[Report] Vasilevskiy has back surgery, out 8-10 weeks

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

 

Martin may very well find himself back to Tampa.

[Jess]

Beginning of the end for TBL or overreaction?

[Coconuts]

That doesn't sound right, the playoffs are much further away 

[Coconuts]

29 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

Beginning of the end for TBL or overreaction?

 

I don't think so, I think that's already been an ongoing process due to one simple fact: Tampa's core is aging towards the latter part or twilight of their careers. Some players age better than others but time gets them all.

 

Could exacerbate a decline if Vasi doesn't come back and sustain his prior level of play but I wouldn't bet on that.

 

Tampa will do what Pittsburgh is doing and squeeze everything they can out of what has been an elite core, they can deal with the eventual rebuild later.

Edited September 28, 2023 by Coconuts

[Warhippy]

8-10 weeks?

 

If they're smart they'll make it more like 12 weeks for safety.  Back issues should never be rushed or messed with.  

[Crimson JH]

14 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

8-10 weeks?

 

If they're smart they'll make it more like 12 weeks for safety.  Back issues should never be rushed or messed with.  

Exactly… any kind of back injuries is no joke… 

[Snoop Hogg]

35 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

 

I don't think so, I think that's already been an ongoing process due to one simple fact: Tampa's core is aging towards the latter part or twilight of their careers. Some players age better than others but time gets them all.

 

Could exacerbate a decline if Vasi doesn't come back and sustain his prior level of play but I wouldn't bet on that.

 

Tampa will do what Pittsburgh is doing and squeeze everything they can out of what has been an elite core, they can deal with the eventual rebuild later.

Not only that, but Stamkos hasn’t received any kind of extension and will probably bolt to Toronto. Get it?

[DrJockitch]

45 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

 

I don't think so, I think that's already been an ongoing process due to one simple fact: Tampa's core is aging towards the latter part or twilight of their careers. Some players age better than others but time gets them all.

 

Could exacerbate a decline if Vasi doesn't come back and sustain his prior level of play but I wouldn't bet on that.

 

Tampa will do what Pittsburgh is doing and squeeze everything they can out of what has been an elite core, they can deal with the eventual rebuild later.

Stamkos is the oldest at 34 and coming off 2 great seasons, Hedman 32, Kuch 30 and Vasi is 29.  Point and Cirelli are mid 20s. 
They have a few bit players like Bogosian who are in 30s but they really aren’t that old they have just been very successful for a long time so they feel old. 

[Ghostsof1915]

They will be competitive but not dominant.

Only one first rounder and that's in 2026.

No 2nd or 4th rounder either next draft.

 

[Odjickwillkillyou]

With no true #1B in their pipeline, you cannot help but wonder what their plan of action is going to be. What teams have an affordable 1B that TBL can most likely overpay for in the interim? Is Martin Jones in TOR or maybe even Craig Anderson a decent stop-gap? Another potential thought would be Carter Hart, but I am not sure they can afford him unless PHI knows something about the CAN juniors investigation and wants to offload him for a prospect. 

[Snoop Hogg]

1 minute ago, Odjickwillkillyou said:

With no true #1B in their pipeline, you cannot help but wonder what their plan of action is going to be. What teams have an affordable 1B that TBL can most likely overpay for in the interim? Is Martin Jones in TOR or maybe even Craig Anderson a decent stop-gap? Another potential thought would be Carter Hart, but I am not sure they can afford him unless PHI knows something about the CAN juniors investigation and wants to offload him for a prospect. 

They can always sign Jaroslav Halak 

[Jess]

38 minutes ago, Snoop Hogg said:

Not only that, but Stamkos hasn’t received any kind of extension and will probably bolt to Toronto. Get it?

 

Quick, does anyone know what team was on his pyjamas when he was young?

[Snoop Hogg]

Just now, -AJ- said:

 

Quick, does anyone know what team was on his pyjamas when he was young?

I don’t know for sure, but I would guess it was the Leafs. Maybe that makes too much sense though, so I will say Canucks.

[Mrwipeout]

well tampa did win so they are on a decline....this doesnt improve things so question is what their mindset will be moving forward...

[Coconuts]

52 minutes ago, DrJockitch said:

Stamkos is the oldest at 34 and coming off 2 great seasons, Hedman 32, Kuch 30 and Vasi is 29.  Point and Cirelli are mid 20s. 
They have a few bit players like Bogosian who are in 30s but they really aren’t that old they have just been very successful for a long time so they feel old. 

 

Stammer is 33, he'll be 34 in February, he's aging like the superstar he has been and he'll likely continue to be a first line player until he retires imo. The question is what his contract will look like, one has gotta think both sides will get it done, and whether his play and production will match what he's paid. I think the contract is the biggest thing, if he wants significant term there may come a time where his play and production drop off. I think he'll end up getting a legacy contract, it's hard to see him going elsewhere, which isn't to say he isn't worth keeping around because he is. It's just hard to gauge what the contract looks like, the Bolts would do well to keep it on the shorter end. 

 

Kucherov turned 30 in June, for some reason I had him pegged as being a little older. At 9.5Mx4 he'll be value for the remainder of the deal, what happens once it's closer to expiring is anyone's guess though. If he maintains his level of play, or even slips to simple first line production as opposed to the elite production he's put up, he'll likely still be due for a raise at 34. He's dynamic enough to drive a line and even if Stamkos falters or leaves Tampa still has Point. 

 

Cirelli is 26 and has never broken 44 points, which isn't to say he couldn't. Be brings value besides production but as it stands he's put up second line production at best. 

 

Point will be 28 in March, he's creeping closer to 30. A stud though, certainly. 

 

Hagel was a good get, that's a very nice contract considering his age and production. 

 

Tampa has elite top end talent and despite the bleeding off of talent that comes with success, a solid bottom six. I think their depth has taken some hard hits over the past couple seasons but again, that's the cost of success. Problem with Tampa is I don't don't see much in the system, they've justifiably gone all-in with this core and it's gotten them cups, but I don't see much in terms of a succession plan. They may have a lengthier window than Pittsburgh but the rebuild will come. 

 

Hedman will be 33 in December, he's still their linchpin on D. He'll be 34 when his deal is up and likely looks for a raise on his 7.8M deal. 49 points last season, great production, but not the closer to point per game or better he'd put up three seasons prior. 85 in 82 likely isn't reached again, but was last season's ppg dip a blip or a sign of decline? We'll see how things play out, Tampa has the weapons and he'll get 1D ice-time. Sergachev produced more last season though, could impact how he's deployed and speak to a shift in how he was utilized last season. 

 

Sergachev makes a hefty 8.5M but put up a career high 64 points in 85 games last season, can he keep it going? He's young enough, 25, that the deal probably ages well but how will his roles shift as Hedman ages? 

 

After Hedman and Sergachev you've got Cernak, who is reliable and someone I've seen folks pine after, but after that there's a drop off. Puts more strain on the top guys, and on the bottom six. 

 

Vasi is elite, top tier, a future hall of famer, he makes up for some of Tampa's lack of depth on D. If he's out for a while, and he will be, I wonder how Tampa fares. They have the talent to carry the bag for a tender but Vasi also likely covers for Tampa a fair bit, in the a similar way Demko did the season prior to last perhaps. Top tenders tend to age better, and he should if he can remain durable. Back surgery isn't nothing, we'll see how he bounce back. 

 

Tampa has the pieces to be a top team but they've given up plenty of assets to chase their cups, fortunately they won two, this is an issue they can kick down the road. Maybe they manage to pull top talent out of nowhere but I don't see it in their system. Sooner or later they will decline though, I'm not alone in thinking that process has already begun, which isn't to say they'll fall out of the playoffs any time over the next few years. 

 

 

 

 

[Canuck You]

2 hours ago, Crimson JH said:

Exactly… any kind of back injuries is no joke… 

I've blown my gfs back out many times, She seems to be fine...

[Miss Korea]

They need Halak.  That or bring back Brian Elliott.  Simple.  Platoon either of them with Johansson and try to stay .500 until Vasy comes back.

[Chickenspear]

So thaaaat's what Kevin Weekes looks like from the eyebrows down now...

 

Oh, and sucks for Vasi & T-Bay.

[gwarrior]

If he misses 2 months, or longer. That could sink Tampa's playoff chances especially if any of their forwards have a slow start and they can't out score their problems.

[futurefilm]

At least this distracts the media in TB from asking about Stamkos and his contract. 

 

With the amount of games Vasi played/carried the team at times during the peak TB years i'm not surprised. That core is slowly dissolving. 

[Diamonds]

Did he teak something in training camp that I missed? Seems like weird timing to get surgery. 

Edited September 29, 2023 by Diamonds

[Theo5789]

 

 

[Mike Vanderhoek]

On 9/28/2023 at 1:36 PM, Odjickwillkillyou said:

With no true #1B in their pipeline, you cannot help but wonder what their plan of action is going to be. What teams have an affordable 1B that TBL can most likely overpay for in the interim? Is Martin Jones in TOR or maybe even Craig Anderson a decent stop-gap? Another potential thought would be Carter Hart, but I am not sure they can afford him unless PHI knows something about the CAN juniors investigation and wants to offload him for a prospect. 

Jonas Johansson will get the job done, this is his opportunity to establish himself behind a very good team. Tampa has a lot of confidence in him so we shall see.

[cripplereh]

On 9/28/2023 at 1:37 PM, Snoop Hogg said:

They can always sign Jaroslav Halak 

Maybe Irbe comes out of retirement lol