With the Lightning Now “Stronger,” the Habs Play Like Champions, and Engström’s Opportunity

Félix Forget
With the Lightning Now “Stronger,” the Habs Play Like Champions, and Engström’s Opportunity
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

How will the Tampa Bay Lightning handle the Nikita Kucherov situation? That's the big question right now.

The team saw its Russian superstar request a trade last night. Kucherov (who is in the final year of his contract) clearly does not want to sign a new deal with Tampa Bay, which puts Julien BriseBois in a difficult position.

Unlike others, he requested a trade while his contract is expiring and without threatening (at least for now) to go on strike. That makes it a bit easier to handle, let's face it.

And it's interesting to note that today, Jon Cooper spoke out about all this. And the Lightning coach clearly doesn't see it as a problem.

He even goes so far as to say that it will make the Lightning “stronger.” Oh, really?

Cooper explains that, in reality, nothing has changed for the Lightning this season. The team is still aiming to win, and it's still counting on Kucherov—who remains committed to the current roster—to be a key part of the solution.

We'll see if Cooper—who has spoken at length about the situation and was likely trying above all to calm things down—was right. But it feels like, in his eyes, everything is continuing as usual for him and his team.

The Habs Are Playing Like Champions

During their recent road trip out West, the Canadiens managed to rack up four wins in four games. And most importantly, they did so while playing without not only their captain but also Ivan Demidov.

These are results that, in the eyes of many, were unexpected. It wasn't always pretty on the ice, but it's the result that counts.

And this morning, Martin St. Louis specifically praised his team's mindset. The coach acknowledged that, for some time now, his team has been acting like a group that aspires to be champions.

With some key players out, other guys have stepped up and been part of the solution. Jacob Fowler has been outstanding in net, and veterans like Jake Evans and Phillip Danault have taken their game to the next level.

When we talk about a team's journey toward maturity, the last few games are a good example of how far along that process is… though we can all agree that the return of Suzuki and Demidov certainly won't hurt.

Adam Engström's Opportunity

This morning, we also learned that Mike Matheson will miss two weeks of action. The Habs will therefore once again have to navigate a stretch of games without one of their best defensemen.

The good news is that, just like on offense (in the absence of Suzuki and Demidov), the team's supporting defensemen are starting to step up. Arber Xhekaj is playing solid hockey, and Adam Engström is beginning to make himself indispensable to the big team.

And it's likely that without Matheson, the young Swede will take on a bit more responsibility.

We also know that the Habs, who have a surplus of defensemen, might be tempted to use Engström in a trade to bring in reinforcements from elsewhere.

And if he keeps playing great hockey in Matheson's absence, his value on the market will keep going up, you know…


In a Nutshell

– Dan Muse praises the Habs.

– Hehe.

– Today's waivers pick.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!