Lightning’s Cup repeat bodes talk of dynasty
The Lightning are knocking on dynasty status after becoming the second team of the NHL’s salary cap era to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.
Tampa Bay defeated the Canadiens 1-0 in Game 5 on Wednesday night on home ice in Florida.
The Lightning joined the 2016-17 Penguins as cap title repeaters, though salary cap issues could make some parts of the team look different next season.
Still, the Lightning will have top scorers in Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos, a top defenseman in Victor Hedman and a great goaltender in Andrei Vasilevskiy.
“We’ve been knocking at the door for so many years, and now to be able to do it back-to-back, that kind of cements this group as special,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Wednesday evening.
Vasilevskiy had another strong bounce-back performance after a loss with a 22-save shutout to give the city of Tampa its third championship in less than a year. The Buccaneers won the Super Bowl in February.
Vasilevskiy picked up the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP with his fifth shutout. Counting the 2020 Cup title, he has recorded shutouts in five consecutive series clinchers.
“I still can’t believe it,” he said. “Obviously, the whole team deserves it for
sure. Just to have five shutouts in one playoffs, it’s all about team.”
The Lightning won their 2020 title in a bubble environment in Edmonton last fall, but this time they celebrated before their fans at Amalie Arena.
The Lightning are the first NHL team to clinch a Stanley Cup title at home since the Blackhawks did it in 2015 against Tampa Bay in Chicago.
Lightning forward Patrick Maroon picked up his third consecutive Stanley Cup title, including the 2019 one with the Blues. He’s the first to win three consecutive Cups with different teams since Ed Litzenberger did it with Chicago in 1961 and Toronto from 1962-64.
“We really wanted to seize this opportunity in front of the crowd, in front of family, and found a way to get it done,” said Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh. “It’s a great feeling. We’re going to celebrate all night long.”
But will the salary cap prevent them from winning another?
“The team knows they’re probably not going to be together next year,” Cooper told Sportsnet after Wednesday’s win. “That was the conversation: Don’t let this end. What a group. Expansion. Cap. Everything. We weren’t going to go out without raising that trophy.”
The Lightning were able to keep most of the team together because Kucherov went on long-term injured reserve after having offseason hip surgery and missing the entire 56-game regular season. That allowed them to exceed the cap by the amount of his $9.5 million hit.
But the Lightning won’t be able to do that again, and the Seattle Kraken expansion draft is looming.
Where do the Lightning and Canadiens stand heading into the offseason?
Lightning
The good news for the Lightning is that the core – Kucherov, Point, Stamkos, Vasilevskiy, Hedman, McDonagh, Alex Killorn, Ondrej Palat, Anthony Cirelli and Yanni Gourde – is signed through at least next season.
The bad news is that the team is already in cap trouble and two-thirds of the highly effective third line is coming up for unrestricted free agency.
Blake Coleman ($1.8 million) and Barclay Goodrow ($925,000), who were acquired before the 2020 championship, were bargains. But they will be due bigger deals after their strong postseason that included a spectacular goal in Game 2 of the Final.
Five defensemen are under contract, but David Savard and Luke Schenn are unrestricted.
Forward Ross Colton, who scored the series-clinching goal, is a restricted free agent.
The Lightning put forward Tyler Johnson (two goals in Game 3 of the Final) on waivers before Kucherov’s surgery, so he likely will be gone. He has three years left on his contract at a $5 million hit. Maybe the Lightning could offer the Kraken a pick to take him in the expansion draft.
Moving forward, Point will be due a big raise after his contract expires in 2022.
Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois has his work cut out for him.
Canadiens
The Canadiens can’t rest easy because they’ll be moving back into a loaded division that includes Tampa Bay, Boston, Florida and Toronto.
But they have cap room and a good mix of veterans and rising youngsters (Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Jesperi Kotkaniemi) who gained valuable experience during the team’s run.
GM Marc Bergevin loaded up on former Stanley Cup winners, and Corey Perry and Eric Staal are unrestricted. So is Joel Armia, the third member of their effective fourth line.
Checking center Phillip Danault also is unrestricted. They could choose to move on from unrestricted free agents Tomas Tatar, Erik Gustafsson and Jon Merrill.
Artturi Lehkonen and Kotkaniemi are restricted free agents.
Backup goalie Jake Allen is expected to be exposed in the expansion draft.