By Michael Wax
With the 2023-24 season in the books, locker clean-out serves as the endpoint to a challenging but disappointing season. As is customary, general manager Julien BriseBois, head coach Jon Cooper, and players gave insights and final thoughts heading into the offseason. This year, Lightning fans got an interesting amount of info going into May. Here's everything we learned from today:
Injuries Galore
It was a tough year for the Lightning injury-wise. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Mikhail Sergachev's injuries were the talk of the season, but many players on the roster saw their fair share of injuries throughout the season. According to BriseBois, the following players also suffered injuries:
Erik Cernak suffered an AC joint sprain in Game 2 of the 2024 playoffs
Luke Glendening dislocated his shoulder and tore his labrum on Apr. 15 against the Buffalo Sabres
Brandon Hagel strained his glute in Game 3
Jonas Johansson suffered a quad tear on Mar. 30, ending his season
Tyler Motte suffered a broken ankle on Oct. 11, taking him out of the lineup until Nov. 6
Nick Perbix suffered an AC joint sprain in Game 1 of the 2024 playoffs
Darren Raddysh had abdominal and left hip iliac crest contusions (hip bone bruise) from a cross-check in Game 3
Conor Sheary ruptured a tendon in his finger on Dec. 30, and would play through it
Injuries are part of the game, and certain players like Emil Lilleberg, Max Crozier, and Mitchell Chaffee stepped up during the regular season when given the opportunity here’s hoping next year sees a more stable lineup for the Lightning throughout the year.
Potential Extension (but not that one)
There’s obviously big elephant in the room with one potential contract extension, but before we get to that one, there are other pending unrestricted free agents heading into the summer. We got a better sense of where these extension talks stand:
On both Anthony Duclair and Matt Dumba, BriseBois stated “ they both made us better when they came in and they were not unfamiliar to our success from that point on.” That being said, he also noted it was too early to say if either was coming back and that he needed time.
Victor Hedman, who has one year left on his contract before becoming an unrestricted free agent, has already engaged in extension talks.
“ My plan is to retire as a Bolt, and hopefully that will come true.” - Victor Hedman
Stamkos Talk
The biggest note came in quotes regarding Captain Steven Stamkos and his expiring contract. Stamkos is an unrestricted agent starting July 1, and the Lightning have a few months to have exclusive negotiations before Stamkos can begin talking to other teams at the end of June. Here’s what we learned:
As Julien BriseBois said at the beginning of the year and reiterated throughout the season, contract talks would not happen until the season was over. Preliminary contract talks started right after game five and the team’s return home to Tampa.
Stamkos talked about how every guy on this team has taken less on this team, and that has been the team's thought process when asked about considering accepting a lower salary.
Stamkos reiterated that nothing had really changed in terms of mindset and where he wanted to play, which was in Tampa.
Every player who was interviewed, including Stamkos himself, reiterated a desire for him to return to the organization.
“I hope he’ll stay here until he wants to retire.” - Andrei Vasilevskiy
“When I look at Stammer, I believe he’s a Bolt for life.” - Brandon Hagel
“Obviously that’s great news that they’ll try to get something done here soon.” - Victor Hedman
As stated previously, the Lightning have time to get Stamkos under contract for next season and beyond. With roughly $10.6M in space heading into next season thanks to an increase in the salary cap and expiring contracts, the pieces are there for Stamkos to become a Bolt for the rest of his career.
Coach Cooper
Although he won’t be nominated for the Jack Adams once again this year, Jon Cooper did a tremendous job at keeping this roster afloat through injuries and inconsistent play. As always, Cooper was the highlight of a media day, providing thoughtful insight while also cracking jokes. Here’s what we learned through Cooper’s media availability:
Cooper started his availability with an apology for remarks he had after game five, where he commented about putting goalies in skirts
“I sincerely apologize to all I offended. It's pained me more than the actual series loss itself,” said Cooper.
Like all the players, Cooper was very confident that a deal between Stamkos in the Lightning is going to get done.
Jon Cooper has one more season on his current contract, and while there are rumors about him, having signed an extension, nothing has been formally announced by the team.
This ended another season and locker clean-out day for the Lightning. We will continue to have coverage on our website, our Twitter (@BoltReport_TB), and our YouTube channel. Keep it here for all your Lightning coverage and Go Bolts.
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