After Stanley Cup high by Lightning, where does the NHL go from here?

Look of 2020-21 campaign has no certainty

A Brayden Point card.

In the current day, it seems like the great feeling of experiencing the NHL’s top annual moment was fleeting.

On Monday, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup for the second time in team history blanking the Dallas Stars 2-0 in Game 6 of the NHL championship series to take the best-of-seven set 4-2.

When Lightning captain Steven Stamkos raised the Stanley Cup after his team posed for a group picture with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, you could see in Stamkos’s eyes and his reaction in that moment at Rogers Place in Edmonton was an ultimate dream comes true.

As the Stanley Cup was passed amongst the members of the Lightning team include standout players like Victor Hedman, Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy and head coach Jon Cooper, the joy of holding up the historical professional hockey prize was as pure, natural and euphoric as it could get.

There were good tingles when you saw role players like Tyler Johnson, Anthony Cirelli, Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn enjoy the rewards for doing their party to help the Lightning reach the NHL’s peak. 

A Victor Hedman card.

On the Saskatchewan front, Saskatoon product Luke Schenn and Shaunavon product Brayden Coburn realized the top moment of their lengthy NHL careers with their first Stanley Cup win.

While it was still obvious the world was in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as no fans were in attendance and only team family members that lived in Canada were in the building, the night belonged to the Lightning. They soaked in a treasured moment in time they rightly deserved.

For a period of two months beginning on August 1, NHL fans both hardcore and casual got to watch the television broadcasts extended 24-team post-season play out in the hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton. When it was time to hold the conference championship series, all the action was condensed into Edmonton.

Even if your favourite team lost out, fans had to admit it was comforting having the NHL on television on pretty much a nightly basis. Watching games helped get the mind off of the troubles the world was going through even for a short time.

An Alex Killorn card.

Still, even as quickly as the day after the Stanley Cup final ended, the question that inevitably ran through the head was “what happens now?”

First up, the NHL Entry Draft will be held this coming Tuesday and Wednesday via video conference call from the NHL Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. Free agency will open on Friday, Oct. 9 at 12 p.m. eastern time.

After that, things get murky. The NHL has not announced a start date for the upcoming 2020-21 regular season.

Speculation has ranged from December 1, to the middle and later part of that month and possibly early in January 2021. Actually, everything with regards what the 2020-21 NHL campaign could look like is all speculation at this point.

In an interview with SiriusXM NHL Network Radio on this past Wednesday night, Bettman said he was unsure what the next NHL season will look like.

“I don’t know what we are going to do yet, but we are focusing on what the issues are,” said Bettman on the broadcast. “When we know more how about those issues get resolved or are left unresolved, we’ll be in a better position to announce what are plans are and what the contingencies are.

A Tyler Johnson card.

“That exercise is going to require a few more weeks, but we are intent on playing the 2020/21 season. My goal would be to play a full season, a regular season and then go into normal playoffs. While that is our goal and our objective and I think we can do that, we need a little more time to work on the planning.

“That is something that we are going to be doing in conjunction with the players again.”

At the start of the Stanley Cup final, Bettman said attendance impacts 50 per cent of NHL revenues. Unlike a circuit like the NFL that has all its costs covered due to its television contract, the NHL needs some fans in the stands.

Outside of a few spots in the United States, mass gatherings are still not permitted in most NHL markets including all seven teams located in Canada. The border between Canada and the United States is still closed to non-essential travel and odds are high that likely won’t change until well into 2021.

During the SiriusXM NHL Network Radio interview, Bettman said there are a lot factors that are out of the NHL’s control, but he would like to get fans back inside rinks around the league.

A Nikita Kucherov card.

“We don’t know what the world is going to be like,” said Bettman. “When will our buildings as a result be open like they used to be?

“The fact is our players and our game gets an incredible energy from our sold out buildings every night. It is part of what makes NHL hockey the best in person sporting experience. We miss our fans terribly.”

It should be noted that all the buildings in the NHL aren’t sold out on a nightly basis, but attendance for the league before the 2019-20 regular season was paused on March 12 was healthy. The fans do create a good atmosphere inside NHL buildings.

Still, the biggest question is how long will the wait be before the next meaningful NHL game is played?

Could a lengthy amount of time pass before the NHL hits the ice again?

When the league does return to action, what is it going to look like?

Will the teams in Canada just be playing each other with the same happening in the United States?

A Steven Stamkos card.

After the NHL Draft ends, the league will be venturing into an unknown. It is an unknown that is already being thought of as the NHL regular season usually begins around the time the upcoming NHL Entry Draft is slated to be held.

The Lightning, who have talent all over the place, will likely become more and more thankful they reached their potential with their current generation as the days pass. As it is expected the salary cap won’t grow and could possibly shrink, the Lightning will be hard pressed to keep their roster together.

While there was security knowing games were happening on pretty much a nightly basis during the 2020 NHL post-season, the off-season the NHL is in feels a little ominous and scary.

That ominous and scary feeling likely won’t totally go away until the COVID-19 pandemic is declared over.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Lightning conquer huge hump with Stanley Cup win

A Victor Hedman card.

The doubts about this generation of the Tampa Bay Lightning are gone forever.

The skeptics viewed them as the team with exceptional skill but one that lacked the will to win a championship. The Lightning had won 42 or more games in each of the past seven regular seasons.

They made the Stanley Cup final in 2015 and fell in that best-of-seven series 4-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks, who at that time captured their third Stanley Cup title in six years.

In 2018-19, Tampa Bay had a dream regular season posting a 62-16-4 record to finish first overall in the NHL for the first time in franchise history. Their 62 wins matched the regular season record put up by the Detroit Red Wings in 1995-96.

The regular season success translated into post-season disappoint for the Lightning as they were swept 4-0 in a best-of-seven first round series by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2019 NHL playoffs.

Returning the bulk of their roster, the Lightning entered the 2019-20 campaign and the 2020 NHL playoffs as arguably the team with the most to prove. They were the team skeptics could easily write off expecting another disappointment to happen.

In what proved to be season that no one could have written a script for, the Lightning came of age.

On Monday night in the hub city of Edmonton, the Lightning would not be denied. Skilled Lightning centre Brayden Point, an alumnus of the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, scored his 14^th goal of this post-season burying the rebound of his own shot on the power play to put his side up 1-0 on the Dallas Stars at the 12:23 mark of the first period.

A Brayden Point card.

The Lightning added a second tally in the second period and made that 2-0 score hold up as the final to take Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final at Rogers Place and win the series 4-2. It marked the second time the Lightning captured the Stanley Cup with their first win coming back in 2004 courtesy of Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Cory Stillman, Pavel Kubina, Nikolai Khabibulin, John Tortorella and crew.

Following the gut punch of the 2019 playoff loss to the Jackets, the Lightning were having a strong regular season in 2019-20 posting a 43-21-6 record to sit second overall in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.

At that point, world events caused everything to ground to a halt due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The NHL season was paused on March 12 as the entire sports world in North America came to a stop due to unprecedented shutdowns.

Still, the NHL and NHL Players’ Association worked to put together a plan to complete the 2019-20 campaign and award the Stanley Cup. An expanded 24-team post-season tournament would be played in a bubble format without fans in the cities of Edmonton and Toronto.

On July 10, NHL training camps opened for the clubs taking part in the post-season tournament, and the Lightning moved into the Toronto hub city on July 26. The post-season officially began on Aug. 1.

The Lightning were one of four teams in the Eastern Conference to have a bye past the qualifying round into a best-of-seven series in the round of 16. They played three round robin games to determine the top seeds in the Eastern Conference bracket taking two out of three of those contests.

In the round of 16, the Lightning once again met the Jackets and downed them 4-1. Tampa Bay proceeded to advance to a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Boston Bruins, who fell in last year’s Stanley Cup final in seven games to the St. Louis Blues.

A Nikita Kucherov card.

The Lightning dropped the first game to the Bruins before rolling off four straight wins to take the series 4-1.

For the conference title series, all hub city action was condensed into Edmonton from that point onwards.

The up and coming New York Islanders were the foe in the Eastern Conference Championship series and the Lightning prevailed in that best-of-seven set 4-2.

That set up the showdown with the Stars, who had a solid 37-24-8 mark in the regular season.

The Stars took the first game of the series, but the Lightning roared back with three straight wins. Tampa Bay had a chance to win the Stanley Cup on Saturday, but Stars pulled out a thrilling 3-2 victory in double overtime to force Monday night’s Game 6.

The Lightning did everything they could to ensure a series decided Game 7 wouldn’t be required.

After Point gave the Lightning a 1-0 edge, they netted a key insurance goal in the second.

At the 7:01 mark of the second, the Lightning entered the Dallas after getting the puck off a centre ice zone turnover by the Stars. Lightning centre Blake Coleman converted a cross-ice pass from linemate Cedric Paquette to put Tampa Bay up 2-0.

The Lightning controlled play over the first 40 minutes holding a 21-8 edge in shots on goal.

Still, the Stars make a big push back in the third holding a 14-8 edge in shots on goal in the frame, and the Lightning showed their mental toughness in holding the fort defensively.

An Andrei Vasilevskiy card.

With about 4:35 remaining in the third, Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy made two quick stops in succession with the second coming from the stick of Stars skilled centre Tyler Seguin from point-blank range.

The unsung Vasilevskiy made 22 saves to pick up the shutout in goal.

At the other end, Stars netminder Anton Khudobin, an alumnus of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, deserved a better fate turning away 27 shots to take the setback for Dallas.

Following the game, injured Lightning captain Steven Stamkos dressed in his gear and raised the Stanley Cup. He appeared in one game in the post-season scoring a key goal in the Lightning’s 5-2 victory in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final.

Veteran offensive defenceman Victor Hedman showed he was one of the best in what he does in the NHL. He was named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the NHL playoffs.

The Swede had 10 goals, 12 assists and a plus-13 rating in the plus-minus department in 25 post-season games. Hedman picked up an assist on Point’s power-play goal on Monday.

Point had 19 assists to go with his 14 goals for 33 points in 23 games to finish second in post-season scoring for the Lightning. Star right-winger Nikita Kucherov had an outstanding post-season topping Tampa Bay in scoring with seven goals and 27 assists for 34 points in 25 games.

Kucherov also picked up an assist on Point’s power-play goal that was the Stanley Cup winner.

A Steven Stamkos card.

The Stanley Cup title was a sweet moment for Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, who has been the team’s bench boss since becoming a mid-season replacement for the fired Guy Boucher with 16 games remaining in the 2012-13 campaign.

After the Lightning were swept in the first round of the 2019 NHL playoffs, there were questions about whether Cooper was the man for the job to lead Tampa Bay to a Stanley Cup title. On Monday night, it was mission accomplished for Cooper.

Going forward in these pandemic times, there is lots of uncertainty about the fate of a 2020-21season for the NHL.

It is uplifting to know the NHL successfully held a post-season tournament in 2020 in an expanded form. The players were also away from their families outside of some of the Lightning and Stars families making it to the Edmonton bubble for the Stanley Cup final.

As of right now on Monday night, it is only right to allow the Tampa Bay Lightning to celebrate their accomplishment of winning the Stanley Cup, because they have more than paid their dues to get to this point.

Your 2020 #StanleyCup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning!!!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/P43wYrBEZW

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) September 29, 2020

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Momentum can change quickly in Stanley Cup final

Stars, Lightning all even at 1-1

A Nikita Kucherov card.

Old “Mo” seems to really fickle so far in the Stanley Cup final.

In the NHL’s best-of-seven championship series between the Dallas Stars and the Tampa Bay Lightning being played at Rogers Place in the bubble city of Edmonton, momentum seems to enjoy jumping from side to side in the first two games of the set.

The series is tied 1-1 after the Stars took Game 1 by a 4-1 final on Saturday and the Lightning rebounded with a 3-2 victory in Game 2 on Monday.

Game 3 of the series is set for Wednesday (6 p.m. Saskatchewan time, CBC and NBCSN).

The Stars 4-1 triumph in Game 1 was a solid one, but it appeared Tampa Bay might be able to rally in the third. Entering the third period trailing 3-1, the Lightning had a 22-2 edge in shots on goal in the frame as they pressed to get back in that game.

Stars centre Jason Dickinson sealed that contest with an empty-net goal with 78 seconds remaining in the third.

In Game 2 on Monday, both teams played a quiet opening 10 minutes before the Lightning exploded for three goals to take a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.

A John Klingberg card.

At the 11:23 mark of the first, elite Lightning right-winger Nikita Kucherov set up standout centre Brayden Point, who quickly wired home a power-play goal to go up 1-0.

After that tally, Kucherov proceeded to set up left-winger Ondrej Palat on a backdoor feed, and Palat potted his team’s second power-play goal of the contest to give the Lightning a 2-0 edge at the 14:22 mark of the opening frame.

Lightning skilled offensive-defenceman Victor Hedman also had assists on both of those first two goals.

Just 54 seconds later, solid defender Kevin Shattenkirk slid home the Lightning’s third goal from the point through a screen to increase Tampa Bay’s advantage to 3-0.

On top of holding a 3-0 lead, the Lightning held a 14-6 edge in shots on goal after 20 minutes, and it looked like they were going to roll like an unstoppable freight train.

Despite Tampa Bay’s great start, Dallas controlled the second period holding an 18-5 edge in shots on goal.

At the 14:43 mark of the second, the Stars gained some traction, when centre Joe Pavelski tipped home a point shot from defenceman John Klingberg for a power-play goal to cut the Tampa Bay lead to 3-1.

An Ondrej Palat card.

At the 5:27 mark of the third, Klingberg pinched into the Lightning zone and fed a backdoor feed to centre Mattias Janmark, who tapped the puck into the Tampa Bay goal to cut the Lightning lead to 3-2.

Right-winger Alexander Radulov had assists on both Stars goals.

Tampa Bay appeared to go ahead 4-2 near the midway point of the third on a goal by defenceman Mikhail Sergachev. The goal was disallowed after Dallas challenged that the play was offside via video review and the video review confirmed the play was indeed offside.

While the Lightning held a 12-5 edge in shots on goal in the third, the Stars chances to get the game to overtime.

With a minute remaining in the third, Stars veteran left-winger Jamie Benn was stopped from point-blank range in front of the Tampa Bay goal by Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy.

The Stars also had an offensive zone faceoff with 3.8 seconds remaining in the third, but Klingberg fanned on one final shot, which was ultimately blocked by a Lightning skater.

Vasilevskiy made 27 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Lightning. Anton Khudobin turned away 28 shots to take the setback in goal for the Stars.

An Alexander Radulov card.

Game 2 was a great one and the goalies on either side couldn’t be faulted for any of the five goals that were scored in the contest. All five goals were really good goals.

With the way the momentum has swung, credit has to go to Stars head coach Rick Bowness and Lightning head coach Jon Cooper for the adjustments they’ve made on the fly.

Wednesday’s upcoming Game 3 might be a big swing game. 

The team that falls in that contest will face more pressure than usual to win in Game 4 on Friday, because Game 5 follows up quickly one day later.

If either team falls behind 3-1 in the series, it might be hard to recover and win Game 5 with no off day between that contest and Game 4.

So far, the Stars and Lightning are giving a series that is well worth tuning for. 

Expect the momentum swings to continue as the Stanley Cup final goes on.

Massive outpouring for Ashe showed he was well loved

Dylan Ashe. (Photo courtesy Della Ashe)

The cliché that the good guys leave this world too early unfortunately played out this past weekend.

Early Sunday morning, 18-year-old Melfort Mustangs junior A team defenceman Dylan Ashe died in a single vehicle rollover on Highway 35 northeast of White Fox, Sask. Ashe was driving one of his family’s cars as his beloved 1984 Chevy truck parked for some repairs.

For anyone who has links to Saskatchewan’s hockey community, you knew that the news of Ashe’s passing was going to hit a lot of people hard. He was really well loved in Saskatchewan’s hockey community and in the hockey community of Lethbridge, Alta., as he was a prospects of the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Della Ashe, Dylan’s mom, broke the news of her son’s passing on a Facebook post on Sunday afternoon. Dylan had been driving out the lake country for a quick visit before returning home. He was planning to travel to Melfort on Tuesday to rejoin the Mustangs.

Since the creation of Della’s post, support and condolences messages have poured in for the family that is based out of Warman, Sask.

Numerous media outlets in Saskatchewan have produced tribute stories for Dylan Ashe.

Ashe played for the Sask Valley Vipers under-15 AA team in 2016-17 before splitting time in 2017-18 with his hometown Warman Wildcats under-18 AA team and the Tisdale Trojans under-18 AAA club.

He played for the Trojans for the entire 2018-19 campaign outside of a one-game call up with the Mustangs for an SJHL regular season contest. Ashe helped the Trojans win a bronze medal at the Telus Cup.

Ashe, who stood 6-foot-1 and weighed 185 pounds, was never selected in the WHL Bantam Draft, but he still signed a WHL Standard Player Agreement with the Hurricanes on April 10, 2019. He had a strong showing in training camp with the Hurricanes prior to the 2019-20 campaign before joining the Mustangs.

With the Mustangs last season, Ashe had two goals and four assists in 46 regular season games.

The Mustangs are sad to announce the passing of Defenceman Dylan Ashe. From our entire organization we would like to send our deepest sympathies and condolences to the Ashe family. You are in our thoughts and prayers. 💙💚 pic.twitter.com/efly9aDdwT

— Melfort Mustangs (@SJHL_Mustangs) September 20, 2020

On the ice, Ashe was known as a tough stay at home defensive defenceman. He was also a quiet but upbeat great character guy. He could walk into a room, flash his smile and the positive energy would go up.

The Trojans, Mustangs and Hurricanes have all passed on messages of condolence.

Della and her husband, Mike, have received numerous messages about how great of a person Dylan was.

Dylan cared a lot for his family, and he enjoyed hanging out with older sister Jordan, who was a tough as nails defensive defender with the Prince Albert Northern Bears female under-18 AAA hockey team from 2013 to 2018.

Dylan Ashe just graduated from high school this past June. He got to parade in his 1984 Chevy truck through the Wyant Group Raceway with Warman High School grad class. The track hosted the unique graduation ceremony as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic restrictions placed limits on regular graduation activities.

Ashe spent countless hours working on and refurbishing his 1984 Chevy truck.

His passing at age 18 and about two-and-a-half months since his high school graduation is a reminder of how life can be unfair. He should have been able to live out a rich array of experiences.

Over the next handful of years, he seemed ready to live out a few more of his hockey dreams.

Still, he was able to make a lot of people care about him for the years that he was here. The outpouring of emotions and messages since his passing is proof of that.

A GoFundMe campaign that was started on Sunday to help the Ashe family with funeral expenses has raised over triple its initial goal by late Monday night.

Dylan Ashe lived life on his own terms, and it was a well lived one.

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Hurricanes prospect, Dylan Ashe. Our deepest condolences to Dylan’s family, friends, and teammates. Rest In Peace, Dylan. ❤️💙 #AlwaysACane pic.twitter.com/vyDHxY9Nsn

— Lethbridge Hurricanes (@WHLHurricanes) September 20, 2020

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. If you would like to donate to the GoFundMe campaign to help the Ashe family with funeral expenses, you can do so by clicking right here.

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If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.