Don’t rule out the Panthers and other NHL hot topics anymore

Lightning Beat writer Diana C. Nearhos discusses some of the topics relevant to the upcoming season.

Atlantic Division

Same old

The Panthers should be much improved. They added Sergei Bobrovsky in net in free agency and they hired three-time Stanley Cup winner Joel Quenneville behind the bench. The always dangerous Jonathan Huberdeau and Alexander Barkov are back. But (big but) the Panthers still have to face the Lightning, Bruins and Maple Leafs for divisional playoff spots. Has Florida improved enough? Otherwise, that means the Panthers (and Canadiens) are back in the hunt for a wild card spot.

What will happen with Columbus?

The Blue Jackets took a chance last season. They went all-in on rentals at the trade deadline, adding Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel, who then both left in free agency. They essentially hired their own players Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky, who were in the final years of their contracts and walked away in the offseason. There are some good pieces left, including Cam Atkinson, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Seth Jones, Zach Werenski and Alexandre Texier. John Tortorella is still a good coach. But given what Columbus lost, it will be difficult to regain the momentum it had.

NHL 3 on 3

Best off-season moves: 1. Devils 2. Rangers 3. Stars

Teams by defense: 1. Sharks 2. Maple Leafs 3. Flames

Players I’m sorry to see leave: 1. Ryan Callahan 2. Roberto Luongo 3. Brooks Orpik

MORE LIGHTNING: What can the Lightning learn from Virginia men’s basketball?

Lightning 3 vs 3

Concerns: 1. Playoff scoring 2. Over-reliance on Andrei Vasilevskiy 3. Too many penalties

Strengths: 1. Regular season scores 3. Goaltenders 3. Special teams

To see in Sweden: 1. Vasa Museum 2. Strandvagen 3. Drottningholm Palace

Look at him where he landed

Robin Lehner: The goaltender had a big year with the Islanders last season and earned praise for speaking out about his mental health struggles. Leaving New York in free agency, he is in position to take over with the Blackhawks.

Joël Quenneville: Should he have been fired in Chicago? Questionable. Taking over the Panthers, he has a hell of a high-level trio with Jonathan Huberdeau, Alexander Barkov and Evgenii Dadonov, as well as an excellent goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky.

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Matt Duchene: The forward asked to be traded by the Avalanche, looking for a winner, and made his way to the Senators in time for them to go under. Then he was on loan with the Blue Jackets. In free agency, he joined the winning Predators.

MORE LIGHTNING: Carter Verhaeghe makes Lightning’s opening night team

Individual NHL Predictions

Hart (MVP): Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche

Norris (best defender): Erik Karlsson, Sharks

Vézina (best goalkeeper): Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning

Calder (best rookie): Cale Makar, Avalanche

Jack Adams (best coach): Joël Quenneville, Panthers

Random Thoughts on the NHL

1. I wish I could see the game like Nikita Kucherov

He may not be the fastest or most skilled (although he’s in the debate on the latter), but Kucherov has the best vision in the NHL. I would love to see what he sees on the ice. He sees three steps ahead of everyone and anticipates. Can we put a GoPro in his head?

2. What are you doing, Auston Matthews?

From a human perspective, what is really happening? Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews faces disorderly conduct charge, accused of pulling down his pants and grabbing his rear end through his underwear when confronted by a female officer security after he and a group of friends tried to get into her car while she was sitting inside. he was doing paperwork at 2 a.m. Matthews and his friends called the May incident at a Scottsdale, Ariz., condo complex a prank, according to a police report. If you don’t see why this is threatening and unacceptable, I can’t help you. From the perspective of a hockey player and potential team captain, Matthews didn’t admit to the Maple Leafs that this had happened until the media reported on it last week. I’m not calling out good decision making here.

3. Props to Seattle Expansion

The franchise, which debuted in 2021-22, has made some excellent hires, including two notable women. This made Hockey Hall of Fame player Cammi Granato the first professional female scout in the NHL. The captain of the winning American team at the 1998 Olympic Games inspired an entire generation of players. And Alexandra Mandrycky was lured to the Wild as a hockey analytics specialist in Seattle. Those who knew Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke during his tenure with the Lightning aren’t surprised by the move.

RELATED: Join Our Lightning Strikes! Facebook group for conversations, polls, story links and more

Questions facing the Lightning

How are the Lightning following a historic season?

With reasonable expectations. The Lightning’s core is intact and the roster hasn’t changed dramatically, but don’t expect another season of records and firsts.

Expect another high-scoring, high-power season, though. He might not score another 128 points, but Nikita Kucherov won’t fall. He will always be one of the best scorers in the league, if not the leader again. The Lightning can still be atop the league without 62 wins.

This season’s team is not viewed through the prism of its historic 2018-19 regular season. It’s all about the historic playoff collapse.

When will Brayden Point play?

He had hip surgery after last season to repair a nagging injury, so he wasn’t expected to be available immediately even though he hadn’t held up for most of camp. training during contract negotiations. General manager Julien BriseBois said that at the time of the operation, Point was expected back at the end of October. Point said last week that he didn’t have a specific timetable for a return, but that his recovery was on track and he didn’t expect to miss much of the season.

RELATED: Brayden Point’s contract will impact the future of the Tampa Bay Lightning

Why weren’t we informed of the operation sooner?

Medical news like this often comes out at the start of training camp, but Point wasn’t there at the time. He has been in contact with the Lightning and their medical staff throughout the summer.

Are the Lightning too dependent on power play goals?

Maybe, but it’s not a major concern.

The Lightning scored a lot of goals last year (319), more than any other team in two decades. Nearly a quarter of those goals were scored on the power play. That’s a high percentage, but it’s not the highest in the league. Four teams scored more power play goals, including the Bruins, who reached the Stanley Cup Final.

The Lightning have had more power plays than all but three teams (the speed with which they play leads to penalties), so it would be more concerning if they didn’t have as many power play goals.

As for being too reliant on those goals, the Lightning finished second in the league with 233 even-strength goals.

If the power play problem comes from the Lightning’s collapse in the playoffs, where they got fewer power plays, it could be moved. Everything went wrong for the Lightning in the playoffs. They were unable to maintain their consistent shooting rate from the regular season, due to a lack of pace control like they had.

There’s nothing like being too good on the power play. There may be too much reliance, but the Lightning aren’t there.

Can the Lightning bounce back from last year’s playoff collapse?

Yes.