Close Article Return to stream X
NHL

Tampa Bay Lightning Have The Makings Of A Dynasty

+Read full article
Tampa Bay Scores

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Lightning were not picked by many to win the Stanley Cup this season. Of the 15 writers who chose on NHL.com, none picked the Lightning. On ESPN, 13 writers chose their winner after the second round, and still only one person picked the Lightning to prevail. They have been overlooked all postseason long. Even when they were up against the Montreal Canadiens, a team that lost all five matchups during the regular season, they were still being doubted.

Going into game two of the Conference Finals, New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist had only one game with a save percentage under .900. In that game, the Lightning dropped him for a lowly .769 save percentage. They showed how quickly, and how often, they can score. They took the best goalie in the NHL, and they made him look pedestrian.

The Lightning are led by some of the youngest superstars in the league. Steven Stamkos is starting to get into the conversation for best player in the league. With the past injuries to Sidney Crosby and the playoff woes of Alex Ovechkin, it seems like it is time for someone new to take that crown. While it may not be Stamkos, he is definitely a super-duper star. The problem is he only has one more year left on his contract after this year, but there isn’t much chance the Lightning will let him go. He is only 25 years old,

Look one line down to the line that is being called the “Triplets.” Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov have taken the hockey world by storm. In case you haven’t been paying attention, they have been great for two years now. Palat and Johnson are signed through 2017 to very cap-friendly contracts. Kucherov is only a restricted free agent after next season. None of these players are above the age of 24.

Alex Killorn is another budding superstar that has shown a ton of offensive prowess. He’s 25 years old and finally hitting his prime.

This team has one player who will be on long term that is over the age of 30. They have veteran presences in Ryan Callahan and Brian Boyle. This team has everything it needs to be good for a long, long time.

The wild card in the entire process is Ben Bishop. The goalie is only 28 years old, so he isn’t past his prime by any sense of the word. He can still get better. He showed this season that he has the capability to stay healthy for an entire season. He missed a few games here and there, but that happens to most players in the league.

The league saw the difference in the team when he isn’t in net when the Lightning were forced to go with Anders Lindback last season. That turned into a sweep in the first round. Bishop is key for this team to continue its winning ways.

Then they have one of the best coaches in the game. Nobody expected John Cooper to be this good, but he is in the Jack Adams Trophy conversation every season. He takes a team that doesn’t have a lot of recognizable names, at least coming into the season, and turns them into a powerhouse. They continuously take out the likes of the Canadiens, the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings. They have the masterful mind of Cooper to thank for a beautiful strategy.

That is why the Lightning could be the NHL’s next dynasty. They have everything in place. They have a superstar to build around, they have one of the best supporting casts in recent memory, they have a goalie to carry them, an awesome coach and they even have a very good blue line that hasn’t seen the best from Victor Hedman yet.

How this year works itself out is yet to be seen, but after seeing how easily they tore apart their competition up until this point it is hard to argue that they could be the remaining favorite. Next year, there will be many more writers picking the Lightning to carry the Stanley Cup. The question is, will they be predicting a win, or a repeat?

Nick Villano is the NHL feature writer for Rant Sports. He also adds to the site’s NBA, MLB and NFL content. You can follow him on Twitter or add him to your Google circle.

Your Favorites