Post by Tampa Bay Lightning on Apr 26, 2023 9:04:39 GMT -6
No one expected the Tampa Bay Lightning to be here at the beginning of the season. The Bolts were coming off a strong first season, and despite a disappointing playoff finish, the team looked primed for improvement. A full season of Andrei Vasilevskiy promised greater results in year 2.
Then came the brutal start. An awful October immediately buried Tampa down the standings. But for the most part, the team had plenty of believers, including the front office. This team was built to win now, and that wasn't changing. As the losses piled up, GM Brad Palmer knew he had to make a move, even if desperation was becoming a factor in negotiations.
Palmer struck a bold move, and one that was met with plenty of criticism, but it was mostly understood as necessary. Moving out Alex Pietrangelo was undoubtedly difficult. He was brought in, along with Erik Karlsson, as the cornerstone pieces of this franchise. Vasilevskiy and Ryan O'Reilly joined that core last season, and maybe even usurped both as the team's most important players. But this was a team that desperately needed offense. And they had a change to get it with Chris Kreider. Tampa was known as a defensive juggernaut in their first year, but it wasn't working in year 2, and Kreider can score goals. It made sense.
What happened in the next 24 hours changed everything. Suddenly the team had acquired Jack Eichel. And they did it without giving up Karlsson or Vasilevskiy. O'Rielly was a great player, and great fit in a defense-first system, but Eichel in on another level. It was a no-brainer, and a great acquisition.
But suddenly the Kreider trade appears senseless. With Eichel in hand, why sacrifice an elite #1 d-man in Pietrangelo for a complementary scorer? No longer desperate for scoring, trading away Pietrangelo looks like a massive misstep by GM Palmer. Are we to believe these moves weren't happening in parallel? Is it fathomable that the Eichel just fell into place after the Pietrangelo deal? Could the Lightning front office not have pulled off the Eichel trade without the Pietrangelo one? We will never know the answers to these questions. We aren't privy to the conversations that happen between GM's and their timing. But it makes you wonder.
And now GM Palmer faces questions about his job. Amidst rumours that the team is in financial trouble, low attendance, and now questionable roster mis-management, the seat is getting hot. For now, it appears he will be giving another crack at success, unless ownership is just delaying the firing.
Stay tuned.
Then came the brutal start. An awful October immediately buried Tampa down the standings. But for the most part, the team had plenty of believers, including the front office. This team was built to win now, and that wasn't changing. As the losses piled up, GM Brad Palmer knew he had to make a move, even if desperation was becoming a factor in negotiations.
Palmer struck a bold move, and one that was met with plenty of criticism, but it was mostly understood as necessary. Moving out Alex Pietrangelo was undoubtedly difficult. He was brought in, along with Erik Karlsson, as the cornerstone pieces of this franchise. Vasilevskiy and Ryan O'Reilly joined that core last season, and maybe even usurped both as the team's most important players. But this was a team that desperately needed offense. And they had a change to get it with Chris Kreider. Tampa was known as a defensive juggernaut in their first year, but it wasn't working in year 2, and Kreider can score goals. It made sense.
What happened in the next 24 hours changed everything. Suddenly the team had acquired Jack Eichel. And they did it without giving up Karlsson or Vasilevskiy. O'Rielly was a great player, and great fit in a defense-first system, but Eichel in on another level. It was a no-brainer, and a great acquisition.
But suddenly the Kreider trade appears senseless. With Eichel in hand, why sacrifice an elite #1 d-man in Pietrangelo for a complementary scorer? No longer desperate for scoring, trading away Pietrangelo looks like a massive misstep by GM Palmer. Are we to believe these moves weren't happening in parallel? Is it fathomable that the Eichel just fell into place after the Pietrangelo deal? Could the Lightning front office not have pulled off the Eichel trade without the Pietrangelo one? We will never know the answers to these questions. We aren't privy to the conversations that happen between GM's and their timing. But it makes you wonder.
And now GM Palmer faces questions about his job. Amidst rumours that the team is in financial trouble, low attendance, and now questionable roster mis-management, the seat is getting hot. For now, it appears he will be giving another crack at success, unless ownership is just delaying the firing.
Stay tuned.
