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Quick Strikes: Did Tyler Johnson have initial contract negotiations with the Tampa Bay Lightning?

Posted on by saima1226

The Bolts

We are still looking for another source to validate this report from The Fourth Period:

“Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman has an idea what center Tyler Johnson is looking for on his next contract. Johnson, 26, is coming off of a three-year, $10 million contract and can become a restricted free agent July 1. Yzerman and Johnson’s agent, J.P. Barry, held preliminary discussions earlier in Tampa’s off-season, but those negotiations have quieted down and have been put on the backburner for the time being.” [The Fourth Period]

The Bolts trade prospect Bokondji Imama’s rights to the Los Angeles Kings for a 2018 conditional 7th-round pick. . The press release states that the trade “is conditioned on the Kings signing Imama to an NHL contract before Thursday’s (June 1) 2 p.m. PT signing deadline.” [Raw Charge]

Last week, our very own ElSeldo offered his analysis of Imama’s development. “From the high level view, there’s not a lot outstanding about Imama’s numbers if you just take a look at them without context. His jump in scoring this year could be brushed off as a typical overager. Bigger, stronger, older than his opponents, so of course he’s doing better. When you take a deeper look, you find out that the change in his game was part of the plan, and something he was eager to jump into. When he was cut from Lightning camp in the fall, the message was clear: Show us your offensive game.” [Raw Charge]

We’ve done 15 profiles on potential players the Lightning may draft this year. Geo and Tom each ranked them with surprisingly different results.

Geo’s perspective: “I cast a wide net in selecting the players we wanted to review. So now, having covered 15 potential first round prospects, it’s a good time to review what we have. I also want to give my opinion of who I would most like to see the Lightning take by ranking the 15 players.” [Raw Charge]

Tom’s perspective: “Ask 10 different scouts who they would pick at #14 and you’re likely to get 10 different answers; ask ten fans and you’re likely to get ten more. With that in mind, I have been asked to give my input. Here is how I would rank the players we have looked at here at Raw Charge.” [Raw Charge]

The Bolts hosted their annual Do Good Day yesterday with staff members volunteering at various non-profit organizations throughout the Tampa Bay area.

This year’s rookie tournament will be in Estero, Florida from September 9 – September 12. “The event will be free and open to the public. Also participating in the tournament will be the Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals. Tampa Bay’s roster will be announced at a later date but will feature some of the top young prospects in the organization’s system.” [Tampa Bay Lightning]

The Prospects

The Syracuse Crunch are taking on the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Calder Cup Finals starting tomorrow at 7:00 PM.

ICYMI: Here’s how to stream all the games for free!

If you live in the Syracuse area, you can attend watch parties for Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Saturday. “Each party will start at 6 p.m. The official watch party will be held at the Tully’s located at 2943 Erie Blvd E in Syracuse. The party will feature Crunchman and the Crunch Ice Girls along with a live stream with play-by-play from Dan D’Uva.” [Syracuse.com]

The guys arrived safely in Grand Rapids yesterday, travelling in style.

Learning to eat, run and ride bikes: A long season of growth for Syracuse Crunch kids. “Five Syracuse players have children: Mathieu Brodeur, Gabriel Dumont, Kevin Lynch, Erik Condra and Mike McKenna. The last nine months have brought predictable but still dramatic changes in the lives of those off-springs, significant mileposts that all unfolded since the drop of that first puck in September. Here’s a snapshot of how truly long a hockey season can be, as reflected by the growth of the children and observations of the parents since the 2016-17 season began.” [Syracuse.com]

The Game

Pekka Rinne had another bad game. The Penguins own a 2-0 series lead over the Predators in the Stanley Cup Final.

For the history buffs out there, the Stanley Cup was not awarded to any team in 1919 – and for good reason. “When the Montreal Canadiens pulled into Victoria, British Columbia, six days before the 1919 Stanley Cup Final, they had rest and relaxation in mind. Manager George Kennedy planned the layover as they waited for their opponents to emerge from the Pacific Coast Hockey Association finals. But after the Seattle Metropolitans won that awaited battle, another adversary — a demon claiming victims worldwide — reared its vicious head. Montreal’s Stanley Cup dreams quickly turned to simply surviving the plague.” [OZY]

The Buffalo Sabres interviewed San Jose Sharks assistant coach Bob Boughner for the position of head coach. He won two Memorial Cup championships as the head coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires in 2009 and 2010. He played for six NHL teams — including both the Predators and Penguins — and was a popular defender on the Buffalo blueline from 1995-98. [Buffalo News]

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Talking Points