Game 61: Tampa Bay Lightning at Pittsburgh Penguins

This is the best game recap I’ve seen out of Raw Charge. :D

Terrible result.

That Malkin is something, isn’t he?

I don’t know what you’re talking about. There was no game today. It. Did. Not. Happen.

His 2011-2012 construction has been condemned and is only suitable for demolition. First to face the facts about last season. To say the Bolts overachieved is an understatement. Despite struggling goaltending and a bunch of new faces, every move Yzerman made came up aces. In the off-season Stamkos got a $4.5 mil raise and the roll of the dice on the goalies came up snakeyes. Brett Clark especially was a shadow of the player he was last season, and Ohlund has been MIA. St. Louis has had a harder time avoiding the big hits and scoring. Downie lost a step and we missed Gagne and Bergenheim more than anyone could have imagined. Through all the diversity many good things happened as well. Hedman grew into a solid top 2 defensemen. Stamkos has assumed a leadership role. V4 played like a 30 goal scorer again.
Tomorrow is gut check time for some players on this team. Teddy Purcell has had 15 points in the last 10 games, but only 28 in the 1st 50. He also tends to play on the perimeter and is ineffective in the defensive zone and along the boards when he’s not on his game. Which player will we get next season? The one we’ve watched the past 10 games or the one in the 1st 50? If I’m Stevie I’m listening to offers for Purcell in the event someone is willing to overpay. I love Ryan Malone but he’s lost a step which has reduced his effectiveness on the PK and off the rush. When do you cut your losses with a guy who can’t seem to stay healthy. If you can get Pitt to overpay for him, do it yesterday! Trade Brett Clark for whatever mid-round pick you can get and give Oberg an audition. There are plenty of D in the system and his loss won’t hurt Norfolk. Keep Adam Hall! He win’s 60%+ of his faceoffs, he hits, forechecks and is our best penalty killer. Give Trevor Smith a shot, I think he could be a good option as the 3rd line center. Pickup some warm bodies off waivers and send Angelidis and Wyman back to Norfolk for their playoff run. Last but not least offer Marty the opportunity to be traded to his choice of teams, if he wishes, as next year will likely be a rebuilding year with a number of younger players coming into the Bolts lineup. He’d be a great fit with the Rags with Richards and Fedotenko for an extended cup run. You could probably get Erixon, a roster player and a 1st for him maybe more and a much better cap hit and cohesion for them than taking on Nash. Marty has earned that respect and Yzerman should offer that too him. We should also have plenty of pics and prospects left if Nashville is unable to sigh both Suter and Weber. I think 2012-2013 will be a rebuilding year for the Bolt but that we should be in the contender conversation for 2013-2014.
If Yzerman did all of what I suggested above, we’d have a pretty barren roster for next season but we could potentially have 5 first round picks, 4 second round picks and be dealing from a position of strength with numerous prospects ready to step up and compete for an NHL job next season. All of Killorn, Ashton, Panik, Connolly and Conacher have NHL talent. Likely only two or three of them are reasy to take the next step. My bets are on Conacher and Killorn with Ashton as the dark horse. I’d personally like to see Connolly play top line minutes and in all situations in Norfolk for a season. There’s a good chance after the seasoning of a long playoff run that Gudas and Barberio could step in and fill a couple of the 5-8 spots on the Bolts blueline next season. If the Bolt continue to freefall in the standings, which would be likely if Yzerman followed my direction, we could be in line for the 3rd or 4th pick which could net Ryan Murray or Phillip Forsberg both of whom are reportedly NHL ready. The plethora of draft picks would allow Stevie to negotiate a favorable trade for an NHL ready starting goalie like Schneider. the additional picks could give us a leg up if Nashville cannot sign both Suter and Weber.

I guess……….