TAMPA, Fla. -- After his first morning skate with his new team, Braydon Coburn walked into the Tampa Bay Lightning's dressing room to continue his new normal. Sweat beads gathered on his face. He managed a smile when greeting the large group of reporters. On Sunday, he went to sleep as a defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers. On Monday, he awoke to learn he was bound for Florida.
On Tuesday, his new reality gained focus.
"I was surprised, a little shocked," Coburn said of being traded Tuesday morning at Amalie Arena. "But (I'm) really excited to come to a great team like Tampa."
Coburn, gained in a deal with the Philadelphia Flyers early Monday morning, is viewed as a key to help unlock a long postseason run for a team defined by its youth. At age 30, he has played in 72 postseason games, all with the Flyers. He has appeared in 614 career NHL contests since making his debut with the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2005-06 season. Game No. 615 for him, expected to happen Tuesday night when the Lightning host the Buffalo Sabres, will mark the start of an important push for Tampa Bay in a tight Atlantic Division race, a stretch that will prove whether Coburn can help make Steve Yzerman's calculated decision to part ways with Radko Gudas and Brett Connolly pay off.
Shortly after 10:30 a.m., Coburn skated onto the ice in a black practice jersey with a No. 55 blue helmet. He was paired with defenseman Jason Garrison in drills. He led stretches at center ice as the Lightning ended their skate. No acclimation is completed within a short hour, but Coburn felt comfortable maneuvering through the opening stages of his fresh start.
"It has been a roller coaster of emotions," he said. "I guess that's the best way to describe it. Just saying 'goodbye' to a lot of old friends and saying 'hello' to new guys here and, hopefully, some new friends. It's exciting."
The Lightning are excited, too. On Monday, Yzerman praised Coburn's ability as a skater, as someone who can match up against an opponent's top offensive threat. On Tuesday, coach Jon Cooper admitted that if his team wants to make a deep run, it must defend better.
The physical traits are there for Coburn, who's signed through next season with a $4.5 million cap hit, to make a difference. He stands at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, which makes him the third-tallest defenseman on Tampa Bay's roster, behind Andrej Sustr, who's 6-8, and Victor Hedman, who's 6-6. Yzerman has called him a "defense-minded defenseman," and Hedman has labeled him as a "big body."
"We're not blowing up this team," Cooper said. "We like what we have. So to add a piece here, a piece there, and we weren't looking for rentals. We were looking for somebody who was going to help us not only this year, but in the future. Braydon is signed for another year. That was a big part for us. We didn't want to lose him during the summer. But can there be tweaks in our team? I think so, and we've proven we can score in this league. I know the goals are never guaranteed, but ultimately, I'll take our chances with our group in scoring some goals. Our issue has been keeping them out of the net."
Whether the Lightning can do a better job defending with Coburn remains to be discovered. Tampa Bay allows an average of 2.61 goals per game, compared to the Montreal Canadiens' league-best 2.18 average. If the defense can tighten up, that development will enhance the sting of the Lightning's offensive attack, which ranks as the most lethal in the NHL with an average of 3.25 goals per game.
"We've got a lot of length back there," said defenseman Matt Carle, who played with Coburn in Philadelphia, before rattling off his teammate's best traits. "Just his consistency, his dependability, and being able to play in any situation."
The respect runs both ways. As Coburn stood in his new dressing room, surrounded by fixtures of his new environment, he appeared eager to begin anew.
"I just have to go by my experience of playing these guys the past couple years," he said. "They're fast. They're skilled. They play hard, so I'm excited to join this group."
You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.
