As the season has come to a close in Tampa, the team closed picking up some points in the last quarter of the season. The Lightning have been out of contention for a very large part of the season. They started really slow and never were able to turn it around.
It is time to turn the focus to the offseason. Draft lottery is coming up soon. The lightning have the second best odds of getting that top pick in the draft. This is a very talented group in the draft this year, any pick in the top 5 is going to net that team an extremely talented player. Tampa could really use more high-end talent.
There are no key free agents on this Tampa roster, so the offseason will be more about extending young players at the end of their rookie contract and potentially bringing in new faces via trade. It’s all about roster improvement after this trying season. The top end talent that is on this Lightning roster didn’t live up to expectations. There were a bunch of average seasons all around. Nothing terrible, but certainly nothing great.
There is some cap space, but not a lot, so all roster decisions are going to need to be thought through very carefully. Any extra cash on hand will be used to improve the skill of the young players on the roster. Time to mentally hit the reset button, forget about this disappointment, and get this team back into the playoffs.
1/7/2024 - 254 words
