Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2023 23:53:42 GMT -6
After twenty games played in the season, Tampa Bay general manager Colin McBain, his coaching staff, and players have stayed completely out of the media's sight. Something that was never explained. This surprised media members, especially as changes continued to be made. But that was changed today, when McBain finally allowed the media to approach his players and coaching staff, as well as himself, for the first time since his introductory press conference. Tampa Bay has started with a poor 9-10-1 record to the season, but since adding Gourde for Otto Somppi and a 1st round pick, they have won four straight games, and they acquired forward Colin White and defenseman Josh Manson from the Colorado Avalanche yesterday.
The press conference was at noon today in Raleigh, North Carolina, after a Thanksgiving practice to prepare for an away battle against the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow night. Colin White and Josh Manson were present at the practice, but did not take part in the press conference.
McBain stated the "no media" rule was to make sure his players were focused on hockey, on and off the ice. Not focused on what was happening on the business side, knowing that the roster was going to change quite a bit in a short amount of time.
"It can be hard for the guys, the season just started, your previous GM was just fired and now there's a new GM moving lots of guys around...I get that." McBain said. "In order to ensure that these guys can grow and succeed within the organization, and adapt to change, I felt I had to keep them away from all of the possible distractions just for the start of the season."
When asked about the team's performance, both McBain and head coach Bruce Cassidy had positive words to say. Cassidy gives the Bolts a pass on the eye test. "The record and numbers may not look great now, but I think these last four games have said lots about what our team can be...I'm very excited to see what White and Manson can bring on top of that." McBain chimed in, admitting there are some kinks to be worked out, "our defense has shown outstanding offensive production, especially McCabe and Karlsson, but I think we still need to tighten it up defensively and help the goalies out a bit more."
McBain was also asked if we should expect to see any more moves being made from this point. He did not say much but did share, "Most likely, yeah. Galchenyuk is getting the call up from Syracuse, he's playing well and it gives some other guys playing time down there. I think there are definitely some other things we need to clean up. We'll see, who knows what happens." Galchenyuk has 21 points in 20 games for the Syracuse Crunch this season.
Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jack Eichel took questions for the rest of the press conference.
Vasilevskiy's rough numbers to start the season were questioned by reporters right away, but he stayed composed in his response. "There's still so many games left to play, I am confident that I will continue to help us win hockey games, but right now, I'm just focused on my team winning games, not my numbers." Vasilevskiy has posted an 8-5-1 record along with an .891 SV% and 3.62 GAA. Really, not great. Regarding his name landing in some trade talks at one point, he said it did not phase him much, if at all. "You know, that stuff is just talk. I don't like to think much about it. But that's part of McBain's job, especially when he has to make changes to fix problems, you have to be open minded."
Eichel did not receive as many questions as Vasilevskiy, but when he was called on about his own low production, he made clear his trust in the organization to trust him. "We just agreed to a 4-year extension, we know what I am capable of as a player, and I know I can be even better. We all want to show McBain and Cassidy that we are in for the turnaround and can make a playoff push." In 15 games, Eichel has 5 goals, and 12 assists for 17 points. His shooting percentage is rough, at a measly 5.88%, Eichel says that will come with more puck luck. "I just have to keep shooting, they'll start to go in eventually. Simple as that." Eichel and the Lightning are hoping to run this four game winning streak, and continue a turnaround to a positive future.
We'll keep an eye on how the current and future changes McBain makes effect this team.
Next Game: November 24th @ Carolina Hurricanes
Happy American Thanksgiving!
The press conference was at noon today in Raleigh, North Carolina, after a Thanksgiving practice to prepare for an away battle against the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow night. Colin White and Josh Manson were present at the practice, but did not take part in the press conference.
McBain stated the "no media" rule was to make sure his players were focused on hockey, on and off the ice. Not focused on what was happening on the business side, knowing that the roster was going to change quite a bit in a short amount of time.
"It can be hard for the guys, the season just started, your previous GM was just fired and now there's a new GM moving lots of guys around...I get that." McBain said. "In order to ensure that these guys can grow and succeed within the organization, and adapt to change, I felt I had to keep them away from all of the possible distractions just for the start of the season."
When asked about the team's performance, both McBain and head coach Bruce Cassidy had positive words to say. Cassidy gives the Bolts a pass on the eye test. "The record and numbers may not look great now, but I think these last four games have said lots about what our team can be...I'm very excited to see what White and Manson can bring on top of that." McBain chimed in, admitting there are some kinks to be worked out, "our defense has shown outstanding offensive production, especially McCabe and Karlsson, but I think we still need to tighten it up defensively and help the goalies out a bit more."
McBain was also asked if we should expect to see any more moves being made from this point. He did not say much but did share, "Most likely, yeah. Galchenyuk is getting the call up from Syracuse, he's playing well and it gives some other guys playing time down there. I think there are definitely some other things we need to clean up. We'll see, who knows what happens." Galchenyuk has 21 points in 20 games for the Syracuse Crunch this season.
Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jack Eichel took questions for the rest of the press conference.
Vasilevskiy's rough numbers to start the season were questioned by reporters right away, but he stayed composed in his response. "There's still so many games left to play, I am confident that I will continue to help us win hockey games, but right now, I'm just focused on my team winning games, not my numbers." Vasilevskiy has posted an 8-5-1 record along with an .891 SV% and 3.62 GAA. Really, not great. Regarding his name landing in some trade talks at one point, he said it did not phase him much, if at all. "You know, that stuff is just talk. I don't like to think much about it. But that's part of McBain's job, especially when he has to make changes to fix problems, you have to be open minded."
Eichel did not receive as many questions as Vasilevskiy, but when he was called on about his own low production, he made clear his trust in the organization to trust him. "We just agreed to a 4-year extension, we know what I am capable of as a player, and I know I can be even better. We all want to show McBain and Cassidy that we are in for the turnaround and can make a playoff push." In 15 games, Eichel has 5 goals, and 12 assists for 17 points. His shooting percentage is rough, at a measly 5.88%, Eichel says that will come with more puck luck. "I just have to keep shooting, they'll start to go in eventually. Simple as that." Eichel and the Lightning are hoping to run this four game winning streak, and continue a turnaround to a positive future.
We'll keep an eye on how the current and future changes McBain makes effect this team.
Next Game: November 24th @ Carolina Hurricanes
Happy American Thanksgiving!
