TAMPA, Fla. — After three straight years of playing in the Stanley Cup Final, the Tampa Bay Lightning saw its season come to an end in a 2-1 overtime loss in Game 6 of the first round to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Bolts will have a long offseason for the first time in four years. For the players, it gives them a greater appreciation for all the winning they’re done the last three seasons, including back-to-back Stanley Cup championships.
“Because the standard is so high and the bar is set so high here, sometimes people can lose perspective on how hard it is to just get into the playoffs,” captain Steven Stamkos said.
“Just kind of weird obviously with all the success we’ve had the past couple of years to wake up and having nothing to do,” forward Alex Killorn added.
One thing they will do is rest.
The Lightning have played more games than any other team over the last four seasons. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy said this year he started to wear down after Game 35.
“It’s something I need right now,” Vasilevskiy said. “I need to recover my body bad. I didn’t feel like we were on the same page this season with my body.”
Tough decisions for the front office will also have to be made this off-season for the team to stay under the salary cap.
“This is probably the worst offseason with the number of roster spots we have to fill, and the cap space available to us is the most limited we’ve ever had it,” general manager Julien BriseBois said.
Killorn will become a free agent this summer. He has played his entire career with the Lightning. At 33 years old, he’s coming off his best season. But did he just price himself out of Tampa Bay?
“All season, it’s been something that I thought about,” Killorn said. “I love playing here. I love everything about Tampa. I don’t want to leave. It’s just, you have to look at all angles for sure to make sure you make the right decision.”
