Bolts enter offseason with hungry core intact & ready to make another run

"We've done so much winning here that I think it's easy for us to take this team for granted. We are very fortunate to have so many great players wear our jersey and most of them are under contract and will be back next year. We have a great coaching staff led by a great head coach.

"That's why, even though the flat salary cap levels the playing field, and every year there are new teams that emerge as Cup contenders, I fully expect us to remain one next year. And every decision that we're going to make between now and the start of next season will be made with an eye towards making sure that we are a Stanley Cup contender, not only next year, but beyond."

That was Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois addressing the media Tuesday morning in the final media availability of the 2022-23 season. The Bolts season ended last Saturday with an overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 6 of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

While the Bolts may have fell to the Leafs in Round One, you won't find any players or staff members around the Lightning locker room hanging their heads. Is there anger and frustration with the loss? Of course.

But within that frustration, it's not hard to find the silver lining. Rest and motivation.

Tampa Bay has played 77 playoff games over the past four years, nearly a full 82-game season of postseason hockey filled with heavy hits, blocked shots, and plenty of bumps and bruises along the way. Those 77 extra contests are 25 more than the next-closest team in the Colorado Avalanche.

But there are no excuses coming from the Bolts locker room. If they had it their way, the team would be ready to go for Round Two.

"I wish it wasn't a full offseason," said Lightning captain Steven Stamkos. "I think we've grown accustomed to the past couple offseasons and just kind of flowing right into the next season."

Tampa Bay may not have reached their ultimate goal this season, but at the end of it all, only one team will. Now, the Bolts will have the longest offseason in some time to rest, recover and come back with even more motivation to make another deep run.

And while the roster won't be exactly the same next season, the Lightning will still enter the 2023-24 campaign with one of the strongest cores around the NHL. As BriseBois mentioned, Tampa Bay still has a plethora of world-class talent on the roster.

Quietly, Nikita Kucherov had another spectacular season for the Lightning, skating in all 82 games and racking up 113 points with 30 goals and 83 assists on the year. Kucherov's 113 points were tied with Boston's David Pastrnak for the third-most among all NHL skaters, while his 83 helpers trailed only Edmonton's Connor McDavid, who collected 89 assists on the year.

Offense was up across the NHL once again in 2022-23, but to put Kucherov's elite skill in perspective, just compare him to some of the greatest players of the 21st century.

Along with his 83 assists this past season, Kucherov also posted an 87-assist campaign in 2018-19, making him just the second NHL skater to record multiple 80-assist seasons this century, along with future Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Thornton.

Being one of just two players to accomplish an offensive feat of that magnitude this century is impressive enough. But Kucherov's magic on the ice can also be measured up with some of the greatest players to ever play in the NHL.

During his 87-assist season in 2018-19, Kucherov also lit the lamp 40 times, making the 2022-23 campaign the second time he's scored 30 goals and collected 80 assists in a single season.

Only nine other players in NHL history can say they've scored 30 goals and added 80 assists in multiple seasons, and only five players have done it more times than Kucherov.

Along with Kucherov, Marcel Dionne, Jaromir Jagr, Adam Oates and Peter Stastny all recorded two 30-goal, 80-assist campaigns. The only players to do it more than two times are Denis Savard, Paul Coffey, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux and, of course, Wayne Gretzky.

What do all those players have in common? They're all in the Hockey Hall of Fame, aside from Jagr, who is a surefire, first ballot Hall of Fame player, but currently can't be inducted until 2026.

Already fourth on the all-time points list in Lightning franchise history, Kucherov's 1.13 career point per game average is the highest of any player to ever wear a Tampa Bay jersey.

A late second-round draft selection in 2011, Kucherov's 1.13 career P/GP average is the highest of any second-round pick in NHL history, topping the likes of Bryan Trottier, Bobby Clarke and Joe Nieuwendyk, all members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

While Kucherov will undoubtedly go down as one of the best players of this generation, you don't have to look far to find another elite talent in Brayden Point, who has often skated on a line with Kucherov and found seamless chemistry with the deceptive winger.

In a recent interview, former Bolts defenseman Luke Schenn said Kucherov "might be the most deceptive player in the NHL. Wherever he's looking is where he's not passing."

Jon Cooper has said it time and time again. Playing with elite players like Kucherov is not nearly as easy as it looks. But with Point, there's a special chemistry that not many duos across the NHL have.

This season, Point became just the third player in Lightning franchise history to record a 50-goal campaign, joining Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier. Point's 51 goals were the fifth-most among all NHL skaters this season and tied with Stamkos for the third-most in a single season in Tampa Bay franchise history. Additionally, Point didn't score a single empty-net goal on the road to 50. His only empty-net tally came on his 51st goal of the year.

Among those 51 goals, Lightning fans saw some highlight-reel plays featuring elite skill from the 2014 third-round pick.

In December alone, Point had two of the best goals across the NHL this season, the first tally coming against Seattle on December 13.

Then, just two weeks later, he did it again against Montreal.

After suffering an injury in Game 7 of Tampa Bay's First Round series against Toronto in 2022, Point came back stronger in 2023, skating in all 82 games for the Lightning and earning a spot as a finalist for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, recoding just one minor penalty throughout the entire season.

Speed, tenacity, skill, scoring touch - Point brings it all. Cooper probably said it best following the Lightning's regular season finale, in which Point scored his 50th and 51st goals of the season.

"He's been the straw that's stirred the drink for this team pretty much all year," Cooper said. "You could tell by the reaction of the players on the bench how fired up everybody was for him. I couldn't be happier for him. He deserved that."

Two players in their prime, Point turned 27 this year, while Kucherov is still just 29. The best part for Bolts fans moving forward? Point is under contract through the end of the 2029-30 season, and Kucherov still has four seasons left on his deal as well.

Teams across the NHL would jump at the opportunity to have the combination of Point and Kucherov on their top line. But, for the Lightning, the skill up and down the lineup goes beyond those two superstars.

Another player locked up long term is 25-year-old Anthony Cirelli, who inked an eight-year contract extension last offseason to keep him in Bolts blue through the end of the 2030-31 campaign.

Over the past several playoff runs, Cirelli has proven his value as one of the top shutdown centers across the league. Skating on a line with Alex Killorn and Brandon Hagel in each of the past two postseasons, Cirelli has made life extremely difficult for the opposition's top players.

"You just watch him as that first forechecker, he's as good as I've seen," Cooper said. "He just anticipates with his stick position, his body position.

"He knows, if he's not getting the puck, he's not letting the man by him, but usually he comes out with both.

"He's like a fierce hound. He is just on it. When you kind of have that 'No Quit' in you and that relentless attitude, well that helps, especially in all those situations when you're playing without the puck."

Finishing fifth in voting for the Frank J. Selke Trophy last season as the best defensive forward, Cirelli's impressive knack for finding himself on the right side of the puck has deservedly started to garner attention on a national level.

Cirelli contributes in all facets of the game, whether that's 5-on-5, power play or penalty kill. Prior to his season debut December 3, the Bolts' penalty kill ranked 20th in the NHL at 77.8%.

From Cirelli's debut through the beginning of April, that number shot up to 81.4%, the 11th-best penalty kill across the NHL during that span. Cirelli led the way on the PK for Lightning forwards during that span, logging 135:49 shorthanded time on ice, the 10th-most among all NHL forwards and the third-most among all Tampa Bay skaters, trailing only Ian Cole and Erik Cernak. He also led the team with two shorthanded goals.

But Cirelli has done more than just shut down the opponent's best players. During the postseason, his line added offense, and a lot of it.

In this year's First Round series against Toronto, Natural Stat Trick had the trio generating 60.5% of the scoring chances between both teams when on the ice at 5-on-5.

Cirelli and Killorn tied for the team lead with three goals each during the First Round, and Cirelli's six points were tied with Kucherov for the most among all Bolts skaters.

Hagel was right there as well with five postseason points, tied with Killorn and Corey Perry for the third-most on the team. His four helpers were also the second-most on the Lightning, trailing only Kucherov's five.

Acquired at last year's trade deadline in a deal with the Chicago Blackhawks, Hagel was nothing short of spectacular in his first full season with Tampa Bay.

Since the return of Cirelli, Hagel recorded the second-most shorthanded time on ice among all Lightning forwards, most of which was spent on a PK pair alongside Cirelli, arguably the Bolts' top forward unit on the kill.

But like Cirelli, Hagel's game spans far beyond shutdown duties. The speedy winger picked up 64 points with 30 goals and 34 assists this season, becoming just the 11th skater in Lightning franchise history to score 30 goals in a season.

A "Swiss Army knife" kind of player, the 24-year-old Hagel did it all for Tampa Bay in 2022-23. Need a player to forecheck and hound pucks while simultaneously maintaining chemistry with two top players in Point and Kucherov? Hagel can do that. Need a relentless player that doesn't give an inch and makes life tough on the other team's star players? Hagel can do that.

Similar to Cirelli, he'll play 5-on-5, penalty kill, power play. Whatever you need up front, Hagel's multi-faceted game can provide it.

Hagel was a menace on the forecheck for the Lightning all year long, playing in 81 games and recording 92 takeaways, the second-most among all NHL skaters, trailing only Mitch Marner.

The NHL started tracking takeaways in the 2005-06 season. As expected, Martin St. Louis was always near the top of the leaderboard for Tampa Bay, but the Lightning Hall of Famer never recorded more than 90 takeaways in a season and held the single-season franchise record with 83 during the 2006-07 season.

Now, with only one full season as a Bolt under his belt, Hagel has already set the new franchise record for takeaways in a single campaign and led his team with a plus-23 rating.

"His engine's always going, and he never gives up on pucks," Cooper said. "He's always around the net, just as both those goals he scored. That was kind of Palat's spot for a lot of years and Hagel's fit seamlessly in there. He's been really good for us."

Another trade deadline acquisition during the 2021-22 season was Nick Paul, who played an instrumental role in helping Tampa Bay reach the Stanley Cup Final that season with big performances throughout the postseason, including scoring both goals for the Lightning in their 2-1 win over Toronto in Game 7 at Scotiabank Arena.

Still only 28, Paul signed a seven-year contract with the Bolts last summer and followed up on the long-term commitment with the best season of his career.

The big, strong power forward lit the lamp 17 times for Tampa Bay this season, setting a new career high in goals and finishing the year with 32 points, tying his highest single season point total.

Among other impressive forwards for the Bolts, you can't forget about the captain in Stamkos, one of just 23 players in NHL history to score 60 goals in a season and still producing at an elite level.

Entering his 15th season with the Lightning in 2022-23, Stamkos picked up right where he left off following a career year in 2021-22 that saw him hit the 100-point mark for the first time with 42 goals and 64 helpers.

This season, Stamkos continued to produce for the Bolts, skating in 81 games for the second-straight year and racking up 84 points with 34 goals and 50 assists. He ranked second among all Tampa Bay skaters in goals, while finishing third in both assists and points.

A year filled with milestones, Lightning fans saw Stamkos score his 500th career goal, record his 1,000th career point and skate in his 1,000th career game, all in one season.

Already leading the Tampa Bay franchise in nearly every offensive category, Stamkos is 34 games away from tying Lecavalier for the all-time games played record, and 47 helpers away from tying St. Louis for the most assists in franchise history.

He already leads the franchise in goals (515), points (1,056), even-strength goals (315), even-strength points (665), power-play goals (195), power-play points (383), overtime goals (13) and game-winning goals (79).

But as his career has gone along, Stamkos has become more than just a scorer for the Bolts. His 1,095 hits are the most in franchise history.

His 53.8% faceoff win percentage this season was tied with Paul for the team lead among all centers with 200 or more faceoffs, while his 51 blocked shots this season set a new career high.

Following his final game with the Lightning two seasons ago, Ryan McDonagh stood in front of the media and said, "I've got to really say a special acknowledgement to Stamkos. He was an unbelievable leader.

"His play was incredible. Great feel for the room. Great motivational player. Just a purebred hockey player through and through. I'm just really proud of him."

One of the best captains across the NHL, Stamkos has shown a propensity for doing whatever it takes to win. He'll block shots, take a hit, score a big goal and even drop the gloves when necessary.

Still possessing one of the greatest goal-scoring weapons in hockey with his patented one-timer, Stamkos hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.

Andrei Vasilevskiy may have said it best.

"Best captain in my life. Just amazing."

Speaking of Vasilevskiy, the Vezina and Conn Smythe Trophy winner is under contract to patrol the Tampa Bay crease all the way through the end of the 2027-28 season.

Already tied with Dominik Hasek for the 12th-most playoff wins in NHL history, Vasilevskiy has been the regarded as the best goaltender in the world for the past several years.

Still only 28 and right in the middle of his prime, Vasilevskiy already holds the Lightning franchise records for wins, saves and shutouts.

Since his first full season as the starting goaltender in 2017-18, no NHL goaltender has hit the 200-win mark other than Vasilevskiy, who has 222. Of goalies with more than 200 games played during that span, nobody has a higher save percentage than Vasilevskiy's .919, while only Marc-Andre Fleury has recorded more shutouts than Vasilevskiy's 28 with 29.

Reeling off an 11-game home win streak earlier this season, Vasilevskiy joined legendary goaltender Ken Dryden as the only two goalies in NHL history with multiple home win streaks of 11 games.

In this year's NHLPA Player Poll, players were asked "If you need to win one game, who is the goalie you would want on your team?"

Vasilevskiy earned 52.3% of the votes, with the next-closest goaltender collecting only 4.8% of the votes.

"Vasy's always there and he's our best player, playoffs and regular season," Kucherov said. "He brings 100% effort every single game and everybody's just trying to take his energy and bring it to their game.

"He's our best player."

In front of the Big Cat, the Bolts will return in 2023-24 with their biggest pieces on the back end still under contract. Victor Hedman, Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak will all be back next year, along with two breakout defenders in Darren Raddysh and Nick Perbix.

After signing an eight-year contract extension last offseason, Sergachev took his game to new heights in 2022-23. Recording a career high 64 points with 10 goals and 54 assists, Sergachev led all Tampa Bay skaters in ice time, averaging 23:49 time on ice per game, the highest of his career.

He finished second on the team in assists and tied for fourth in points. His 54 helpers were the eighth-most among all NHL defensemen, and that's after a season where he earned a promotion to the top power-play unit a couple months into the campaign. His 54-assist season goes down as the third-highest single-season total among all defensemen in Lightning franchise history.

From the beginning of March through the end of the regular season, Sergachev racked up 21 assists in as many games, the second-highest assist total among all NHL skaters during that span.

Still only 24 years old, Sergachev has all the tools to be a top defenseman in the NHL for years to come. His skating and offensive instincts are elite. His play in the defensive zone continues to improve. And his drive to be the best defenseman in the NHL is very real.

Defensively, Sergachev continues to push himself to be better. His 55 takeaways this season were the second-most in a single campaign by any defenseman in Tampa Bay franchise history, trailing only Dan Boyle's 57-takeaway season in 2006-07.

Sergachev also blocked a career high 149 shots, the eighth-most in a single season by a defenseman in Lightning franchise history.

"He's the kid that, hopefully, now you start putting him in Norris Trophy discussions because I think he's starting to command a bigger role," said Cooper. "He's coming into his own - body, physically, mentally.

"To me, it's going to be up to him, but he's got superstar written all over him."

Still so young, but already so experienced, Sergachev is the only player in NHL history to have played over 91 playoff games and won two Stanley Cups by the age of 24. His 437 regular season games and 238 points are already the fourth-most for a defenseman in Lightning franchise history, while his 192 assists rank second.

"We won back-to-back cups," Sergachev said. "That was probably an accomplishment that not a lot of teams will do and not a lot of teams have done.

"Obviously, I'm very grateful that I had an opportunity to do that, but I still think we have an opportunity to do that in the future.

"You sign a contract for a reason for eight years. I believe in this team and this organization. I think we're going to be set up for the next couple years to win more Cups."

Alongside a blossoming young defenseman that looks to just be entering his prime, you have one of the best defensemen of this generation in Hedman, who continues to be one of the most dynamic, two-way defenders across the NHL.

"Sergy's blossoming into one of the best D in the league," Cooper said. "You get that one-two punch of him and Heddy and surround them with smart players. Those guys have really kind of turned their game up a notch."

Still only 32, Hedman possesses a unique combination of elite skating and two-way play that not many defensemen can bring to the table, let alone at 6-foot-7. A Norris and Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Hedman has continued to be the backbone of the Bolts' D-corp year after year.

The Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, native has been a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman six times, with all six of those years coming in succession from 2017 to 2022.

Since the trophy was first awarded after the 1953-54 season, only five defensemen have been nominated more times than Hedman - Ray Bourque, Doug Harvey, Nicklas Lidstrom, Bobby Orr and Brad Park, all of whom are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Racking up 49 points in 76 games this season, Hedman was once again an offensive threat and continues to be one of the toughest defensemen in the NHL to play against.

In the aforementioned NHLPA Player Poll, Hedman finished second, only behind Colorado's Cale Makar, as the NHL's top defenseman. He also received the fifth-most votes as "the player you least enjoy playing against but would love to have on your team."

Hedman remains one of the premier defenders across the league and with the second-most postseason games played among active defensemen, he brings a wealth of experience that has proven to be invaluable come playoff time.

Following a four-point performance in Game 2 of the 2022 First Round series against Toronto, Hedman sent a reminder to the hockey world of just how elite he still is - a reminder that wasn't needed among Tampa Bay fans, players or staff.

"Well, maybe people that don't watch him every day needed a reminder," said Stamkos. "We don't need a reminder. We think he's the best defenseman in the game, certainly overall."

The Big Swede still has two more years under contract with the Bolts and will be looking to come back faster and stronger for 2024.

"One of the few positives I will take out of having this long summer is that now we have a full offseason where we can get ready and get better," Hedman said. "I'll be back stronger next year and hope to have a good season."

When you move to the right side of the Lightning's D-corp, you'll see one of the most physical, tough to play against defenders in the NHL in 6-foot-4, 224-pound Erik Cernak.

Locked into a contract with the Bolts through the end of the 2030-31 season, Cernak already ranks fourth in Lightning franchise history with 842 career hits, despite playing in only 296 games. His 395 blocked shots are the seventh-most in franchise history.

Tampa Bay missed Cernak's presence in the postseason, but the big, physical defenseman will be ready to go for 2023-24 in the first year of his eight-year contract extension.

"Erik Cernak missed a number of games with a concussion," said BriseBois on Tuesday. "He's doing better now, would not have been cleared yet, but I spent some time with him yesterday.

"He's really progressing now. I think the worst is behind for him."

Add in the two impressive right-handed defensemen in Perbix and Raddysh and the Lightning back end is looking primed for a solid year in 2023-24.

"I think they played awesome in the playoffs and established themselves as NHL players," said BriseBois when asked about Perbix and Raddysh. "They're first-year players. They're a little older first-year players, but I think they're only going to continue to get better.

"Big shoutout to our coaching staff in Syracuse who do a phenomenal job helping players reach their potential. Credit mostly goes to Darren. He bought into the program, did a lot of extra work on his skating, worked on his strength. Came into pro hockey as a quarterback-type, power-play specialist coming out of junior and has turned himself into a reliable two-way really good defensive defenseman at the NHL level.

"So that's a really good success story for our development program and certainly helps us because he signed for next season at a very reasonable cap number that helps our cap situation a little bit."

The core is still intact. With stars like Vasilevskiy, Kucherov, Point, Sergachev, Stamkos, Hedman and more, the window for this Tampa Bay team is still wide open.

With plenty of rest heading into the 2023-24 season, teams across the league will need to be ready to face a highly-motivated Lightning team that still has one of the strongest rosters across the NHL.

As Cooper said Tuesday, "As long as Jeff Vinik is the owner and Julien BriseBois is the GM, I'd be excited about this organization every single year."