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Quick Strikes: Guess who’s back, back again, Stammer’s back, tell a friend

And the Viniks are the best owners ever!

The City

Tampa Bay Lightning owner, Jeff Vinik, and his family have proven, time and again, that they are top class human beings when it comes to their love of humanity, their city, and their team. First, @GeoFitz4 of Raw Charge took a minute to appreciate everything the Viniks have done for the Bolts since becoming the owners of the team in 2010. On the same day, the Viniks donated $1 million for Hurricane Harvey relief and encouraged Lightning fans to do the same at the team’s preseason games.

“There was a lot of skepticism from some national writers who believed that Vinik was only interested in buying the team as an investment that he could pump up and flip in a few years for a profit. They believed that Vinik's first priority would be dumping salary (most notably Vincent Lecavalier's contract) and cut costs immediately to try to recoup some of his cost of buying the team.” (Spoiler: he proved the skeptics wrong) [Raw Charge]

“Jeff and Penny Vinik, along with the Tampa Bay Lightning, are donating $1 million to the American Red Cross for its Hurricane Harvey Relief efforts, the organization announced today. In addition, the Lightning will offer fans the opportunity to make monetary and in-kind donations at its Fanfest on Saturday, September 16 along with its three preseason home games at AMALIE Arena - September 19 vs. the Carolina Hurricanes, September 22 vs. the Nashville Predators and September 24 vs. the Florida Panthers.” [NHL dot com]

There is a list of charities you can check out if you would like to help support Hurricane Harvey victims in the link above.

Speaking of hurricanes, Hurricane Irma will be reaching Florida in the coming days and we hope everyone is preparing accordingly. Below, we have provided some websites that have everything you need to know, including disaster preparedness kits, where the hurricane could go, and how to protect your possessions, so that you can be as prepared as possible.

Tampa Bay Times - consolidated page with weather data, and how-to-prepare articles

FOX 13 News - checklists of everything you might need in a disaster

Land O’ Lakes Patch - county specific information (shelters, evacuations, alerts)

Stay safe. We love you.

The Bolts

THERE ARE PLAYERS ON THE ICE IN TAMPA AND WE HAVE VIDEO! Ahem, some Tampa Bay Lightning players took part in an informal skate at the Lightning’s training facility on tuesday and there were media there to cover it and were able to speak to the players after.

Enjoy some video of the players skating, courtesy of Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times:

As promised, Steven Stamkos is back and ready for training camp. In an interview with Joe Smith, Stamkos speaks about the toughness of dealing with his meniscus tear and the rehab it entails, the Jonathan Drouin trade, and the new-comers Steve Yzerman acquired via free agency. [Tampa Bay Times]

"When you've gone through the tough stretch I've been through in the last 4-5 years, it's tough to know what 100-percent is. It's been getting better and better everyday. I haven't looked this forward to a training camp in a long time." - Steven Stamkos

Braydon Coburn speaks with Bolts TV about the excitement of getting hockey season going again, the new acquisitions, his offseason training, and what it’ll take to win the Cup.

The Prospects

Due to the storm, the Tampa Bay Lightning rookie tournament in Estero, Florida might have to be cancelled. The Lightning have announced that they are monitoring the storm and will share the verdict when one is reached. The Florida Panthers are reportedly pulling out from the tournament, but that information is unofficial, as of yet.

The Syracuse Crunch have hired 25-year-old Lukas Favale as their new play-by-play broadcaster, replacing Dan D’Uva, who was hired by the Vegas Golden Knights. “Lukas is among the most talented broadcasters who's come through the Crunch during my time here.” - Dan D'Uva [Syracuse]

Onondaga County has approved the spending of $4.5 million, in bonds, to the improvement of War Memorial Arena, home of the Syracuse Crunch. “The financial help is a key commitment in getting Crunch owner Howard Dolgon to extend his lease in the War Memorial.” [Syracuse]

The Moose Jaw Warriors have two Lightning prospects playing for them this year: captain Brett Howden, and rookie Oleg Sosunov. Howden spoke following his 1 goal, 1 assist performance in the first preseason game of the year “I thought we played pretty good, obviously there’s still tons of stuff to work on, we’re still trying to get a feel for this year’s team, but a lot of it is similar to last year, so that’s a good thing for us.” [Discover Moose Jaw]

The team also has high hopes for Russian import Oleg Sosunov after impressing in his first game with the team. “The six-foot-eight defenceman had a few [Regina] Pats attempt to hit him, only to end up on the ice, and he delivered a crushing blow along the boards to Regina star forward Sam Steel during the second period.” [Discover Moose Jaw]

Both will be at Lightning training camp on September 14th.

ICYMI (because I did): Congrats to Jake Dotchin on his engagement!

The Game

The Detroit Red Wings might not be very good this season. “The problem for the Red Wings, however, is their salary cap situation. As of Tuesday, the Red Wings are over the cap by $3 million, second only to Toronto in terms of cap space available in the NHL.” [SB Nation]

The Detroit Red Wings have a new arena, and (unlike the team) it’s at the top of its class. “The Red Wings play their inaugural game at the stadium on Sept. 23 in a pre-season clash with the Boston Bruins. The first regular-season game will come on Oct. 5 versus the Minnesota Wild. The now-closed Joe Louis Arena was the Red Wings’ home from 1979-2017.” [Sportsnet]

Somebody stole Arizona Coyotes goalie Louis Domingue’s mask from his bag while he was flying to Arizona for training camp. Please spread the word and help him find it!

Former Tampa Bay Lightning ECHL affiliate, the Kalamazoo Wings are living in 4017 and we’re all just along for the ride. Do you like these jerseys? Let us know in the comments!

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