The general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning still has faith in his team and believes that his team has the potential to remain among the serious contenders for major honors.
On the show Hockey 360 has RDS Wednesday, Julien BriseBois is convinced that the core of his team is still among the best in the National League despite a rapid exit from the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
“We’re still relatively young in terms of the core of our team, so I think we still have several years to be competitive. We have to play our best hockey at the right time and avoid injuries. I think we have a team, if the stars align, to aspire to another Stanley Cup in the next few years. »
BriseBois knows that his team is still relatively young and very talented, which allows him to believe that he can continue to aim high. “We still have an elite goalkeeper in Andrei Vasilevskiy. Elite defenders in Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev. Up front, we hope Steven Stamkos comes back, but we have Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli and Nikita Kucherov, who are all elite players. In our top-9, we only had one player over 30 years old and it was Stamkos. In our top-4 defense, only one was over 30 years old, and that was Hedman. Vasilevskiy is still under 30 years old. »
The general manager must now negotiate with his captain Steven Stamkos, who could become an unrestricted free agent as of July 1. BriseBois wants to keep its veteran, but the agreement must allow its team to remain among the elite. “We hope for an agreement that will allow us to maintain our level of competitiveness. »
In the eyes of BriseBois, Stamkos, author of 40 goals, is a key element who plays a leading role. “Not only for what he can bring on the ice, but what he brings to our locker room in terms of leadership. He is also a great ambassador for our organization in the community. »
The Lightning won 45 games in the regular season and totaled 98 points. The club lost its flag in five games to the state’s neighbors, the Florida Panthers. The big boss did not take any detours to explain what made the difference in the outcome of this series. “Ultimately, the difference was that Florida played better than us. As much as I think we played well, I think they were better. They never let up for five games. »
