The Bolts
According to The Score, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat have arbitration hearings with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 20 (for Johnson) and July 25 (for Palat): “The Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis Blues, and Detroit Red Wings have less than two weeks to come to terms with some key players before the decision may be made for them.” [The Score]
Calder Cup-winning Admirals reunite with fans to celebrate 2012 title: “Five years ago, as each player left a celebratory dinner at Bodega in Virginia Beach, they all agreed to come back for a reunion. This past weekend, 12 players and coach Jon Cooper returned.” [The Virginian-Pilot]
Top 5 Chris Kunitz Moments with Penguins: “We couldn’t have this list without a big, nasty hit. After taking a 2-0 series lead against the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round in 2009, Kunitz set the tone early in Game 3 at Philadelphia by absolutely destroying then Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen.” [THW]
Strictly Opinion: Simply a Bad Signing: “To be honest, I have been trying to come up with any sort of reason as to why this was a smart move by Steve Yzerman. After a week, I still cannot generate one. This is simply because signing Girardi was not a smart move by Yzerman and the Lightning, it was a bad one.” [Hockeybuzz]
Dan Girardi opens up about leaving Rangers, starting new chapter with Lightning: “Little Landon’s reaction to moving from New York to Florida? ‘He obviously is really sad to leave his buddies at school and on his hockey team and baseball team, but he’s really excited to meet Steven Stamkos,’ Girardi said, chuckling.” [Sporting News]
Give this smart & infectious song from Sieed Brown (JT is his brother) a listen:
Medicated – realized YouTube takes hella data lol luv y’all!! https://t.co/i2qn2tLEGK
— SIEED BROWN (@sieed_brown) July 8, 2017
Top 25 Under 25
Top 25 Under 25, #21: Connor Ingram is the first goalie to make the list — “Is Ingram a good goaltender who still has some maturing to do to be mentally tough enough for international attention? Perhaps. When he returned to the Blazers from the WJC, Ingram brought the team to playoffs, and had an SV% of .946 before the Rockets were eliminated in six games. Whatever went wrong, it was not likely due to Ingram, who also earned the best regular-season SV% in the WHL.” [Raw Charge]
Top 25 Under 25, #22: Alexey Lipanov could be a gem for the Tampa Bay Lightning — “Lipanov has been lauded as an underrated player who could blossom into something special as he ages. He was among the youngest players drafted at this season’s draft and was still seen as a player who could’ve gone higher.” [Raw Charge]
Top 25 Under 25, #23: Matthew Spencer shouldn’t be forgotten on the Tampa Bay Lightning depth chart — “Full disclosure, I am an Oshawa Generals fan and as a result, I am pre-disposed to hate everything about the Peterborough Petes. With that said, I truly believe that Matthew Spencer is going to prove doubters wrong and take the leap in development onlookers have been waiting for.” [Raw Charge]
The Crunch
On vacation.
The Pipeline
Seriously, everybody’s on vacation, basically.
The Game
Good luck, guys — New York Islanders Fans Remember Steven Stamkos Free Agency: “It’s not uncommon for a player to do what Tavares is doing. Think back to Steven Stamkos and the rumors that circulated around his future. He waited until days before becoming an unrestricted free agent and turned down more money to stay with Tampa Bay.” [Eyes on Isles]
