TAMPA, Fla. — The ceremonies and video tributes are mostly finished. Yanni Gourde came through with Seattle in November and got his Stanley Cup ring and a sublime ovation at Amalie Arena. Barclay Goodrow was here in December, Blake Coleman and Luke Schenn stopped by in January. Once Tyler Johnson shows up with Chicago in April, Tampa Bay’s scrapbook of 2021 memories can finally be closed.
And perhaps, by then, it will be time to celebrate the players who have come to replace yesterday’s idols.
It’s quite remarkable when you think about it. Seven months ago, the Lightning watched six useful, and occasionally indispensable, players walk out the door because of salary cap complications. Almost overnight, Tampa Bay lost one-third of its top dozen skaters in terms of ice time. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions would never again be the same.
