TAMPA, FL – The 2018-19 regular season for the Tampa Bay Lightning was, in a word, epic. The Bolts finished the regular season with 62 wins and 128 points, both were franchise records. Tampa earned the President’s Cup trophy for having the most points in the NHL. The Lightning had three players with more than 40 goals and 90 plus points including the NHL’s leading scorer for the third time in franchise history and possibly a Vezina Trophy winner. Unfortunately none of that mattered in the post-season when the Lightning were ousted in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets. 
For Tampa General Manager Julien BriseBois, all of that is past history as he and his staff begin looking to the future starting with the 2019 Draft.
BriseBois, who took over the big chair from his mentor and now opponent Steve Yzerman, enters this big decision making season with a lot on his plate. Still, he can look back fondly at a year that, although it was not fully his, flourished under his stewardship.
The Lightning, after a couple of early bumps in the road, ran over the rest of the league like a steamroller flattening freshly poured pavement. Tampa’s 62 victories equaled the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for most wins in a single season and the team’s 128 points were the fourth best in league history.
Individually, the Lightning saw the emergence of a new star, Nikita Kucherov, who just turned 26 today, had goalies shaking in fear every time he touched the puck. His 41 goals and 87 assists were personal bests and his 128 points (his second straight 100-point campaign) led the entire league, earning him the Art Ross trophy joining former Lightning superstar Martin St. Louis in winning the award (St. Louis did it twice in 2004 and 2013).
Kucherov had plenty of help in giving opposing netminders sunburns from the red light turning on so often. The face of the franchise, Steven Stamkos, topped his teammate by netting 45 goals while adding 53 assists to bring in 98 points. Not to be overlooked was Brayden Point, who had himself a breakout season, crushing his 2017-18 season total of 32 goals and 66 points by tallying 41 goals and 51 assists for 92 points.
Back on the blueline, a pair of veterans, Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh, each eclipsed the 46 point mark. Hedman battled through injuries to post 12 goals and a career high 42 assists for 54 points in just 70 games played. McDonagh, playing his first full season with the Lightning after being acquired late in the 2017-18 season from the New York Rangers, put up career highs in assists (37) and points (46).
Maybe the best part of Tampa’s 2018-19 season was its goaltending. Andrei Vasilevskiy was in a single word, dominant. His 39-10-4 record, 2.40 goals against average and .925 save percentage earned him one of the three finalist spots for the Vezina Trophy. Even when Vasilevskiy was derailed by injury, the Lightning were in good hands. Journeyman netminder Louis Domingue, who earned the backup role coming out of preseason camp, came in and upheld the standards set by his running mate. Domingue posted a 21-5-0 record, a 2.88 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.
Now comes the part about BriseBois’ plate. While the bulk of the roster is signed through anywhere from the end of the 2019-2020 season to several years down the line, there are some role players who are about to hit free agency.
Arguably the most important on this list is Point, who is coming to the end of a contract that is paying him $686,667 per year. He will most likely be looking for a deserved raise. Point, along with fellow forwards Adam Erne, Cedric Paquette and Anthony Cirelli as well as defenseman Slater Koekkoek are restricted free agents. Of more immediate importance are blueliners Brayden Coburn, Dan Girardi and Anton Stralman are unrestricted free agents who can leave with no compensation. With a limited amount of cap room, BriseBois will have to be creative with deciding who stays and gets paid and who to let go.
In recent days, BriseBois has seen his system depth at goalie drop. The two netminders who were pivotal parts of the success of Tampa’s AHL affiliate in Syracuse, Eddie Pasquale and Connor Ingram, have left – Pasquale choosing to sign a contract with Barys Nur-Sultan in the KHL while Ingram was dealt to Nashville for a seventh round draft pick in 2021 after a failing out with BriseBois.
With a well stocked Crunch team (minus the goaltending) right now, BriseBois has some room to look for a draft pick who could be a year or two away from being set to begin a pro career in the AHL. He could also try to help himself out by trading the Lightning’s first round pick or trading down to pick up an asset that could be of use now.
If BriseBois does decide to use the pick, we believe he will make the following announcement:
“With the 27th pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning select, from the US National Team Development Program (USNTDP) of the USHL, defenseman Alex Vlasic”.
Contact the author at Don.money@prohockeynews.com
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