EP. 12 "Whose the New Guy"

Stevie Z hops on after the beginning of Free Agency simmers down. He recaps:

- the 3 initial signings 

- a notable trade

- 2 players who flashed during Development Camp

- a former Bolt re-joins the organization in a new role

- AND MORE

Transcript

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What is going on, everyone? Welcome on Channel Side Podcast. It's CBC here. Happy Saturday, July 11th. We are a little over a week, what maybe 10 days out since the beginning of NHL Free Agency on Wednesday, July 1st. I want to hop on here and give just a little bit of reaction and some insight onto the three signings the Bolts made, and then a notable trade regarding Tampa Bay and what it looks like for the Bolts moving forward for the rest of the offseason. Look into uh development camp and two players that really caught my eye, and a former Bolt now working for the Tampa Bay Lightning. So let's get right into it. We'll kind of have to start with Zach Rorensky and how that impacted the first really notable signing for the Bolts, or I guess you could say the more notable of the three. So with Zach Rorensky, I guess reaffirming his supposed commitment to Columbus and the Blue Jackets, and you know, saying that he wants to win there, which remains to be seen if that's gonna actually be the case. Um the Lightning had to put the I guess you could say the worst kept secret in the NHL, with John Carlson wanting to sign with Tampa on the back burner, right? And so let's kind of get into this deal with the Lightning trading for Rowensky, right? It it was rumored that he only wanted to go to Toronto or Tampa, and I I think maybe what people don't realize is that Don Waddell, the general manager of Columbus, didn't have to play ball, he didn't have to oblige a trade for Zach Rowensky to go to either of those places, right? They wanted NHL ready players, not sure if either of those teams were really could really offer what Columbus wanted at the time, right? As of July 1st. So a trade wasn't done, right? And and he stays put for the time being. So pivoting to John Carlson, right? Tampa signs him uh the uh the late hours of the night around 11:30. The notification came through that John Carlson had signed a two-year contract worth 17 million, uh 8.5 million per year. Look, I I like the signing. Okay, in John Carlson, you are getting somebody who is he's he's a veteran, and we know that he's 36 years old. So you get a right-handed shot defenseman, 6'3, 216 pounds. Look, you get a proven Darren Radish replacement. And I think that this is where the lightning were probably going all along. Uh like I said, I don't think the lightning wanted to go above six by six, and Radish obviously goes and gets the contract that he got from Toronto. So they got the next best thing is somebody who has who's proven, who's done it year on end in the NHL. This past year, look, he played what, 71 games, 14 goals, 46 assists, 60 points. I envision him being a first pair defenseman alongside JJ Mojer and probably quarterbacking that first power play. And like I said, even at 36 years old, he's still incredibly productive, right? So 14 goals last year, seven at five on five, 46 assists, 26 assists at 5 on 5, 60 points, 33 of those points at 5 on 5. Right. So, like I said, the 60 points is incredibly impressive for somebody his age, but not only that, he's still averaging between both Anaheim and Washington last year, nearly 24 minutes a night. So those are highly competitive minutes for somebody of his age. And and I keep hearing a lot about this age thing regarding the Tampa Bay Lightnings decor and the team in general. And I think that pointing to the age of some of the players in the Lightning is a little overblown, right? As long as they can still be productive.

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Right?

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Ryan McDonough may have lost a step with his skating, but he's still an incredibly competent and effective defender in a shutdown role. Victor Hedman, that remains to be seen. He's 35 now. Will he have a bounce back year? You are hoping so. He's also lost a step with his skating. But hockey sense and ability to score points just don't go away. Right? And so, what what you're hoping with John Carlson, with him playing the minutes that he's playing and the production that he's having, yeah, play first pair more than likely. But he just kind of slots in seamlessly. And with him and his rights being traded to Carolina a couple days prior to the beginning of NHL free agency, and him not signing, and the likes of not only the current Stanley Cup champions and then Philadelphia, as well as Tampa being in on him, him waiting, and I'm projecting here, I'm assuming that he saw the rumors of Zach Rowensky to Tampa and realized that his deal would be put on hold, and the light the Lightning eventually having to pivot back to him. I think it says that he wanted to sign with Tampa all along. Um, and so that's good. You get a player who I think could have commanded 10 million plus on the open market for two years at 8.5 million. I think that's a great deal. That's a great piece of work by Julian Brisbois. Looking at some of the analytics and some of the metrics, just in comparison to his past years, one thing that I think could be a negative and something to watch out for is that this past year he had the most giveaways he's ever had in his career, uh, which was 100. Uh, two years ago, he had 95. So over the past two years combined, I think over a two-year stretch, he's had the most giveaways, right, that he's ever had in a two-year span in his career. So that's something to look out for being the first pair, um, where I assume he will be, and what his role will be. You know, he's gonna have the puck a lot. He's gonna he's gonna be responsible for a lot. It's just going to be able to see how he manages. He's still an effective player, still a smart player, still a productive player, even at 36 years old. I'm just really curious to see if those numbers do go down, or because he's lost some ability, I guess, uh not ability, but just some uh foot speed, if that impacts uh how he plays and if those giveaways stay even kill or if they go up or potentially go down. So love that signing. The second signing for the Bolts was forward Ilya Mikhaev, right? 6'2, 192, left left shot forward. He's 31 years old. Bolts got him for a four-year 15.4 million dollar contract, comes out to 3.85 per year. Look, I think he projects in the middle six. I think what you're getting out of him is, although I envision him on the second or third line, is you get a forward who could probably slot in anywhere on the top nine wings slots. Um, you get high-level speed, you get PK ability. Look, he had he had the most PK time of all the forwards on the Blackhawks by a wide margin, nearly 50 minutes. Okay, and in that time, okay, generated 15 shots on the PK. Now, from just the surface level statistic, you know, just being surface level statistics, 77 games played, 8 goals, 18 assists, 36 points. So what you're looking at is hopefully you're gonna you're gonna get more depth scoring. Um, it's just a move on the fringes that Julian Brisbois likes to make, right? I I he was not someone who on my initial list of looking at potential forward signings for Tampa that I really considered. I mean, I I glossed, I glanced over his name, but it just to me, I felt that Tampa had other guys who could potentially fulfill his role. But the contract isn't bad. And like I like I said, he did an interview and he said that he loves spending time on the penalty kill. Right? So out of the 16 goals, I'm sorry, 18 goals, you get 17 at even strength, you get one shorthanded. And Tampa could really use that. Tampa has really locked into being a better, more effective, more efficient team at even strength, whether that be 5 on 5 or 4 on 4. And I think he just adds to that. And so, look, for me, the ability to have skating speed down the lineup is absolutely needed. I think with a signing like Iliam Mikhaeev and some of the subsequent moves that were made, I think Tampa is looking to maybe lean into more of what they were, which was just balls to the wall speed all throughout the lineup rather than trying to construct something that they aren't, which is more traditional in the sense of, you know, you have a scoring line, and then you have a secondary scoring line, then you have a third line checking line, and then you have a fourth line full of heavies. I'm not sure if that's Tampa's way. And, you know, Ilya Mikhaev, that signing and what he offers, and maybe some of the guys that are still on the team, you know, maybe Tampa's looking to go back to what they were, which was generating speed all throughout the lineup. I think Ilya Mikhaev helps fit that. It is a good signing, it's an underrated signing, um, and one that I'm interested to see where he is going to slot in for Tampa. The next signing was one that completely took me by surprise. Um, Jeffrey Vale or VL, however you say it, um, I've heard both. Five years, 12.5 million, two and a half million per year, right? He got a no movement clause in year one, no trade clause in year two. He's 29 years old. He's played 99 career NHL games, left hand for or uh left hand shot forward, 6'1, 214 pounds, played 45 games last year, three goals, seven assists, 10 points. When you saw the notification come through, I'm sure you that are listening, uh as long as as well as myself, were saying, what the actual hell is this signing? Who is this guy? And to give a player who's 29, who has less than 100 career NHL games a regular season a contract for five years at this cap hit? Julian Breesball, what the hell are you doing? And I'm going to preface this by saying for people who think that he has just been brought in to um sit the bench and you know, do quality control on the popcorn in the press box. At two and a half million per year, he's not doing that. He's gonna come in and he's going to play. Right. And the rumors that I saw were that VL also had interest from the likes of Buffalo and Florida, which probably drove up the price a little bit on the contract and some of the trade clauses that Julian Breesbaugh has always seemingly loved to give out, even going back to the days of Steve Eisenman. And so you're asking why Jeffrey Vale or VL. And I think there is something metrically, or there are some metrics that he has or that he's shown that leads me to believe Tampa believes they could tap into something, and his metrics will help, not only will they help him elevate his metrics in him in his production, but that his what he's offering metrically right now will also elevate Tampa uh in the bottom six. Right. So reading a stuff uh reading a substack by uh Boltfan J91 or Boltfan J L91, and he did a an excellent piece on breaking down Jeffrey Veal or VL. And there is there is a stylistic comparison paragraph where he compares Jeffrey Veal to the likes of a player in the mold of Barclay Goodrow. And I thought, you know what? That is probably a fair and excellent comparison, right? Goodrow was a key piece on the bolt shutdown line in 2020, 2021. Uh, in this in the in the article, right, it's written that Goodrow arrived in Tampa at the 2020 deadline, and he never scored more than eight goals in a season, averaged 12 minutes a night. In his first full season, and really his only full season in Tampa, he was up to nearly 15 minutes a game in the regular season and almost 18 minutes in the playoffs. When you look at it, and you're saying, okay, is this signing for down the road in the playoffs in April? And you're saying, okay, well, that that's that's a possibility. Doing some research and some digging right into the regular season of Jeffrey Veal. In 10 games with Boston this past season, in scoring chances for a percentage, right, in 10 games, it was just under 60%. In 35 games with Anaheim in the regular season, his scoring chances for were just above 51.5%. And you look at the high danger chances for and against uh that percentage, it was 67.5% with Boston, 50% with with Anaheim, and you're looking at it and you're saying, okay, so those are metrics that when he's on the ice, his line is generating opportunities to score and score in high danger areas. And then looking at his playoff metrics, going back to the Substack article by Boltfan JL91, in 12 games played, right? Five goals four, three goals allowed, goals four percentage at 62 and a half percent. And you're looking at that and you're saying, well, that's not very impressive. But it's done in averaging 12 minutes a night, which is roughly about a either on the third line on the lower end, or a fourth liner who's playing more minutes given the situation. And those numbers, right, you're saying, okay, so maybe that's what Tampa's looking into. It's more of an analytics signing, it's something that they feel that they can tap into that will help the roster throughout you know, help help the roster in the production throughout the season. And once they get into that first round, hopefully you get an uptick when the games obviously matter more, I guess you could say. Because I can't really think of another reason why they would sign him. The price point, uh, Julian Brizois did state he feels they got good value for because in the in the landscape of which the NHL salary cap is going, he feels that Jeff Jeff VL's contract will be one that provides great value. Obviously, in the first two years, that's that will remain to be seen given that he doesn't uh he obviously can't be moved without uh negating either that no no move clause or no trade clause. So we will see. Like I said, uh going into uh the offseason and and and thinking about it and seeing some of like obviously Jeff Carr Jeff Car uh John Carlson and and the McKayev signing, what is Tampa leaning into? Right, and I'm gonna segue that to the next move, which was a notable notable trade. Okay, so the three signings for the lightning John Carlson, Ilya Mikhaeev, and Jeffrey VL. And then there was a notable trade. Right, and this trade kind of took me by surprise in the sense of what Tampa needs, or what what we would like Tampa to have, and what they were getting rid of, and in which they sent Nick Paul to the Toronto Maple Leafs for goaltender Dennis Hildeby, and as well as a 2027 fourth-round draft pick and a 2028 third-round draft pick. And so, why did this take me by surprise? A couple weeks ago, if you can remember, uh, in one of the episodes, I had said that and I was very curious as to why fans were wanting to get rid of a player like Nick Paul or why he was being mocked up as being traded elsewhere. Um, obviously he had a trade clause that on June 30th was transitioning to a 16-team trade clause uh on July 1st, which is when he was dealt. But Nick Paul offered two things that I felt Tamplett sorely lacked, and what leads me to believe that Tamplett might be moving away from this. So Nick Paul, 6'4, 234 pounds, um, and he he won nearly 54% of his face-offs this past year. So if you can recall, Tampa, I believe, was 31st in face-off percentage this year, and they lacked size, I guess you could say. Now, Nick Paul played 51 games this year, had seven goals, eight assists for 15 points, and he had a rough year. And Julian Breeswell came out and said when they made the move that based on how the roster is currently constructed, he saw Nick Paul's role more than likely diminishing, which is fair. Which is absolutely fair. However, trading him now leaves Tampa with only one forward who had a face-off win percentage above 50%, which leads me to believe, and we'll talk about this later in the summer, that Dominic James is pegged to take that third line spot. Now, I I'm obviously projecting that. We'll talk about that later on. This is about some of the signings in the trade, but that's just where my head is going when I saw this deal. Now, what they got back is actually really good in value. Tampa needs draft picks. You go and get a fourth round for next year, you get a third round for the following year. That's fine. Just something in the cachet that Tampa has to be able to dole out if they want to go and get other assets in the likes of an NHL ready player. Needless to say. But they also got Dennis Hildeby. Now, Dennis Hildeby is a 6'7, 223-pound goaltender who catches left. He's 24 years old. He's in the second year of his RFA contract at a cap hit of $841,667. That's for the next two years. Julian Breeswal came out and said that Dennis Hildeby will be the backup for Andre Vasilevsky and that they are currently shopping Jonas Johansson and that they are working with his agent to find him a place where he can potentially be a part of an NHL tandem. I do like that they went out and addressed the backup goaltender issue. I think, and this is for me, I shit on uh Jonas Johansson a lot last year in the latter half of the season, just because, and it goes back to the Buffalo game where they where they gave up eight and it wasn't all his fault. But really, that game was kind of like the unraveling for the other times that he was in. And what you don't want is when a backup goaltender is filling in for Andre Vasilevsky, what you don't want is the Tampa Bay Lightning to score six and they also give up seven, or they you know they score four, they give up five, whatever. And I just felt like Tampa wasn't getting the timely save from the likes of Jonas Johansson when it when it truly mattered, and it bothered me. And it it sucks because the lightning can score, but what you what you want is a reliable backup goaltender. So at 24 years old, okay, Hildeby played a career high 20 games for Montreal this past season with a uh GAA of 2.86 and a save percentage of 91.4. Not to mention that he won a Calder Cup with the Marlies last year. He got his first career shot out against Tampa in a 2-0 win where he threw when he where he saved uh 29 shots. And I think they like big goaltenders. Obviously, Yonish Johansson's 6'5, Hildeby's 6'7, so it's it's it's to the archetype that uh Franjon likes. And so his age, obviously, the the cap hit, his size, the fact that he's won, and that he has not necessarily the pedigree, but there are there are elements, there are intangibles and elements that he offers that the lightning feel that once again that they can enhance and that he can provide that will allow the lightning to kind of grow his game. And Julian Breesboss felt that Dennis Hildeby is ready to be a full-time NHL backup. And so to trade the likes of Nick Paul, who obviously, as Tampa Bay fans, I I think I would speak for a lot of us, are sad to see him go because obviously rumor is as it's been said that he's a great locker room guy. But he had a tough year, and that can't be denied. And he is, he, although he is a bigger guy and skates fairly well for a bigger guy, trading him away, like I said, leads me to believe that Tampa might be leaning into more of the we they want to achieve more team speed throughout the entire lineup. Because if you if you can recall against games against Buffalo in the regular season last year, towards the latter half of the season, and the playoff series versus Montreal, the the bottom six for Tampa was just getting skated around. And so I do think that trading away a Nick Paul, and they're saying, all right, like I said with Dominic James or Yanni Gord, whoever's gonna, whoever's gonna command the center positions in the bottom six, and along the likes of signs of signings of Jeffrey Vale or Vale and the signing of Ilya Mikhaeev, I just do feel that Tampa is headed towards more of being what they used to be, uh, but just more experienced in that regard. Not necessarily a finesse team, a team that still checks hard, but a team that's looking to get back to forchecking in the manner in which they were doing so in the early years under John Cooper, but just doing so more smartly and playing a more edgier game. Um, I do think that Tampa has tried to explore different ways to get back to obviously winning not only a first round, but moving along further in in the playoffs and winning a Stanley Cup. And I think they may have gotten knocked off track by the rising of the Florida Panthers and how they have constructed their team, that Tampa has spent the last couple years trying to configure a team just to specifically beat the Florida Panthers. And I know that Julian Bresbois says that he has not been trying to do that, but truth be told, the the signings and the roster construction has said otherwise, obviously, with the signings of Scott Sabron, um, you know, when they picked up Curtis Joseph or Curtis Joseph, um, Curtis Douglas, it it just spoke very differently, or it it, you know, your the actions spoke a lot louder than the words in regards to that. And so for me, I think now Jeffrey Veal, he has 22 career fights, right? So he's not afraid to drop him. And he said so as much as the interview. He says he's got to carve out a role for himself, so he has no problem being that edgy player, and obviously at you know, at 6'1, 214 pounds, um, he offers an element of size and that Tampa doesn't have throughout the lineup, with the likes of Nick Paul going to Toronto, but obviously their skating ability, watching some of his highlights, he can skate, he can get around. And so it is interesting to see how Tampa will move forward with constructing their roster for the regular season. Now, with that being said, obviously, the three the three signings in Carlson, Mikaiev, Veal, and the trade for Dennis Hildeby, the roster looks like this right now. So, according to Puckpedia, uh Tampa has just over 3.2 million in projected cap space. The forward roster breakdown looks like uh is the following Kucharov, point, Gensel, Hegel, Sorelli, Mikaia, Veal, Gord, Homburg, Gonz, Jurgensen's, James, and it has Connor Geeky listed on here. Um, I think that that that that 13 forward spot is up for grabs. It could go to the likes of a Pelchier, who a lot of Lightning fans seem to love and clamor for, uh, because although he is smaller, he led the AHL in scoring this past year and was the most valuable player, and um he can skate. So that leads me to believe that he has a shot. Um, people they think Sam O'Reilly has a chance, and we'll kind of get to him in just a second. Uh defensively, right? John Carlson, Hedman, uh, Mosier, Chernack, McDonough, Das do Lilleberg. I do think that Crozier will be the eighth defenseman on the roster. And, you know, like I envision obviously Carlson and Mosier taking up that first pair that remains to be seen. Um, Karnack and McDonough, second pair. And I think that uh if we may see a different role for Victor Hedman, it may be on the third pair this year. Um, who knows? I'm I'm obviously just projecting, and like I said, we'll do that later this summer. But that obviously that sixth spot coming down two desk, do a Lilleberg or uh Crozier, it will be interesting to see how the Lightning maneuver that because all three of those guys require waivers to be sent down, and you don't necessarily want to send a player down and lose them for nothing. So Tampa could carry eight defensemen again, right? That that's a possibility. Uh, and also right now with Jonas Johansson currently on the roster, like I said, he could be traded, he could be sent down to the uh AHL or his contract could be terminated so that way he's free to sign elsewhere. Right now, it's Vasilevski, Johansson, and Hildeby as the three goaltenders. I imagine that Tampa will have some more cap space prior to the season. As of right now, they have just under $15 million in deadline cap space if they were to go into the season with these 23 players on the roster. Okay, so that's what it's kind of looking like right now in early July. Where do I think this team is lacking? Right, uh, just off the initial moves. Um, you know, coming into free agency, I felt that Tampa really needed to address that open top six forward spot. I I don't necessarily think they did that. Now, Julian Breesball said that there is a possibility that it could it they could address that, but looking at the the remaining three agents who who potentially play uh forward, there the the pickings are slim, right? You've got Anthony Mampa, who just health is a concern. You've got Patrick Kane, who I would would imagine there's defensive deficiencies in his game now that I don't think benefit Tampa. Um you know, Patrick Line, who I, you know, my buddy Chuck mentioned, um, and I mentioned in the last episode I was a good shout, that's a good idea, right-handed shot, but at five on five, his game is not very good, and obviously his health is also a concern. And I think Tampa, I read something that Tampa's effectively out on Patrick Lanya anyway. And so, where does that lead Tampa? I do think that you're gonna see a younger guy potentially like a Geeky Oregon Salvis and Julian Bruce Bonds is gonna say, Hey, this spot is open for one of you young guys, go out and take it. It could be a Benjamin Ralphiainen, who once again, I think I'm gonna kind of time in with Sam O'Reilly here in a second. I think that's a little far-fetched, but it's always a possibility. Uh, the roster obviously lacks a center uh to win, right? Like I said, with the trading of Nick Paul, only one player left on the roster who won above 50% of their face-offs, and that's Dominic James. I do, I did see that the Lightning, um, you know, uh Elliot Friedman had said that he believes that the Lightning were in on the likes of a player like Ryan O'Reilly, who, if you can recall, I said that Tampa could potentially, he was somebody that I was looking for Tampa to trade for this offseason. So it's kind of funny that maybe the Lightning also had the same thought process. And I know, oh, he's older. Yes, older, but still incredibly productive, right? 70 76 points at 35 years old. Um, you can't just forget about the age. Look at the production, right? And that that's what I care about. You can't really do anything about someone's age. Are they still productive in that age to a point where it's beneficial more so than hurting the team, right? If they wanted to look to get Braden Point to the wing, well, they necessarily they haven't necessarily uh addressed that, right? And that's gonna kind of get me to where I'm gonna tie in Samuel Riley here with the trading of Nick Paul. And I'll say this: I do think that Sam O'Reilly will be a contributor for Tampa if it's not this season, it'll be in a year, I would envision. Year, maybe two. As you know, Tampa likes to let their prospects overcook in the AHL. So I've seen a lot of fans kind of mock up some lines, and they are for certain, and a lot of fans that I've I've um, you know, talked with um online, they are for certain that a player like Sam O'Reilly is making the opening night roster. He has to make the opening night roster, and they proclaim it. Let me let me say this I think the expectation and you know the idea that that Sam O'Reilly is making the opening night roster right now. I think we need to pump the brakes on that a little bit. I know that Julian Breesbox said he's close. Absolutely. I I mean, watching his game, yes, I I do think that it is a possibility if he has a good training camp and a good preseason, he could make the opening night roster. I just think that a lot of the expectation being placed upon him as a bottom six savior is a little undue and a little unjust. He hasn't even played a professional hockey game yet. And to think that he will be able to just fall seamlessly into the NHL and there'd be no learning curve, and we're just gonna kind of go into it, and he's gonna fit perfectly in the bottom six, I think that's a little disingenuous in regards to the learning curve that he is going to have going from the OHL to the NHL, although he is older, right? At 20 years old, 21. I do want to pitch this question. Would you rather have Sam O'Reilly make the opening night roster playing a fourth line role in which he's playing fourth line center, getting eight to ten minutes? Or would you rather have him go down to Syracuse, play either the first or second line center role, play all situations in which he's getting, you know, those 19, 20 minutes a night playing forward, and he's playing powered play, PK, you know, five on four PK, four on four, you know, all situations, kind of like how they did with Kano Giki this past year. What is better for his development for the lightning long term? Because if I look at it, Yanni Gore could really fit fit that fourth line center role, right? Like that, or or Dominic James, whoever. But do you want to bring somebody in from the OHL and say, hey, you're going to play fourth line minutes? And understanding how John Cooper operates with young guys. Because with young guys, if you're not in with John Cooper, I and I hate to say that, but it's kind of like how you how he's treated young guys in a sense, they they they earn more time based on merit. What have they done? And coming into the and coming into the NHL, he hasn't done anything, right? And joining the organization. He's done stuff at the OHL level, which is fantastic. But in John Cooper's eyes, he hasn't done anything yet at this level at the NHL level. So why is he going to be plugged in above anything more than a fourth-line center? Now, I'm saying this before we see what training camp looks like and what preseason looks like. But for me, and what Tampa didn't address in the center position, I don't necessarily think it's Sam O'Reilly right now. At this moment. We can discuss this in September when training camp and preseason ends. But on July 10th, looking at what Tampa didn't address at the center position in free agency as of now, I don't necessarily think it's Sam O'Reilly. And that's just my take on it. I think that we need to kind of pump the brakes on the expectation being placed upon him as that bottom six savior. He's going to come in and he's going to tear it up. There's a learning curve. Right. I think that obviously we haven't had a prospect as highly touted as Sam O'Reilly in a in quite some time as in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization. Um and so I can understand that. And that's fair. There's excitement, there's a level of excitement, but I also don't want it to be so much expectation placed upon a player like Sam O'Reilly, a highly touted prospect in which we haven't had, in which he comes up and he's not an immediate impact on the bottom six. And the next thing you know, a lot of the fan base is ready to give up on him. Right? Because I do think that that happens. That if he doesn't deliver right away, right, that it's kind of like, oh, well, what do we do now? He's not the answer. Remember, Braden Point took some games to get a goal, right? He had opportunities when Brain Point went from the WHL. Did he play? Did he play in the playoffs for Syracuse? I think he did. But then he made the team out of camp the next year. And it took him some time. And it was like, okay, well, he started on the third line, and he got to believe a tipped goal versus New Jersey for his first NHL goal. And now look at him. Right? Throw away this past season. I know what you're thinking, but look at what Braden Point has done throughout his tenure. Right? It's not easy to do that. Maybe Sam O'Reilly is that guy, but I just think that Sam O'Reilly has a lot more expectation placed upon him than Braden Point did coming into the league. And I think it's just a little unfair. I think we need to see what he looks like in a Tampa Bay jersey first or a Syracuse jersey first before we start proclaiming him as this guy is gonna kick guys, and that and that's his spot cemented. Same thing with the likes of Benjamin Rautianin. He's never played in North America, so it's either he's going to play with Tampa or he's going back to Finland. So assuming that he's going to be one of those players for that open spot on the top six, once again, I think is discrediting the learning curve that he's gonna have to go through. Yes, he's 21 years old, but pump the brakes. Let's see what these guys look like with Tampa Bay Lightning in a I guess in a longer look, I guess, before we start trying to cement guys in spots just because they're open, right? Or just because there'll be competition at those spots. Right. And so that moving towards like my overall grade or my initial grade, um look, Tampa didn't address the top six or the center position. Um trading Nick Paul away means that, like I said, they only have one player with a 50% face-off win percentage on the roster, and that's Dominic James. And so although the fringe moves are good, and they're just fringe moves, they're nothing earth-shattering. I I think I'm somewhere in the range of a B to a B minus. Um before John Carlson signed, it was a solid C. And it's not that John Carlson moves the needle that much. It's just you got an experienced player who's a who's a proven producer for his role, right hand shot defenseman, and he essentially replaces Darren Radish. But you got him for two years at that cap hit. I think that was beautiful work by Julian Breeswald, to be quite honest with you. Because, like I said, it was rumored he was getting 10 mil plus. So to get that, I think it just nudged it above, you know, that B minus B area. That's the grade that I'm giving it initially. Can Tampa do more? Absolutely. Absolutely. Like I said, Jonas Johansson still has to be moved, and whether any of the three ways that I mentioned he could be moved, that will free up more cap space. Julian Breeswall has said as much that if there's an opportunity for Tampa to address that area, then they will. I just personally I don't know if Tampa's done, but I could see Tampa being done and carrying, you know, the the cap space to the deadline and and whatever happens, happens at that point, right? Looking at it, people say the roster is worse off on paper. I'm not I'm not sure I I'm falling in line with that, to be quite honest with you. York Strand is gone, right? Uh 12 goals like. Year, Nick Paul's gone. Uh, seven goals last year. Essentially, you kind of replaced those two guys with an Ilya Mikhaev in terms of a bona fide N.H.L.R. Who had 18 goals alone by himself. Obviously, he can't fulfill two roles, but what he does, he does incredibly well. So if he's in that providing that depth scoring, well, I mean, essentially, you got a two, you you know, you got one guy to who this past year contributed as much as two guys did. It'll be interesting to see where the summer takes us. Just kind of as I round out here, looking into development camp, there were two players that really caught my eye, right? And the first one was somebody who was drafted by the Lightning a few years ago in Jason Shogabay. Watching him in the three-on-three tournament, he is a player who is supremely confident with the puck on his stick, right? And he was a fourth-round pick in 2023. And the pat this past year, the year that he had at Minnesota Duluth, who were Dominic James also hailed from, um, Shaga Bay finished inside the country's top 15 scorers, right, in the NCAA. Right? He scored 43 points in 40 games, um, nearly doubling his freshman offensive output. So his freshman year, he scored uh 26 points. And obviously, like I just said this past year, 43, 43 points playing on the top line with the Plant Brothers, uh, Max and Zam. And what I noticed for him is just some of the stick handling he had in tight spaces and some of the passes he was making. And not to mention, he's also um a right shooting centerman. There is someone in the pipeline for Tampa who I think we need to watch um in Jason Shogabay and seeing what he does in his junior year at Minnesota Duluth. Um, he finished last year with 32 assists in the in NCAA, which was tied for fifth in the nation. So having somebody like him who can command the center of the ice and is it is an excellent setup man is something, and obviously, like I said, being a right-handed shot is something that Tampa obviously lacks in right-handed forwards. And he's a player who I think is somebody to watch out for. And mind you, right, he went to Minnesota Duluth and he's had this type of production. Dominic James didn't never have this type of production at Minnesota Duluth, right? 110 games and 77 points, I believe, for Dominic James. So he was never the big point producer. Um, so when when I talk about Dominic James cementing himself as that third line center, uh in terms of productivity, he did the same thing in college, and I would envision that that's maybe as he gets more experience in the NHL, it translates to what he is right now. For Shogabe, however, playing top-line minutes and producing at the NCAA level, um, what you hope for is that that eventually translates to being able to produce in the top six for the Tant Bay Lightning. So he is one to look out for in the upcoming NCAA season. He was just a player who I noticed in the three-on-three tournament, who just uh there was a level of confidence, there was a level of skill, there was a level of swagger that he was playing with in such tight spaces that led me to believe that if he can continue to develop in this manner, uh, you may see him or we may see him in a Tampa Bay Lightning jersey sooner uh rather than later. The other player who really caught my eye was Tomas Krolovich, the third-round pick in this most recent uh NHL entry draft. You can tell, and although he is 20, you can tell that he has been playing professional hockey in Europe, and just the manner in which he was carrying the puck along the wall and just being being able to maintain his stick handling just kind of up and around the zone. Just really impressive for a player who hadn't played in North America and playing on such smaller ice in comparison to Slovakia and Europe in general. And he was rewarded with an entry-level contract at the end of the tournament. Now, it makes perfect sense as to the Tampa Bay Lightning drafted a 20-year-old right-hand shot defenseman from Europe who has been playing professional hockey his last couple years, and in the last couple of years, this most recent year is draft year, was his most productive, in which he led his team, Sloven Bratislava, in points for a defenseman. Makes perfect sense that they drafted him, and if he would have a good development camp, that they would sign him to an entry-level contract being 20, and that he could slot into the organization in Syracuse right away, allowing him to become comfortable playing on North American ice. And like I said, Tampa lacks the depth in terms of having right-handed shot defensemen, with obviously uh now John Carlson being the added, but the other two were Chernack and Crozier. Now you add Krolovich, who should who will be in Syracuse this year, and just an opportunity to learn how Tampa does things and an opportunity to continue to develop, and somebody who maybe we could eventually see uh playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Like I said, I I enjoyed watching him. He was somebody who I had highlighted in the last episode as somebody that uh last episode or two episodes ago as Tampa drafted him. Somebody who really caught my eye and somebody who I'd be watching. So those two guys really caught my eye in development camp. I look forward to seeing Shogabe just have another year of excellent production at Minnesota Duluth and seeing, looking forward to seeing what Tomas Krolovich does as part of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization moving forward as a sorely needed right-handed shot defenseman, uh, obviously a younger right-handed shot defenseman. And as I round it out, uh a little bit of good news, some some full circle news. Uh, Pierre Eduard Belmar has been hired as a player development specialist uh to work with developing forward prospects uh for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Um so he'll work alongside uh the director of player development and JP Cote uh with Syracuse and just helping develop forwards. Um, and his story is so unique in the fact that look, he made his NHL debut at the age of 29 and then went on to play uh 700 games over a 10-year career. Right? He played 153 games as a bolt from 2021 to 2023. And why is this so unique to me is because obviously Tampa hasn't had the ability to draft uh, I guess you could say, the higher end of forward uh prospects as of late. And so going to get a player, a former player in the likes of Pierre Edouard Belmar, who had to essentially carve a role from himself for himself, a 10-year career starting at the age of 29 in such a unique way, coming, you know, playing in France, and and being able to do that, you kind of look at how Tampa has um supplemented their forward depth throughout the organization in Syracuse and through the draft and NCAA free agents or whatnot. Those players all have unique ways of how they've gotten to the Tampa Bay Lightning organization outs if they weren't traditionally drafted. Having a player the likes of Belmar, former player who is now going to serve as a coach, who can offer that different perspective of how he got to the NHL is so vital and so unique. And it's just so on brand for the Tampa Bay Lightning that they would hire someone like Pierre, Edward Belmar, to mentor younger Ford prospects who aspire. Obviously, they all aspire to make the NHL, you would assume. And to have a guy here who really got it where in the slimmest of margins, starting his NHL career at 29 and ending 3940, and then finishing his career at the Olympics with France this past year or this past winter, to have a guy like that mentoring uh our forward prospects, I think is an excellent move by Tampa. And I really look forward to seeing how his impact is felt, not only in Syracuse, but how it kind of infiltrates and permeates throughout the entire organization. And that is something that I'm really looking forward to. So I'm I'm happy that they brought him along because he was a consummate professional and he he spoke so well with the media. And and in the interview, um, in a recent article with Tampay Lightning.com, an interview done with Pierre Edward Belmar said that John Cooper had said that Belmar would more than likely be a coach one day, and that it it is not surprising that NHL Teams had reached out to him about potentially coaching when his career is over, and how Belmar had said that it's a it's a perfect fit for Tampa and I with Tampa, perfect fit with Tampa for him to begin his coaching career. And I just look forward to seeing how um that turns out for the entire organization and seeing what he offers and what he brings the young forward prospects, and hopefully, just hopefully, obviously, him being a center, he can teach some guys how to win some damn face-offs because we absolutely need that. But anyway, guys, that'll wrap it up for me. I'll be back here uh probably within the next couple days or a week. Um, and we'll kind of just continue the forward, uh, continue forward with our summer series here. Um, look forward to speaking with you guys soon. See ya, Steve.