There isn’t going to much change in the Tampa Bay Lightning roster over this summer. At least that’s what Julien BriseBois is leading everyone to believe. For the most part, it’s not a bad idea. The Lightning have been one of the better teams in the league over the last two seasons in a lot of categories that tend to lead to post-season success. Unfortunately, that hasn’t quite worked out for them when it counts, but the only way up is to keep improving.
One area that they can use a boost in would be the face-off dot. Last season, only two regular players on the Tampa Bay roster cracked the 50% mark: Nick Paul (53.9%) and Dominic James (50.4%). Anthony Cirelli (1057 face-offs) and Yanni Gourde (801 face-offs) were the two players who took the most draws for the team, but were both under 49%.
It was more of the same in the play-offs with Paul and Cirelli as the only two players over 50% while James (21.43%) and Gourde (30.77%) were crushed in the dot. Outside of Nick Paul, there really wasn’t someone that Coach Jon Cooper could throw on the ice to reasonably win an important draw. Improving that area could help the Lightning get back to where they belong (or at least in the second round).
The good news for Mr. BriseBois is that face-off champions can be had on the free agent market for a relatively low cost. There are a few candidates on the free agent block this summer, and there is one person that could fit in with the Bolts.
Colton Sissons is still playing hockey. After 11 seasons with Nashville he was traded to Vegas last summer with Jeremy Lauzon for a third-round pick and Nicolas Hague. He appeared in 66 regular season games for the Golden Knights, racking up 6 goals and 5 assists in a bottom-six role.
At 32-years-old there is a good chance he is entering the journeyman center stage of his career. Evolving Hockey has him pegged for a one-year deal at $1.9 million. That’s a deal the Bolts could afford, and is likely to be well shy of what Michael McCarron, another top face-off guy on the market, will sign for this summer.
This isn’t a signing that needs to be overthought. Sissons would slide in on the fourth line and provide the Lightning with another strong defensive forward. He’ll also probably be on the ice whenever Tampa Bay is taking a draw in the defensive zone. Vegas had him take 312 face-offs in their end of the ice this season. He won 58.7% of those draws. Cirelli and Gourde each took over 400 defensive zone draws and finished at 43.2% and 41.3% respectively.
He can kill penalties, block shots, throw a few hits, and chip in a goal or two. All-in-all exactly what a fourth-line center should provide. Oh, and he’s righty for whatever that is worth.
Will there be a market for him? Yes, especially if Vegas pulls off the Stanley Cup victory. Will it price him out of the Lightning’s range? Probably not, especially if they throw him an extra year. A two-year, $2 million AAV contract would fit their budget and still give them room to do what they need to do with Darren Raddysh and Nikita Kucherov.
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