Tampa Bay Lightning’s Most Important Players for Playoff Push

Stamkos scored on his first shot in the only game he played against the Dallas Stars. Victor Hedman said of the occasion, “You can see that reaction on the ice and on our bench when he scored that goal. That’s just how much he means to us a teammate, as a leader and as a friend. So, yeah, super happy for him.”

If you do not think it matters to have your longtime captain in the game or playing his best, look at how the Colorado Avalanche suffered without Gabriel Landeskog last season. After some adversity this year, the Lightning need Stamkos — who has 21 goals and 26 assists for 47 points in 49 games so far — to lead them through the final half of the season.

Harrison Smajovits: Andrei Vasilevskiy

Nick, as always, you make a compelling case. Stamkos is the captain of the Lightning for a reason. 

However, there’s an age-old truth in hockey, and it’s yet to be contested: A hot goalie wins it all. If the Lightning are going to continue their latest stretch and get to the marathon known as the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Andrei Vasilevskiy needs to be him. Plain and simple. 

Stamkos can score in every game, but if the netminder doesn’t show up, forget it. We saw what happened when he didn’t fully look like himself against the Maple Leafs in last season’s playoffs. The Lightning blew some late leads and lost three overtime games on home ice. But that’s last season. How does he look this season? 

During the Lightning’s recent stretch of winning eight of nine, Vasilevskiy went 7-1-0 with a save percentage of .907. During this stretch, he has not allowed more than three goals in a game. In the era of increased scoring, maybe we should look at it like when a goalie didn’t allow more than two goals a decade ago. 

He’s gotten the job done, and lo and behold, the Lightning are on an upward trajectory. We cannot deny the Lightning had a goalie problem for a bit. No matter how much Jonas Johansson kept the team afloat in the early weeks of the season and how often Vasilevskiy had his moments in his earlier starts in his return from surgery, there was an issue. But Vasilevskiy has continued to regain his consistency and so have the Lightning. 

Even with Stamkos’ important leadership in the Cup runs, they don’t get those Cups without “Vasy” being a brick wall – he’s a Conn Smythe Trophy winner for a reason. He keeps looking like himself, and the Lightning are off to the races.

Nick‘s Rebuttal

Vasilevskiy’s bounce back in the last 10 games or so is certainly an important reason the Lightning have found their footing. He wins many games for the team they frankly have no right to win. How he fares the rest of the season will be instrumental in determining whether or not the Bolts make the postseason.

But Stamkos’ importance goes beyond only the on-ice play.

We all know that Stamkos’ future is uncertain, and, even though general manager Julien BriseBois assured fans he would not trade him this season, we do not know what next year holds. I mention this because Stamkos is full of class and a competitive nature. We take for granted though that Stamkos shows up, competes, and performs every night despite the rumors swirling.

Imagine, though, if Stamkos checked out or became distracted because of his contract situation. It easily would affect his play on the ice and leadership within that locker room. It is not a given that players will perform under such pressure or uncertainty, particularly when he so desperately wants to remain in Tampa Bay. His 47 points in 49 games prove he is as focused on winning as ever. No distractions. No excuses.

That focus and leadership energize a team and elevates their play. Players such as Vasilevskiy see a captain who is entirely dedicated to winning another Cup. Do you not think that pushes him, and other stars like Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, to be better? It is an invaluable characteristic for a team looking to remain in the dynasty category.

If Stamkos were absent, either physically or mentally, the Bolts do not have the same depth they had in 2020 to make up for all that he brings. We have seen the team struggle with injuries this season. Many younger guys have stepped in nicely, but they are no replacement for the likes of Mikhail Sergachev or Erik Cernak, who both have missed significant time on the blue line. The Lightning could not afford to lose Stamkos because of both his performance on the ice and his leadership off it.

He means that much to this team. Without a doubt, Tampa Bay needs Vasilveskiy. But they need Stamkos for all that he brings to the team. And for that reason, he is my pick.

Harrison’s Rebuttal

It’s tough to disagree with you there, Nick. If Stamkos got caught up in the contract situation, the Lightning would be in huge trouble. There is a reason he is the captain over anyone else on this team.

But I’d like to point out that there are a lot of parallels between him and Vasilevskiy. There’s that extra confidence to boost when he is on the ice over someone else. Like Stamkos, if there is a big game, and Vasilevskiy is unavailable in any capacity, the odds of winning go down.

The entire time he was gone, the prevailing thought was to just wait until the Lightning have their guy back; the one so many different players around the league would choose to have in a big game over anyone. Vasilevskiy transcends Lightning hockey. The Athletic conducted a player poll, and one of the questions was: who is the best goalie in the NHL? Even after the surgery and the slow start, 44.26% of players picked “The Big Cat.” Sure, that’s less than half, but second place, the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck, got 15.3%. (from ‘Anonymous NHL Player Poll 2024: Who’s the best player? Most overrated? Best goalie? Worst road city?’  The Athletic, Jan. 31, 2024.)

That is a difference of nearly 30 percentage points. Every other goalie in the league – Ilya Sorokin, Igor Shesterkin, Thatcher Demko, Linus Ullmark, you name them – all received less than eight percent of the votes. It’s not even close. When a huge proportion of the league wants one specific dude, that says almost everything.

Here are some quotes from The Athletic article on Vasilevskiy.

“He’s proven it over and over again,” one player said.

“Just a big-game guy,” another said.

“I have never seen a guy that big be that athletic and that competitive,” added another.

There’s a reason both players put Lightning fans in a panic to start the season. The idea of losing either of them — whether it’s for a couple of months or the remainder of a career — is that detrimental to this team. Like with Stamkos, the lack of depth means you need Vasilevskiy more than ever. Less defensive depth means a brick wall needs to be out there day in and day out. That wall is Vasilevskiy, and the Lightning need him more than they need anyone in the NHL.

What do you think? Let us know who you think is the most important player on the Lightning for a playoff push in the comments.