Tampa Bay Lightning Headlines And News From Around The NHL
As Tampa Bay Lightning fans prepare to start their day, we take a look at some of the top Lightning headlines and other news from around the NHL.
As the sun continues to rise and set here in the Bolts Nation, Tampa Bay Lightning fans find themselves closer to the official start of the 2016-17 season. Right now, we are just 72 days away from the Tampa Bay Lightning Home Opener, where the Lightning are scheduled to take on the Detroit Red Wings at the Amalie Arena on October 13th. This means we’re less than two and a half months from Lightning Hockey!
Thankfully for Lightning fans, and realistically fans from all over the National Hockey League, they will be getting a bit of a respite from the off-season this time around. You see, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey is set to kick off on September 17th at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs. This means hockey fans will get some international hockey action just about a month before the start of the season.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have had a pretty exciting off-season thus far. Tampa Bay Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman was able to wave his magic wand and work out some pretty spectacular contracts with players like Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, defenseman Victor Hedman, center Alex Killorn and many other players. He’s even been able to bring a familiar face, Cory Conacher, back to the Bolts Nation.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Despite all of that, there are still some missing pieces to the puzzle. The most glaring of those missing pieces is the Lightning’s leading point scorer in the 2015-16 season, Nikita Kucherov. On the bright side, between the incredible GM skill of Yzerman and the willingness of players to take discounts in order to remain here in the Bolts Nation, we are confident Yzerman will be able to get the job done before the start of the season.
While Lightning fans wait for news of a new contract for some of the aforementioned missing players, let’s take a closer look at some of the top Tampa Bay Lightning headlines making their way around the Bolts Nation today as well as other news from around the National Hockey League.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are no stranger to injuries. In fact, it almost seems par for the course when one of the team’s more essential players receives some sort of illness or injury and one of the most inopportune moments in the season. This being said, it looks as if the Lightning are heading into the 2016-17 season in that very condition.
Back on June 21st, Tampa Bay Lightning alternate captain Ryan Callahan was forced to undergo surgery to repair a labral tear in his right hip. The initial diagnosis for the injury is that Callahan would miss around five months away from the ice. If this proves to be the case, the 31-year-old winger will be forced to miss the entirety of the preseason and quite possibly the first two months of the regular season. (Bolts By The Bay)
Tampa Bay Lightning fans who like to take their love of hockey into the virtual world by means of games like NHL 17 are about to be in for a treat. On September 13th, just four days before the start of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, EA Sports will be releasing their latest version of their popular video game series, NHL 17.
Thankfully for us, Bolts By The Bay Staff Writer Chase Kimball has gained access to the Beta for the game. Until the release of the game, Chase will be taking a look at some of the different aspects of the game and providing his own insight about the game so you can know what to look for when the game becomes available in stores nationwide in September. His first article focuses in on the team and player ratings. (Bolts By The Bay)
must read: Ben Bishop Proves To Be One Of The Best In The NHL
As the end of the off-season looms in the distance, the time is approaching for teams to start taking a look at the competition and putting together a picture of what they will be dealing with next season when they take the ice to go head-to-head with one another.
As you can imagine, there are a number of teams in the NHL with talented players ready to make their impact on the National Hockey League. The people over at Bleacher Report have taken the chance to look at a number of players who are set to have a breakout season in 2016-17. Of course, a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning made the list. The question is, which one? (Bleacher Report)
Every year before the regular season starts, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, take their game to the streets in a really interesting special event. The annual event is known as the Syracuse Crunch Media Game. This is where members of the media team up with people in the Crunch’s front office for a high-spirited game of street hockey.
This year, the event is scheduled to take place on August 6th at 10:30 a.m. outside the War Memorial Arena in Syracuse. Ahead of the game, the Crunch have officially announced the rosters for the upcoming matchup. There are a few names on this list some of you may recognize. It looks like a pretty fun time. (Syracuse Crunch)
New From Around The National Hockey League
Just because the off-season will soon be coming to a close, that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a pretty fair amount of business left to be conducted. There are still a plethora of players in the NHL looking for new contracts and/or new homes for the upcoming season. There are also teams who need to shed or add cap space in order to be compliant.
Our friends over at Too Many Men On The Site have taken the time to look closer at a few players who could very well be moved before the start of the 2016-17 season. There may be a few names on that list who will surprise you. (Too Many Men On the Site)
Every season, teams are awarded an opportunity to buyout a player’s contract, whether it is to shed cap space or to spare the team the agony of trying to find a home for an underperforming player. This season, the Tampa Bay Lightning used their buyout to end the contract of former Lightning defenseman Matt Carle.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are about to open the door to a second buyout period; however, our friends over at Editor In Leaf believe there is a good chance the Maple Leafs won’t be executing their second buyout opportunity. Instead, they take a look at what a buyout could mean for the team and, if anyone, who would be a candidate for such a move. (Editor In Leaf)
must read: Tampa Bay Lightning Year In Review: Nikita Kucherov
As most people here in the Bolts Nation are well aware of, the pesky NHL Expansion Draft staring the National Hockey League in the face at the end of the season has the potential to cause mass chaos to some team’s lineups. This means each team has a lot of hard decisions to make as the season plugs on as to which players they want to protect from the draft and who they feel they can afford to lose.
On a team like the Tampa Bay Lightning, there aren’t a whole lot of players fans would be willing to part with, but it will be in the hands of Tampa Bay Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman to decide which direction the team is going to take. Our friends over at Causeway Crowd think they’ve come up with a way for their beloved Boston Bruins to beat the system. The questions is, how? (Causeway Crowd)
As we have mentioned previously, it is never too early to start scouting out the enemy ahead of the upcoming 2016-17 season. The Tampa Bay Lightning will be doing whatever it takes to make their way back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the third season in a row. In order to accomplish this goal, they are going to have to take on some of the best teams in the National Hockey League.
Of course, it’s always helpful when the competition does some of the work for you. Our friends over at The Canuck Way have taken the time to break down their roster and not only give their fans an idea of what they can look forward to in the upcoming season as well as analyze some moves that could change everything. (The Canuck Way)
Next: Tampa Bay Lightning Year In Review: Steven Stamkos
As we mentioned before, there are only 72 days left between now and the start of the 2016-17 season. The Tampa Bay Lightning still have some work to do if they want to be ready when the puck drops, but we have full faith that Steve Yzerman will get the job done with some time to spare.