Now it's time for the show
New regime and on-ice strategy will get first real test tonight.
By ERIK ERLENDSSON
eerlendsson@tampatrib.com
TAMPA - The on-ice show the Lightning produced the past two years felt more like "A Night at the Improv" than any kind of award-winning Broadway production, despite plenty of drama and intrigue both on the ice and behind the scenes.
But as the spotlight opens on a new season tonight against the Atlanta Thrashers with a new supporting cast and a new production team leading the way behind the bench and from the general manager's box, the Lightning have a script in hand and hope it leads to handling some hardware in the near future.
The turnaround started in March, when new owner Jeff Vinik purchased the franchise from OK Hockey, which had a tumultuous two-year run. In May, Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman was hired as general manager. A few weeks later, Yzerman tabbed up-and-coming coach Guy Boucher.
With stability up top from Vinik and Yzerman and the enthusiasm and innovative approach Boucher brings to the bench, the path back to respectability appears paved.
While Yzerman has a long-term approach to building a team that will compete year after year, much like the Detroit organization where he made his Hall of Fame career, there is also a focus on the now. At the forefront of all the newness is the presence of the 39-year-old Boucher behind the bench.
The youngest head coach in the league rapidly rose through the ranks, making the jump from juniors to the American Hockey League to the NHL in less than three years. He brings an up-tempo, aggressive style of play that emphasizes puck pursuit and possession in an attempt to dictate play, which is a direct contrast to the slow-down, wait-and-react trap style prevalent in the game today.
The new style is far from a hockey version of rocket science, but it certainly is a shift from the conventional approach.
"It's very different," said 33-year-old defenseman Brett Clark, an 11-year veteran in his first year with Tampa Bay. "Being an older guy and coming in, there is a lot of stuff to take in, and it's like you are starting hockey all over, but it's all been good. It keeps your mind going, gives you a wide spectrum of something else to do.
"Sometimes when you play the same system over and over you get a certain stalemate. This keeps us moving all the time, and it's going to be exciting to play."
There is little doubt the Lightning will be entertaining to watch with their firepower. Four players have at least one 40-goal season to their credit: Vinny Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis, Steven Stamkos and newly acquired Simon Gagne.
The big question will be whether the unorthodox style - which Boucher ran with great success with Drummondville in the Quebec junior league and again last year with Hamilton in the AHL, where Boucher was named coach of the year - will translate at the NHL level.
"Yeah, I think it will," TSN analyst Bob McKenzie said. "I think there would be a lot more questions about Boucher's tactics and his approach, both on and off the ice, if he didn't have the year in Hamilton that he did (reaching the conference final). And I realize the AHL is not the NHL, but he still took a team in Hamilton and they should have won the Calder Cup, he should have won a championship with them."
Getting the Lightning players to buy into what Boucher is selling will go a long way in determining how much success the team might enjoy this season.
Considering captain Lecavalier described training camp as "going to school every day learning something new," it appears the message is getting across and Boucher is making the transition.
"I know the question about Boucher coming out of the junior rank was, would the approach - both in terms of psychology and strategy - work in pro hockey the same way it did in junior hockey? And I think the answer to that question is, 'Yes,'" McKenzie said. "I think you can almost see the excitement on the faces of many of the players. They must feel like it's a fresh start, and I think there is real good communication between Boucher and his players. He's demanding, but in a positive way most of the time, and I think he's a motivator. So, I think that transcends age, experience and everything else if you do it the right way.
"Now, I'm not saying the road is paved with gold, but I think what he has done in junior hockey and the American league can work in the NHL, and what doesn't work I'm sure he'll figure it out as he goes along and gets some experience."
Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835. Follow on Twitter @erlendssontrib
Photo Credit: Staff photo by BOB HANSEN
Photo: New Lightning coach Guy Boucher has instituted a pursuit and possession style that is against the norm in today's NHL.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Photo: Marty St. Louis is one of four proven goal-scorers on the roster.
Photo: The Lightning open their season tonight at the Forum against the Atlanta Thrashers.
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