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Quick Strikes: Lightning Owner Jeff Vinik pushing for outdoor game in Tampa

The Bolts are going home to Expo Hall, Phil Esposito talks Jonathan Drouin, and 20 days to go!

The Bolts

Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik wants to give the city of Tampa an outdoor ice hockey game. "Some people's immediate reaction is the climate is not good for an (outdoor) game. If you look at some of the conditions in Denver where they had some games, the weather in Tampa Bay is really close to that in February that time of year.” [Tampa Bay Times]

The Lightning will be celebrating 25 years in the NHL with an event at the original home of the Bolts, Expo Hall, on October 15th. “The free event will include an appearance from members of the 1992-93 Lightning team. Fans will have a chance to meet and get autographs from members of the original team. The franchise's first general manager and founder of the Lightning, Phil Esposito, will also be in attendance for the event.” [NHL dot com]

Hall of Famer, Hockey God, and Tampa Bay Lightning founder Phil Esposito didn’t believe Jonathan Drouin’s heart was in Tampa Bay and that Lightning fans will be “very, very pleased” with Mikhail Sergachev. [Tampa Bay Times]

"Drouin is a fabulous player. Personally I didn't think he wanted to be here. I saw it in his eyes, the way he played. I thought (GM Steve Yzerman) made the right move. (Drouin) is going to love being in Montreal, that's where he's from. But he has no idea the pressure that's going to be on him if he doesn't produce. He has no idea.” - Phil Esposito

Speaking of expectations, Mikhail Sergachev speaks about the feeling of having everyone’s eyes on him. "It's pretty cool. I want to show myself to the fans and obviously to the coaches and staff and GM. I'm a new guy here, but I want everybody to know I'm working hard and trying to make the team." [NHL dot com]

Windsor Spitfire fans travel well, it seems.

The Game

It didn’t take long for former LA Kings GM Dean Lombardi to find another job. Lombardi has joined the front office of the Philadelphia Flyers to “do some work.” [TSN]

The Vancouver Canucks beat the LA Kings 4-3 in overtime in the first preseason game of the year. Brock Boeser goes end-to-end and snipes to win the game.

The Carolina Hurricanes with a tweet/.gif of the year candidate. Never forget, game Ops are always watching.

Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz lost some weight this offseason (and grew a beard). Why am I telling you this? Because I needed an excuse to show you this tweet from my buddy @Totally_Offside:

Thank you for reading till the end, as a reward here is some video of Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos taking slap shots from Mikhail Sergachev. (I can’t wait to watch this every season for the next decade)

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