Happy Monday morning everyone. With things slowing down in the hockey world it feels like this is a good time to update everyone on the website. First off, I want to thank everyone that has signed up, donated to our Go Fund Me, subscribed, thrown some money in the tip jar, or bought some merchandise. It helped keep the lights on so we could finish off the season and get through the draft and the opening of free agency. We literally could not have done it without you.
With summer rolling on, hockey news is going to slow down a bit, but we aren’t going anywhere. We will keep posting our daily links but cut it down to six days a week. In years past we’ve found that Sundays are usually pretty slow so there won’t be a Lightning Round on most Sundays for the rest of the summer. Go out and enjoy the day, folks! Also, instead of trying to get things out at 7:00 AM, our first posts will go out at 8:00 AM. It just helps everyone gather as much as possible (plus it helps your friendly neighborhood managing editor who is still on Mountain Standard Time for a few more months).
We’ll also keep posting the Goal of the Year series three times a week which will carry us to the end of July. Following that it’s time to start thinking about the Top 25 Under 25 series. At a glance and it seems like they’re won’t be too many players in the organization under the age of 25 that will be left out this year thanks to some of the trades and roster decisions the Lightning have made over the last year.
With a little more free time available since we’re not chasing breaking news every day, we will likely dig into some random Lightning history topics and players for fun. If there are any moments or players y’all would like us to explore, just drop a comment below.
Sometime over the next month, there will be a cosmetic upgrade to the site that might add some new features. As we figure out more, we’ll keep you posted. It was an eventful year, to say the least, and we’re looking forward to seeing what the next few years bring in these parts.
Thank you all for being a part of it!
Just as a heads-up, we have joined Threads. No, we don’t know what’s going on over there either.
Lightning / NHL News
Anthony Cirelli Goal of the Year [Raw Charge]
After a delayed start, Cirelli had an okay, but not great season. There is room for him to build on for next season.
One word to describe every team after the draft and free agency [Bleacher Report]
Sara Civian went with “inevitable”. Not bad, we probably would have gone with “sunset”.
A look at the offseason in the Metropolitan Division [All About the Jersey]
A nice high-level look at the other division in the Eastern Conference.
Alex DeBrincat traded to Detroit [Ottawa Senators]
Steve Yzerman brings in a playmaker and Ottawa does okay on the return for a player that they weren’t going to re-sign. They get Dominik Kubalik, prospect Donovan Sebrango, a 2024 conditional first-round pick, and a 2024 fourth-round pick. Detroit then signed DeBrincat to a four-year contract with an AAV of $7,875,000.
Kraken re-sign Cale Fleury [DJLR]
It’s not the biggest news in the hockey world, but Fleury (brother to the Lightning’s Haydn) was one of the 22 restricted free agents that had filed for arbitration. With his signing the list is down to 20 as Seattle signed Will Borgen last week as well. The two names Lightning fans are keeping an eye on, Tanner Jeannot and Ross Colton, remain unsigned.
AHL Schedule could be released this week [Max Miller Twitter]
While some teams, like the Syracuse Crunch, have teased a couple of games, a full release of the schedule still awaits us. That could be rectified as soon as Wednesday.
Yup…it’s the time of year when stuff like this pops up when searching for news:
— Pokémon Wearing Sports Paraphernalia (@JaysToucannon) July 8, 2023
