Bobby Taylor Q&A: Lightning ready for season of great expectations
TAMPA, Fla. -- A countdown is on.
The Tampa Bay Lightning open a season of great expectations against the Florida Panthers next Thursday night at Amalie Arena. Final preparations are being made, and the preseason ends with a home date against the Panthers on Saturday. Soon, the roster will take shape, and Tampa Bay's attempt to reach the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since going four straight times from 2003-2007 will begin in full.
Recently, Sun Sports color analyst Bobby Taylor shared his observations about the preseason and what he's looking for in the Lightning's movement toward the start of another campaign.
FOX SPORTS FLORIDA: With the season opener approaching, what are your impressions of the preseason?
TAYLOR: "There have been some surprises, in my mind. Some of the young kids have really progressed, like (forward Vladislav) Namestnikov is a big surprise for me. Watching him the first couple years, he wasn't strong enough, and then this year, he's a lot stronger.
"It's amazing, I think for me, because I know how hard it is to make that transition, and I think a lot of times when you get these young guys coming -- even if you're a No. 1 pick -- you think it's easy, because you watch it on TV. That's when you get your exposure to the NHL, mostly on television. And on television, these guys are so good that they make it look easy. And then you get out against them and they're so doggone big, strong and fast. It kind of opens your eyes a little bit. So I think guys like Namestnikov (have impressed).
(Forward Jonathan) Marchessault I didn't even know. He was another player that excited. You know what you're going to get from a (Steven) Stamkos, from a (Ryan) Callahan, from a (Brian) Boyle, from a (Anton) Stralman and (Victor) Hedman. You know what you're going to get from them, because you've seen them over the last few years at this level. The young guys are the ones who have really impressed me. They're not that far away. And if push came to shove, there's a number of those guys who could start the season here."
FSF: How difficult was the timing of Jonathan Drouin's fractured right thumb for him? How do you expect him to respond?
TAYLOR: "If you watched the camp last year, he seemed, to me anyway, that he was just a little bit overwhelmed at the speed, the size, the pace of the game. It's not so much the physical part of it -- it's the mental part. You have to think even faster, because you don't have that much time. But this year, I was really looking forward to him. He went back (to juniors), he has worked hard, he dominated at juniors again. And he was going to stay here come hell or high water anyway, in my mind. But I think what hurts him is he's missed two or three weeks. So the two or three weeks to get acclimated to the (NHL) is going to take a little longer.
"It takes time for these young guys to really adjust to it -- to not only the speed of the game but also the lifestyle and what's expected of you, the pressure. ... He's probably two to three weeks behind everybody right now, and that's going to take awhile for him to catch up."
FSF: What are your initial thoughts on some of the Lightning's free-agent additions?
TAYLOR: "I've been really impressed with what (Steve Yzerman) did in the offseason, especially on the blue line. You get two top four defensemen in Stralman and (Jason) Garrison. And to me, that really helps, especially Stralman, because he's a right-handed shot, and this organization is really big on left, right shots. They don't like to play guys on their off side very often, unless they have to. So that gives them a really solid top four, top six. And I like that. I like that idea.
"Stralman is such a steady defender. He'll fit real well with Victor. Victor had that breakout season last year offensively, but Stralman is also so responsible on his own end, so if Victor wants to go a little bit (more) often this year, you've got a guy back there who's able to understand that position. Garrison, everybody talks about his shot, which helps. Because you look at it this way -- if he's on the first power-play unit with Stamkos, everybody leans toward Stamkos and rightfully so.
"But now that opens up that other side. So it's going to help our power play, I think, a great deal. When you look at Boyle -- I loved Nate Thompson, he brought his heart and soul to every game. But Boyle is bigger, and I think he might have a little bit more of an offensive upside to him, and that really helps, I think. We needed to get a little bit bigger up front, because most of our really skilled players are not of the huge variety. And that helps when you get some big guys up there who can help negate a lot of the big centers who have to play against guys like (Tyler) Johnson and (Valtteri) Filppula."
FSF: This year will be interesting for Johnson and Ondrej Palat after their breakout performances last season. What must they do to take the next step?
TAYLOR: "Right now, their ice time might be reduced a little bit, mainly because of the fact that Stammer is going to be here -- knock on wood -- for the whole season. So Tyler won't get as many first-line minutes as often. But then again, what's going to happen is it could help them, because when Stammer went down, Johnson and Palat, they were not big offensive guys. They kept other team's checking lines against them. Well, this year, they won't have them as often. So now, it might just give them a little bit better freedom up there.
"Nothing has been handed to them. They've always had to work. So you don't all of the sudden forget that quality. It's embedded in you, and that's why they made it to where they are today, and they've been successful thus far because of that hard work. I don't foresee a real sophomore jinx or something for them, because they're just not that type of guy. I think with that, it really helps, because it just sets the tone for other guys."
FSF: As Tampa Bay prepares to close the preseason, what are you looking for in the final days before the regular season begins?
TAYLOR: "Probably just the combinations. We've got six new guys when you look at it, which includes (Evgeni) Nabokov in goal. But I just think who is going to be paired with who. I think that's the key, defensively especially. I love that (Luke) Witkowski. I liked him last year, and they sent him back to obviously get a little more seasoning in the pro game. He brings an edge to our back end that we haven't had a whole lot of. They've got some choices they have to make, which is going to be tough.
"For me, just the combinations -- who's going to play with whom? Is (Nikita) Kucherov going to stay on the left side with Callahan and Stamkos at the start? Or is Witkowski going to play with Garrison like he has been over a lot of the practices? Is (Andrej) Sustr going to stay up? That's the thing I'm looking to see. But I think you're going to see some very spirited games, because there's still three or four spots that have to be decided upon."
You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.
