2022-23 Lightning season

[dmaxf9]

Appears there will be some line changes against Columbus. Hagel now with Point and Kucherov and Namestnikov with Colton and Perry. So likely Stamkos back to center with Paul and Killorn. Fortier might get in tomorrow nite.

[RSchmitz]

Makes sense after last game

[dmaxf9]

Allegations against Ian Cole not substantiated by NHL so he should be back in on Tuesday.

[Puckhead]

He's a plus on the back end but I still don't like it. (yeah, I know, innocent until...) You can bet he'll be on a very short leash if Vinik has anything to say about it.

[Bolthed]

Trade him as soon as possible. Anyone in the organization with kids should be wary of that creep.

[Hoek]

Who's going to want him.

[BurnTHalO]

Yeah the option would be cut him, but I don't think you do it yet. It's not even unsubstantiated, it's one random burner account who never went forward to anyone to corporate, and it sounds like no teammates said they knew anything either. I'd be all for getting rid of him in no small part because I think fleury looked better preseason, but this whole thing seems strange.

[Hoek]

We can't really cut him either. You can't terminate a contract without some real cause and we don't have any evidence for that so we're stuck. The most we can do is bury him in the minors and tell him he doesn't have to report for like $1 mil of cap space. I would imagine the NHLPA would file a grievance over that too, though.

[dmaxf9]

Ian Cole is in his 13th year in NHL and suspect his reputation is known around the league. Lightning players know much more about him than we do. San Jose players did not want Evander Kane and he was gone. Not sure we as fans will ever get the full story. Remember Paul Ranger?

[TexasBolt]

I don't like the situation but I also don't like anonymous social media accounts that go to ground the second someone actually takes them seriously and wants to talk about what they've said. It's like they were hoping everyone would blindly believe whatever they said because that's how social media is, everyone is instantly guilty.

[Bolthed]

Yep, it’s problematic. But what could/should the league have done differently? You have to evaluate an accusation individually, and this one was so detailed and gross that he had to be suspended. On the other hand, everyone now sees the template for how to get any player suspended for at least a few days. The league might have to publicly announce that its standard for suspending a player and launching an investigation is higher than any anonymous post on social media with no corroboration or evidence or further communication. Idk … this is serious stuff, but there is potential for lunatic fans to take advantage of it.

[RSchmitz]

I don't think it's too complicated, just provide some guidance for future accusations. If you can't verify that a victim actually exists, there will be no punishment. A victim can continue to remain anonymous

[dmaxf9]

Good news for Lightning as cap likely to go up $4M next season.

[jason_haas]

Really curious what the team is going to do when Bogosian returns. Keep 12 forwards and 9 D until Cirelli's return forces a decision? Perbix is waivers-exempt so he'll probably just go back to Syracuse but he shouldn't, he looks like he belongs.

The heavy boys in the bottom six also have me super concerned. Bellemare and Maroon look washed. Perry at least picks up PP points. But we need some speed in the bottom six and some more scoring as well. Maybe flip Foote for a forward of a similar age and contract?

[Bolthed]

We’ve got one roster spot open right now, and we’re scratching 2 dmen each night. Add Bogo and we might just send Koepke down and play 11/7 until Cirelli returns. Why? Because most trades before the holiday freeze are just dumps and we don’t want to sell low. So that’s one solution that buys time. But yes a move will have to be made inevitably when Cirelli is 1000% ready to be himself.

The idea of swapping Foote (or Myers I suppose) for a similarly young, inexpensive forward does seems to be the most likely move, although JBB could always pull a rabbit out of a hat. I doubt we would miss Foote (or Myers) or regret moving him. Barring some sort of otherworldly body makeover in his late-20s, I’m pretty sure Foote’s ceiling is not high.

Ideally we might hope JBB packages Foote (or Myers) and a pick for someone capable of juicing our bottom six. Someone with some speed and faceoff ability, if that’s not wishful thinking, could send Bellmare to the pressbox if he wasn't already a part of that package deal.