With 10 game remaining Tampa sits locked into dead last in the Eastern Conference with 51 points, and second to last in points across the entire league. A full 7 points in front of Minnesota for least number of points in the league. Barring some unexpected change, Tampa will have the second highest odds at the draft lottery in a year that the upcoming draft is loaded with top end talent. It is the only silver lining in what can only be classified as an extremely disappointing season.
Bowen Byram is one assist and Alex Nedeljkovic is 155 shots faced away from both players hitting their endorsements for the season, so at least Tampa is unlikely to have to pay endorsement penalties at the end of the season.
Heading into the offseason, Tampa will have approximately $4 Million in funds along with the attendance adjustment and participation money to help camp these players and make a push to get back into the playoffs next season.
Six players on the pro roster are in the final year of their contract, with only Chris Tierney over the age of 26 of that group. It is unlikely that Tierney will be resigned. The rest will either be locked up for a longer-term contract or sent to RFA to try and build some draft capital.
Ten players on the farm are also in the last year of their contract, all but two of those players are under the age of 26. Tampa currently has 44 players between the farm and the pro roster, so there is plenty of space to add contracts.
After a solid campaign last season, there are likely going to be some changes made in the organization, and those changes will be centered around brining in veteran talent to help offset the youth on this team. Missing the playoffs again is unacceptable.
12/14/2023 - 315 words
