Bolts by the Bay
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Breaking Down the 5 Bolts Who Need to Step Up Most in the 2022-23 Season

By Garrett Morgan

TORONTO, ON - MAY 10 : Mikhail Sergachev #98 of the Tampa Bay Lightning fires a puck up ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs during Game Five of the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 10, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Lightning 4-3. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty images)
TORONTO, ON - MAY 10 : Mikhail Sergachev #98 of the Tampa Bay Lightning fires a puck up ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs during Game Five of the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 10, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Lightning 4-3. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty images) /
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(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty images)
(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty images) /

2. Cal Foote

Another young defenseman who has struggled with inconsistent play at times, Cal Foote is a guy who is going to need to mature very quickly as he is going to play a major role in the Bolts defensive rotation this year. With the departures of Rutta and McDonagh, Foote will be called upon to become an everyday defenseman, a role in which he is unfamiliar with so far in his NHL career.

At 23 years old, Foote played in 56 regular season games and 13 playoff games last year for the Bolts due to injuries defensively. A guy who many Bolts fans didn’t expect to see be a regular just yet in a playoff blue line, Foote stepped up and averaged around 11 and a half minutes of ice time a game in the postseason.

Now heading into his first full season as a permanent face in the NHL, Foote will be called upon to be a key piece of the Lightning defense and be a guy that can be relied on night in and night out.

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