh
de Haan-Cernak
#AskKrenner Do you believe that Merelä will be able to make the opening night roster? If so, where in the forward group could you see him slotting in? (From: AZ @aucchini_20)
It’s really tough to say. Merela’s three-point night against Nashville last Saturday was really impressive. Brandon Hagel described his second goal of the game as “an NHL play.” To steal the puck, ward off a big defenseman in Luke Schenn and finish it off with a goal was too good to be ignored. He earned his current spot.
Merela takes a lot of pride in his details and his ability to be a 200-foot player. He can play penalty kill, 5-on-5 and I think he has enough talent to develop into a power-play player on the second unit.
But the one thing that muddies the waters a little bit is the contracts. Merela does not require waivers, meaning the Lightning could send him to Syracuse without the risk of another team claiming him.
That being said, even if he’s not on the Opening Night roster, I think Bolts fans will see him playing NHL games this season.
#AskKrenner Could you say something about Gabriel Szturc? Do you think he has a chance to sign a contract ? (From: Honza Zoufal @HZoufal)
Szturc was a guy I didn’t know much about when he was invited to the Lightning’s Prospect Camp in September, but as camp rolled on, he became difficult to ignore. He’s strong on the forecheck, showed some nice offensive skill and has a fantastic shot.
Last season with Kelowna in the WHL, he ranked second on the team with 79 points (24G, 55A) in 56 games. He also played for Czechia at the World Juniors and stood out with eight points (5G, 3A) in seven games.
I thought he was impressive at the Southeast Rookie Showcase and the fact that he’s now going to be attending training camp with Syracuse likely bodes well for him. Excited to see where his career goes if the Lightning come to terms with him on a contract.
Could we see raddysh staying in the top 4 for most of the season? #askkrenner (From: Cam @camloveshagel38)
Absolutely. Raddysh played great when he came up last season and has been skating on a pair with Mikhail Sergachev throughout camp. They played well together last season, particularly in the postseason, and that was obviously recognized by the coaching staff. I’d expect him to be on the second pair with Sergachev and if his level of play matches the small sample size from last season, he could very easily see consistent top-four minutes.
What do you think of the addition of Connor Sheary? #AskKrenner (From: mark @markathy97)
I love the signing. His speed has stuck out in training camp. I think that’s an area the Lightning wanted to improve this season. His track record of playing with great players speaks for itself following his success with guys like Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.
He’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion, so you get more of that championship pedigree in the locker room. And he’s a guy that you can hopefully count on to give you 15-20 goals a season, all at a $2 million cap hit.
The Bolts were in a very difficult position going into this offseason with the salary cap barely moving. Since the 2019-20 season, the cap has gone up just $2 million. I thought going out and finding a player like Sheary on the open market was an A+ move by Julien BriseBois.
How did Lilleberg do in training camp? As a Norwegian this might be our next player. (From: Daniel Kristiansen @DanielK11835248)
I thought Lilleberg performed really well. Good size, very rangy, and showed a physical side to his game that I wasn’t expecting. He had some big hits in the Southeast Rookie Showcase.
As a guy that was drafted in the fourth round by Arizona just two years ago, I’m sure the Lightning are excited to get to work with him and see how they can help him develop.
But overall, I wasn’t sure what to expect from him and I came away really impressed. Another guy that I’m excited to follow as the season gets started.
do you see jbb picking up a goalie from another team as a backup to jojo or does he stick with a prospect? (From: Maddie @nhlmaddie)
I think everything is on the table right now. Johansson was lights out in his first start with the Lightning. Tomkins has looked good in his two starts and had a solid couple years over in Sweden. He’s also hungry to prove himself now that he’s back in North America. That said, there just isn’t a lot of NHL experience on the roster right now. If the Bolts can find someone to acquire with some more NHL games under their belt, I wouldn’t be surprised.
