Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images How do you think the Lightning are going to do this year? There’s not much going on in the hockey world these days. Even less so concerning the Tampa Bay Lightning. One of the drawbacks to following a well-run organization is that they tend to get their stuff done early and it leaves quite a bit of down time. Good for the nerves, but bad for the news cycles. With the Lightning pretty much maxed out in regards to the salary cap and most of the holes on the roster filled, we have a pretty good idea of what the team will look like in the 2022-23 season. Sure, there may be a spot or two open on the bottom lines, and there will be a bit of a rotation to see who fills Ondrej Palat’s spot on the top line, but for the most part we know what things will look like at Amalie Arena when the puck drops in October. So with that being said, let’s take a moment to check to see how you fans think the Lightning will do next season. Prognosticating is usually a fool’s errand, especially this far out. Injuries, trades, bad luck, cold streaks, all of that can doom a team that, on paper, should be pretty good. On the flip side, things could work out great. Nikita Kucherov could put together a full 82-game season and put up an Art Ross kind of season. Corey Perry can hold off Father Time for another season and score close to 20 goals again. Cole Koepke could step into an open spot on the roster and impress. All of those things could happen and there is no way to really know how things will play out until, well, they play out. Still, with all of the tinkering that Julien BriseBois did this off-season, now seems like a good time to see how we’re all feeling about the team’s chances. So go ahead and vote! Feel free to leave a comment explaining your choice, or offer another potential outcome. Lightning / NHL News Lightning need to avoid Chicago’s downward spiral [The Hockey Writers] The Lightning have the benefit of watching “dynasties” in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Chicago try to navigate the salary cap world. What can they learn (and thus avoid) from the fall of the best team of the 2010s - the Chicago Blackhawks? Top 10 plays of 2021-22 - Nikita Kucherov [NHL.com] They should have called this the top 10 plays from the postseason. Pretty sure only one highlight is from the regular season. Spoiler alert, Kuch walking Aaron Ekblad is number one. But you knew that already, right? Future Bolts is counting down their top 31 prospects in the Lightning organization. That could be a handy reference tool for next week (ooohhhh foreshadowing!) Future Bolts’s Top 31 Lightning Prospects - #23 - Maxim Groshev pic.twitter.com/W6PMobxUCF— Future Bolts (@LightningProsp1) August 10, 2022 Down in Orlando a familiar name will be guarding the pipes. Brad Barone is back for another season with the Solar Bears: BONES IS BACK All-Star goaltender Brad Barone is back for another season between the pipes!— Orlando Solar Bears (@OrlandoHockey) August 10, 2022 Surveying fan confidence in each NHL team’s front office [The Athletic] The Athletic is running their annual confidence survey. I would imagine out belief in JBB & Co. is pretty high. This is a link directly to the Google document for non-subscribers. Is the NHL rigged in favor of your favorite team or against it? [The Athletic] The NHL hates the ______ because of _______!!!! Every fan base believes it. Much like baseball fans believe Keith Law hates their favorite team’s prospects. Of course, it’s not true, but where is the fun in believing that? Tampa Bay Lightning Hey, can you count to six? Are you aware that it’s more than five? Apparently, you’re not a referee in a crucial Stanley Cup Final game with a dynasty on the line. Verdict: League rigged against you Borje Salming announces he has ALS [Pension Plan Puppets] One of the most popular players in Toronto Maple Leafs history announced that he has been dealing with the complications of ALS. Salming, 71, is the all-time Leafs leader in assists and spent 16 seasons with the team. Results from the World Junior Championship Sweden 3. Switzerland 2 Canada 5, Latvia 2 Both Jack Thompson (Canada) and Klavs Veinbergs (Latvia) had assists in the game. Germany 4, Austria 2

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Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images But it’s just Day 1 Many inside and outside the Buccaneers remember when cornerback Carlton Davis III was was simply outmatched on the field against Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill during their regular season game in 2020. But Davis III later on helped shutdown Hill during their Super Bowl matchup. Now with the Miami Dolphins, Hill and his team were at the Buccaneers training facility for the start of joint practices. If you’re thinking there may be some back and forth between the two since the last time they faced each other, think again. As Tampa Bay’s young corner said following their first practice against Miami, he and Hill were just two professionals on the field. “No, we were keeping it cordial today, keeping it real cordial. Nice practice etiquette,” said Davis III. “Gotta see him again tomorrow, so anything you say today you’ve got to live up to it tomorrow. But it’s fun, it’s all love out there. We’re just out here competing, trying to get better. We don’t play them [in the 2022 regular season], so there’s no real beef. If it was a team that we had on the schedule it might be a little different. But, no, we’re cool.” His performance against Hill and Miami was also cool. He broke on a route during practice which resulted in him intercepting the pass and looked good as head coach Todd Bowles mentioned to reporters. “I thought Carlton [Davis] looked very good,” Bowles said. “Carlton’s sharp, he’s in shape, and the guy beat him two years ago, obviously he was younger, it’s two years later. Tyreek [Hill] has gotten better, Carlton’s gotten better – I think they’re making each other better. It was good competition on both sides.” As Davis III stated, he and the Bucs turn around and face Hill and the Dolphins again tomorrow. It’s a good opportunity for both sides to continue to improve as Bowles pointed out. But it’s been the theme for Tampa Bay’s top corner so far this camp, and that is he’s been getting better.