The Lightning GM believes his team is better now than last season.
The Tampa Bay Lightning underwent a major leadership transition during the offseason, as the Steven Stamkos era officially came to a close; he signed a four-year contract with the Nashville Predators after months of speculation that he wouldn't be able to come to an agreement to remain with the only NHL team he'd ever played for.
In his place, the Lightning signed Jake Guentzel to a lengthy contract, snagging one of the biggest free-agents available on the open market. The good news for the Lightning is that Guentzel joined a core of top players that include forwards Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, defensemen Victor Hedman, and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
The not so good news is that Tampa Bay has struggled with consistency this season and don't appear to be quite as strong as fans have grown accustomed to seeing. But don't tell that to Lightning general manager Julian BriseBois, who believes that his team is better than last season, via X.
“All in all, it's a better team,” he said. “Some guys make everyone around them better and we have added a few of those guys. Ryan McDonagh, Jake Guentzel, Tony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel, JJ Moser, a healthy Vasy, it's a number of things but I think the number one thing that I like about our team is the work ethic and the competitiveness. It's been night in and night out, I can't recall a game where we didn't show up.
When we are down in games, it never feels like the guys have quit. There doesn't seem to be any mountain that our guys don't think they can surmount. If anything, it is the competitive spirit of the group that I really like.”
The Lightning are next in action on Tuesday night at home against the struggling Chicago Blackhawks.
The Lightning lost captain and franchise face Steven Stamkos over the summer
It was the end of an era during the offseason, as the Lightning lost captain and franchise icon Steven Stamkos via free-agency to the Nashville Predators. Stamkos was reportedly unhappy at the start of last season that negotiations hadn't begun on a new contract, and there was widespread speculation that the 2023-24 season could be his last with the Bolts.
That speculation proved to be correct, but things haven't gone according to plan for Stamkos and the Predators, who were viewed as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders at the start of the season but instead find themselves in second-to-last place in the Central Division.
