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]
“It’s fantastic for this community having #NHLAllStar. Tampa Bay is so great at hosting big events.”#BoltsFanFest | Mr. Vinik: pic.twitter.com/omGn5h917n
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) September 16, 2017
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]
“I’m not thinking about the expectations of me. I’m just playing my game, working hard, and skating.”#BoltsCamp | Mikhail Sergachev: pic.twitter.com/aCnbSOoycx
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) September 16, 2017
Windsor Spitfire fans travel well, it seems.
.@sergachev31 had a few friends in the house tonight. ⚡️ #BoltsFanFest pic.twitter.com/2RADjeJaSO
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) September 16, 2017
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]
Dean Lombardi is back in the NHL, the Flyers have hired him to do some work under GM Ron Hextall.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) September 16, 2017
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.
Brock Boeser with a laser.
What a release.#Canucks win 4-3 in OT pic.twitter.com/Ok4ZkJo5FP
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) September 16, 2017
The Carolina Hurricanes with a tweet/.gif of the year candidate. Never forget, game Ops are always watching.
iPhone X costs $999. You can get 43 games of #Canes hockey & @CanesSTM benefits for $688: https://t.co/nvntb6TYuo
Make smart choices. pic.twitter.com/10YhaWzeUr
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) September 16, 2017
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:
Some ppl jog to lose weight. Barry trotz https://t.co/HC6WWQbdcg
— Totally Offside (@Totally_Offside) September 15, 2017
Barry Trotz looks slimmer. Said he lost some weight this summer. pic.twitter.com/ffoQ8v7tAS
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) September 15, 2017
You guys… ⚡️
10.6.17 | #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/CWeyI6nROS
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) September 17, 2017
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)
Mikhail Sergachev feeding Nikita Kucherov on one-timers after practice #tblightning pic.twitter.com/R6jaJj1KIV
— Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) September 16, 2017
Kucherov and Stamkos taking one timers from Sergachev pic.twitter.com/g3gamDb04o
— Matthew Esteves (@iActium) September 16, 2017
