How the Lightning could lose their entire third line
Between a cap crunch and expansion, the status of Barclay Goodrow-Yanni Gourde-Blake Coleman unit is in jeopardy. The chances of all three being back are almost zero. In fact, they might all be gone
MONTREAL – The Tampa Bay Lightning have dropped a lot of subtle hints during this Stanley Cup final that they expect some significant roster reconstruction next season. Coach Jon Cooper talked about this run feeling like, “the last day of school,” for a class that knows it won’t be completely together again in the fall. They all know it in Tampa, and they’re not hiding from it. “We do know the reality,” said captain Steven Stamkos.
A major cap crunch, a league-wide flat salary cap and the eventuality of losing a player in the expansion draft are all weighing on the Lightning as they try to become the first team in 23 years to sweep the Stanley Cup final Monday night. In fact, depending on how the Lightning and Seattle Kraken handle the expansion draft, the entire third line of Yanni Gourde between Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman could be gone in 2021-22.
If the Lightning protect seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie, they’ll have a decision to make on Gourde. It’s assumed Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, Anthony Cirelli, Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn would be protected. That would leave the likes of Gourde, Ross Colton and Mathieu Joseph available. The Kraken may not want Gourde for four years at $5.2 million per season. But getting rid of that salary would also help the Lightning out of their jam. Is it possible Julien BriseBois actually entices the Kraken to take Gourde by offering a side deal? Yup, it is. But he could also do the same thing to get the Kraken to take Tyler Johnson, which would allow him to keep Gourde.
Coleman and Goodrow are both pending unrestricted free agents. And they’ll both be looking to cash in after, likely in their minds, being underpaid the past couple of seasons. That will make it tough for the Lightning to keep them, even if they can get the Kraken to take Johnson or Gourde. At the age of 29 and with what he has done the past two playoffs, Coleman has put himself in the same snack bracket as the likes of Marcus Foligno, Adam Lowry and Scott Laughton, who are all in the $3 million to $3.25 million range. Coleman is worth at least that, probably more. He’s right there with Brandon Tanev, who makes $3.5 million a season, but Tanev signed his deal in 2019, before the pandemic hit the world and a huge financial reckoning hit the NHL.
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“We believe there will be a healthy market for Blake Coleman this summer,” said Coleman’s agent, Steve Bartlett. “Our contention is that a lot of teams would love to have him.”
As for Goodrow, he doesn’t score as much as Coleman does, but Monday night will mark the 62nd playoff game he has played in the past three seasons – going to the Western Conference final with the San Jose Sharks and two Cup finals with Tampa. “His playoff performance, coupled with his evolution as a player…Barclay Goodrow is a player who has gotten better each and every year,” said Goodrow’s agent, Ian Pulver. “From a playoff standpoint, he’s a guy who steps up at the most important times.”
Lightning coach Jon Cooper put the Gourde line together just prior to the playoffs last season, after GM Julien BriseBois boldly gave up first-round picks for Coleman and Goodrow. The line had instant chemistry that has endured through this season and playoffs. There is nothing terribly complicated about what makes that line go, according to Gourde. All three are pretty unheralded – neither Gourde nor Goodrow was drafted in the NHL and Gourde wasn’t even drafted into the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. That probably fuels them, but more than anything, they know their identity and they’re comfortable with it.
“Simple question, simple answer as well,” Gourde said when asked what makes the line so successful. “We play simple. We play in our box. We chip the puck in, we forecheck, we do the little things. We don’t try to make risk plays for no reason. We play smart and we give it everything we’ve got every single shift and I think that’s the key for our line.”
From the time Cooper began his coaching career, he’s had players known as ‘Cooper Troopers’, the kinds of players who might not be the most gifted on the roster, but play the game in straight lines and will do anything to win. It’s safe to say all three of them fall into that category. Their energy level and their approach to the game never varies. You know exactly what you’re going to get when they are on the ice.
“They don’t care who they’re playing against, what the score is,” Cooper said. “They bring a gun to a knife fight. They’re ready and they don’t back down. They’re a pain in the ass. The way they play, it sucks a lot out of you, and it doesn’t seem to affect those guys. They’re as effective in the first shift as they are in the last and that can be hard to play against.”
It can also be excruciatingly hard to lose, but that’s the prospect the Tampa Bay Lightning will face, as early as Monday night if they can get the job done in Game 4.