Tampa “Lightning” Photo: NHL
The Stanley Cup of the National Hockey League (NHL) ended without surprises. Even before the season, Lightning was considered one of the main favorites in Tampa Bay. The prediction came true – in the final against the Montreal Canadiens, John Cooper’s team triumphed 4-1, won the second Stanley Cup in a row and seriously applied for dynasty status. However, there is no shortage of opinions that this year’s triumph was achieved by fraudulent methods, so there is no reason to consider Lightning as a dynasty team.
This is not the first time in the 21st century that the same team has triumphed in the Stanley Cup final for two consecutive seasons, as the Pittsburgh Penguins did in 2016 and 2017. It is also worth mentioning the Kings of Los Angeles (2012 and 2014) and the Blackhawks of Chicago (2010, 2013, 2015). The case of Lightning is special in that the path to dominance began with trust in a coach with no experience at the NHL level.
“I just stood on the bench and chewed gum”
John Cooper’s story looks like a fairy tale. A graduate of a Michigan private law school, he worked as a state-appointed lawyer for 11 years, and although he played hockey during his college years, he associated his career more with law than with one of the sports. He got into the training by accident – at first Cooper helped the children’s team, and then suddenly realized that this job was also interesting for him. After more than a decade in the lower leagues, Cooper became the helmsman of the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL), triumphing in his second year of operation.
Fateful – both for himself and the organization of Tampa Bay in 2012/2013. season. Coupers started it as the head coach of the Lightning Farm Club’s Syracuse Crunch, but during the season Tampa Bay fired Guy Bush, appointing no one but Cooper in his place. Such a move seemed quite risky, because Cooper had no experience. But it couldn’t get any worse, as Lightning had been out of the play-off four times in the past five seasons, and the 2004 Stanley Cup began to become a memory of the distant past.
Cooper took over the team in a bad situation, and bringing it into the elimination tournament was an impossible task, especially considering that only 48 games were scheduled for the season due to the lockout. The club continued to trust the young specialist, who had a clear vision of what hockey Lightning should play. The results did not wait long – already in Cooper’s third year of operation, Tampabeja played in the final, but the following year he stopped one step away from it. 2016/2017 In the 2006/07 season, Lightning unexpectedly stayed out of the play-off zone, but the previous fiduciary credit allowed Cooper to avoid being fired.
John Cooper Photo: NHL
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On the way to two Stanley Cups, they also had to be humiliated when the main event winner, Lightning, lost the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the playoffs. Relevant conclusions were also drawn from this situation, with the result that Lightning is already a three-time trophy winner. Cooper is also known for the fact that he is always ready to explain the nuances of the game – to both his team’s hockey players and journalists. He also has a great sense of humor, because when talking about his work after the second Stanley Cup, Cooper said the following words: “I was just standing on a bench and chewing gum.” There is no doubt that he is currently the best coach of the league, who will deservedly be the head coach of the Canadian national team at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Of course, if NHL hockey players can take part in them.
Lightning results led by John Cooper
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“I just stood there and chewed gum” – Jon Cooper after coaching the Lightning to back-to-back Stanley Cups
– Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) July 8, 2021
The world’s best goalkeeper and striker in one team
No matter how good and progressive Coupers is, a good player is needed to put ideas into practice. And here we need to mention another person, whose role was quite important in those years, but who no longer works in the organization. This is Steve Aizerman, the former general manager of Lightning. To a large extent, the current composition of Tampa Bay is his merit, although the Canadian himself left the position in September 2018.
Thanks to Aizerman, Lightning chose Nikita Kucherov, a Russian striker unknown to anyone in North America, in the second round of the 2011 draft with number 58, as well as paid him for the operation, which was refused by Moscow’s CSKA. Already in Kucherov’s first full season in the NHL, it became clear that Tampabay’s GM had managed to “hit” – the attacker is progressing every year, he is the obvious leader of “Lightning” and one of the biggest stars of the NHL. A few months before leaving the club, Aizerman convinced Kučerov to associate his future with this team – before 2018/2019. The attacker signed a new eight – year contract for $ 76 million, and it can be said that a Russian hockey player earns every dollar. For the second “play-off” in a row, he is the most productive hockey player of the team, who not only regularly collects points, but also does it quite beautifully.
Another important decision was made in 2012, when the goalkeeper Andrejs Vasilevskis was chosen in the first round of the draft with the 19th number. In the draft, in which the Edmonton Oilers missed Nail Yakupov’s number one choice and Buffalo Sabers number 14 won third-fourth shift striker Zemg Girgenson, Lightning came to the goalkeeper, who will set new records in a few years. will play so convincingly that your opponents will drop their hands. Five “dry” games in this year’s Stanley Cup 93.7% rebounds and absolutely unbelievable results – according to xG statistics, he had to fly 26 (!) More goals into his guarded goal than the goalkeeper allowed.
For comparison, the best indicator in the previous season was also for Vasilevskis – 20.8 discs, but in 2018/2019. In the 2006 season, Tuka Rasks dropped 13.4 puck less than expected from the game situation. Absolutely well-deserved Kona Smith’s “play-off” prize for the most valuable player (MVP) and equally undeservedly left without a Wezina prize for the league’s best goalkeeper. A new agreement with Vasilevski before 2019/2020. The season is no longer signed by Aizerman, although the figures are identical to Kucherov – eight years and 76 million dollars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVwZpYwIF98
One of the features of a dynasty club is long-term contracts with leaders who are in their prime. In this respect, the contracts with Kucherov and Vasilevsky really give Lightning hope that the unit will continue to fight for the highest goals in the coming years. Until 2025, the team will also be played by its leading defender Viktors Hedmans. Unexpectedly, one of the most important key players has become Breidens Points – the 79th choice of the 2014 draft. His progress is also quite rapid, but the whole fight for this hockey player is still ahead, because his contract will end after next season. There is also one year left for Andrzej Palace, two years for Anthony Sirelli and Alex Kornorn, the contract was awarded to Blake Coulman, each of whom was almost perfectly in his role.
Although Lightning’s main stars have long-term contracts, several background hockey players could leave the team in the coming years, as they will be offered more money elsewhere, but Tampa Bay already has problems with the salary ceiling. Every detail is important for success, so the champions’ management has a hard time ahead – finding full-fledged replacements. If it succeeds, then Lightning will continue to fight for the highest goals in the coming seasons. There weren’t many mistakes in the past, and it’s interesting to see if Tampa Bay will be able to continue this course.
“None of these titles count”
It goes without saying that 2019/2020. The Stanley Cup won in the 2007 season does not count because the season was jerky, with a big pause and ending in a “bubble” – roughly this view was reflected in the comments after the “Lightning” triumph in the off-season. Why the title obtained in such circumstances does not satisfy the fans – it is difficult to say, no one was particularly looking for arguments. The season was really unusual, but everyone was in the same conditions in the “bubbles”, and Lightning hockey players also faced psychological problems, when they had to live in a closed environment for several months without a family and the opportunity to switch to something else.
In general, the favorite job of fans in many places is to look for reasons why the title of a particular team is not real. North America is no exception, but it must be acknowledged that last season, Lightning has given those around it ample opportunity to discuss the legitimacy of its second title. If you’re angry that Kucherov miraculously recovered before the play-off, then you can go and yell at the NHL bosses who investigated the matter and signed under it. Fans, you are not angry that you have been deceived. You’re angry with your team bosses that they weren’t smart enough to adapt to the system, ”wrote ESPN journalist Greg Višinskis immediately after the end of the season.
About the Lightning situation we wrote in May this year. In short, Tampabeja did not fit under the salary ceiling, and so it happened that Kucherov was injured shortly before the season. He was included in the list of long-term injured hockey players (LTIL), so during the main tournament his salary was not counted in the team’s salary budget. LTIL also had striker Marian Gaborik, who actually ended his career in 2018, but his contract was valid until the end of this season, as well as goalkeeper Anders Nilson. Both of these players were acquired in an exchange transaction aimed at relieving the team’s salary costs.
In the “play-off” tournament, the salary ceiling no longer works, so Kucherov could calmly return to the field and dominate the Stanley Cup matches with fresh strength. In the end, it is hard to believe that the team management could persuade the attacker to skip the main tournament, and there is no doubt that he really had an injury. But from the sidelines, the situation looks dirty, which in the eyes of some fans and experts makes the Lightning 2021 title a fake.
Formally, Lightning did not violate anything, but this is a case where it is not a question of rules, but of ethics. Tampabeja is not the first – in 2015, the Chicago “Blackhawks” did the same, the leader of which Patrick Keyn did not play in the main tournament. Interestingly, six years ago, Lightning was the only team to panic about this hole in the rules. This time there are other units in the role of victims, but Tampa hockey players drink champagne (and beer) from the Stanley Cup.
It turns out that each of the two “Lightning” cups has been won in unusual circumstances, which in no way negates the fact of their legitimacy, even more so – in 30-40 years no one will remember it. However, in order to get rid of the scam tag now, Tampabeja would benefit greatly from the third Stanley Cup in the coming years, which would be obtained in the normal season and without tricks with a salary ceiling. The team has everything to do – the leaders have still not reached their peak, while the hockey players of the background, who were carefully tied to the team, still have valid contracts. It is expected that next season “Lightning” will be one of the favorites, which we will most likely see at least in the conference finals.
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