TAMPA, Fla. — There are plenty of positive memories about the 2022-23 Tampa Bay Lightning season.
Steven Stamkos had three pregame ceremonies for surpassing 1,000 points, 500 goals and 1,000 career games.
Brayden Point crossed the 50-goal threshold.
The team set an all-time record for consecutive home victories.
Yet, the No. 1 takeaway is how a franchise in the middle of its "Stanley Cup window" got bounced in the first round after playing in three straight Finals.
"As I stand here today after we've been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, I would characterize our season as a missed opportunity," Bolts General Manager Julien BriseBois said.
Let's face it. It was a weird year. It started great with the Lightning entering February with a 32-15-1 record, but we saw a different group after the All-Star Break.
"We had an idea of who we were playing. We had that lead on our next opponent behind us, so it was a little different that way," Corey Perry said. "Those couple of months weren't great for us in terms of how we played, but I think the last two weeks of the regular season we found our identity and found the way we wanted to play."
The players and Jon Cooper coined the phrase, "flip the switch," entering the postseason, which they did. Outside of Game 2, the Lightning were probably the better team in every other contest. That does not change the fact Toronto won the series and earned its right to the next round, but the group did not take this playoff experience for granted. The "puck luck" just was not there like in previous years.
"I thought [Games 3 and 4] were missed opportunities for our group, whereas in the past, maybe we don't let that slip," Stamkos said. "That can be the difference between playing a week and a half or playing a couple months, so that that's a tough one to swallow."
Alex Killorn said, "I thought we were so evenly matched. It was tough to go out like that."
Now the organization has to prepare for a stressful offseason behind-the-scenes.
"The number of roster spots we need to fill and the cap space available to us is probably the most limited we've ever had it," BriseBois said.
Killorn is the only top-6 forward up for grabs entering free agency, but fans should be prepared for life without him. The man who ranks No. 5 all-time in games played with the Lightning would love to stay in town, but who knows if the Bolts can even get in the ballpark of a hometown discount?
"I love playing here. I love everything about Tampa. I don't want to leave," Killorn said. "It's just you have to look at all the angles for sure to make sure you make the right decision."
Whether it has been Yanni Gourde, Ryan McDonagh or Ondrej Palat, Jon Cooper is well-trained in saying tough goodbyes.
"We're used to this now and that's the tough part," Cooper said. "We have to get used to this. It's just the reality of the business."
Tampa Bay will be able to retain some of these names above. After trading tons of draft capital at the deadline, it is safe to say the Bolts will work diligently to prioritize Tanner Jeannot for a team-friendly deal.
Mikey Eyssimont, Corey Perry and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare should be cheap enough if the team wants to go in that direction.
Besides Killorn, Ross Colton is someone who could be heading elsewhere. Colton is a restricted free agent, so the Lightning might trade him for assets, they are seriously lacking.
Julien BriseBois has to be creative.
He is heading to Syracuse to watch the AHL team compete in Game 5 of its series in the playoffs. Do not be surprised if one or two players on that team get a call-up next season a la Nick Perbix and Darren Raddysh.
Maybe the most interesting part of the exit interviews was Andrei Vasilevskiy's admission he felt off towards the end of the season.
"Probably the first 30-35 games felt as usual, but then just me and my body probably weren't on the same page," Vasilevskiy, who had his worst save percentage since 2015-16, said. "All those small injuries came out at the same time. My mistake was that I didn't really pay attention to recovery. I kind of kept pushing myself to the limit."
Everyone else we heard from on Tuesday believes the netminder is being hard on himself, but there is no doubt if anyone needs a break, it is that guy.
"He's not playing 20-25 minutes a night," Mikhail Sergachev said. "He's playing a full 60, sometimes 100 minutes with the overtimes. It obviously takes its toll. It's harder on goalies, especially mentally."
Vasy is hoping to commit himself to a better recovery program moving forward.
"Last few years I felt good and thought I don't really need that," the goaltender said. "I'm a workhorse. I can play as many games as I want. This season really showed me I have to be smart about it. If I want to be a workhorse, I have to recover well."
While change is coming, the Tampa Bay Lightning are surely built to be a contender again in 2024 with a healthy roster. The members in that locker room realize 'you can't win them all,' but with the franchise in a stable place – Jon Cooper believes the Bolts will be just fine moving forward.
"As long as Jeff Vinik is the owner and Julien BriseBois is the GM, I would be excited about this organization every single year," Cooper said.