Tampa Year in Review
The Lightning went into the year as one of the top teams in the league but even Gm Sprackman didn't pick them to win it all. Gm Sprackman expected to be top 4 in the conference and maybe get 40 wins but the team played extremely well for the Gm and surprised all, even the fans of Tampa.
With Gm Sprackman away for the first month of the season, Fernandez ended up playing in the teams first 16 games. He was solid and provided the team with a great boost. This early start for the back up allowed Gm Sprackman to play Thibault for most of the season. Thibault posted solid numbers with a 2.87 Era and 36 wins. He was strong when counted on and helped the team win 55 games in the regular season. Combined, Thibault and Fernandez lost only 19 games all season and for the full season they saw only 25 loses in 104 games.
Offensively the team relied on 3 lines for the most part allowing the top line to play more throughout the season. Mario Lemieux was stellar and lead the team in scoring with 78 points. He scored 40 goals and yet only played in 65 games. If he played a full season he would have easily had over 50 goals and over 100 points. He was the player that lead the team to victory on most nights and helped the team to 55 wins. On his wings, Daze and Sullivan were extremely strong and Sullivan seemed to find the net with ease, scoring 36 goals. Where the team shines is the scoring depth that it possesses. On the 2nd line, Marc Savard was brought in to help Calder and Hejduk. Calder had a strong season, not scoring as much as last season but still solid. Savard was a nice addition with a point per game and Hejduk pitched in with 26 goals and a team leading 51 assists. On the 3rd line, Nylander centered the defensive line with Neilsen and Prospal on the wings. Prospal played extremely well and finished 3rd in scoring with 70 points. Neilsen played a strong two game but didn't produce like Gm Sprackman wanted. Nylander was also strong in his own end and had 39 points on the year.
Defensively we had 4 players with 40 points or more on the blueline and this was extremely important throughout the season. Kubina lead the D with 49 points and +28 on the year.McLaren finished one point behind with 48 and was a machine with 183 hits.
Well, the regular season was great with the team posting a 55-19-8 record but it was the post season that Gm Sprackman made this team for. First up was the pesty Washington Capitals and Gm Sprackman was afraid a 1st round exit to a lesser team would befall the Lightning. The Bolts won the series 4-2 but Gm Sprackman knows it could have gone either way.
"I was worried we wouldn't play to our potential and play to the other teams strengths. Even with a couple of loses, we played the way we wanted to and came away with the series." Gm Sprackman said.
In the 2nd round the Bolts had a tougher test in the strong NJ Devils. But for some reason the Devils didn't show up and lost in 4 straight. This was a big surprise and Gm Sprackman was extremely happy.
"I really thought we would be going 7 with NJ. They have a great bunch of players and thought they could take us. I was extremely shocked we handled them in 4 and was pleased as our team was granted a rest." Gm Sprackman stated.
In the conference final, we ended up against our conference rival and the Stanley Cup Champs. We wanted to beat the best to win the cup and the team seemed to pick up from the Islanders. The Lightning players wanted to walk around with the swager that the Islanders did and it 6 games, the Lightning had done just that. They had won the conference but wanted more. Off to the cup they went.
In the Finals, the Bolts didn't start too well, falling behind 2 games but with Savard and Mario leading the way, the Bolts won 4 in a row and took the Cup in 6 games to the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers played extremely well in the playoffs and Johnson was unbelievable throughout the playoffs but the Bolts were a team on a mission. Now the the Cup won, Gm Sprackman can relax and try other things until the new season.
Team awards were handed out after the game. Mario Lemieux won a few awards. He took the teams MVP award along with the Teams Top scorer award and the John Cullen Goal award. Kubina was awarded the teams best defenceman award and Jeff Jillson won the Goon award with 134 Pim's. Thibault took home the teams best Goalie award with his 36 win season and the teams sportsman award went to Mario Lemieux who didn't take one penalty all season long.
Whats next?
Well, with a few Free Agents upcoming the team is looking to sign the players and try to win the cup again. Sullivan is the only UFA and rumors have Gm Sprackman protecting him so he won't walk away from the team. The rest are RFA's and Gm Sprackman hopes to have all signed by the time Training Camp opens.
Tampa Free Press
Johnny Humpalot
The Lightning went into the year as one of the top teams in the league but even Gm Sprackman didn't pick them to win it all. Gm Sprackman expected to be top 4 in the conference and maybe get 40 wins but the team played extremely well for the Gm and surprised all, even the fans of Tampa.
With Gm Sprackman away for the first month of the season, Fernandez ended up playing in the teams first 16 games. He was solid and provided the team with a great boost. This early start for the back up allowed Gm Sprackman to play Thibault for most of the season. Thibault posted solid numbers with a 2.87 Era and 36 wins. He was strong when counted on and helped the team win 55 games in the regular season. Combined, Thibault and Fernandez lost only 19 games all season and for the full season they saw only 25 loses in 104 games.
Offensively the team relied on 3 lines for the most part allowing the top line to play more throughout the season. Mario Lemieux was stellar and lead the team in scoring with 78 points. He scored 40 goals and yet only played in 65 games. If he played a full season he would have easily had over 50 goals and over 100 points. He was the player that lead the team to victory on most nights and helped the team to 55 wins. On his wings, Daze and Sullivan were extremely strong and Sullivan seemed to find the net with ease, scoring 36 goals. Where the team shines is the scoring depth that it possesses. On the 2nd line, Marc Savard was brought in to help Calder and Hejduk. Calder had a strong season, not scoring as much as last season but still solid. Savard was a nice addition with a point per game and Hejduk pitched in with 26 goals and a team leading 51 assists. On the 3rd line, Nylander centered the defensive line with Neilsen and Prospal on the wings. Prospal played extremely well and finished 3rd in scoring with 70 points. Neilsen played a strong two game but didn't produce like Gm Sprackman wanted. Nylander was also strong in his own end and had 39 points on the year.
Defensively we had 4 players with 40 points or more on the blueline and this was extremely important throughout the season. Kubina lead the D with 49 points and +28 on the year.McLaren finished one point behind with 48 and was a machine with 183 hits.
Well, the regular season was great with the team posting a 55-19-8 record but it was the post season that Gm Sprackman made this team for. First up was the pesty Washington Capitals and Gm Sprackman was afraid a 1st round exit to a lesser team would befall the Lightning. The Bolts won the series 4-2 but Gm Sprackman knows it could have gone either way.
"I was worried we wouldn't play to our potential and play to the other teams strengths. Even with a couple of loses, we played the way we wanted to and came away with the series." Gm Sprackman said.
In the 2nd round the Bolts had a tougher test in the strong NJ Devils. But for some reason the Devils didn't show up and lost in 4 straight. This was a big surprise and Gm Sprackman was extremely happy.
"I really thought we would be going 7 with NJ. They have a great bunch of players and thought they could take us. I was extremely shocked we handled them in 4 and was pleased as our team was granted a rest." Gm Sprackman stated.
In the conference final, we ended up against our conference rival and the Stanley Cup Champs. We wanted to beat the best to win the cup and the team seemed to pick up from the Islanders. The Lightning players wanted to walk around with the swager that the Islanders did and it 6 games, the Lightning had done just that. They had won the conference but wanted more. Off to the cup they went.
In the Finals, the Bolts didn't start too well, falling behind 2 games but with Savard and Mario leading the way, the Bolts won 4 in a row and took the Cup in 6 games to the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers played extremely well in the playoffs and Johnson was unbelievable throughout the playoffs but the Bolts were a team on a mission. Now the the Cup won, Gm Sprackman can relax and try other things until the new season.
Team awards were handed out after the game. Mario Lemieux won a few awards. He took the teams MVP award along with the Teams Top scorer award and the John Cullen Goal award. Kubina was awarded the teams best defenceman award and Jeff Jillson won the Goon award with 134 Pim's. Thibault took home the teams best Goalie award with his 36 win season and the teams sportsman award went to Mario Lemieux who didn't take one penalty all season long.
Whats next?
Well, with a few Free Agents upcoming the team is looking to sign the players and try to win the cup again. Sullivan is the only UFA and rumors have Gm Sprackman protecting him so he won't walk away from the team. The rest are RFA's and Gm Sprackman hopes to have all signed by the time Training Camp opens.
Tampa Free Press
Johnny Humpalot
posted by Sprackman at 10:04 PM
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