BriseBois Preaches Patience After Lightning Exit

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There is a way to react when you come home and find Ryan Reynolds in your house with your wife.

Then there is the way to respond when you learn that Reynolds mistakenly knocked on the wrong address while looking for another one’s home nearby.

Taking a breath, with some proper reflection, can save you trouble in the long run.

Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Julien BriseBois is in the process of inhaling and exhaling, slowly, in the wake of his team’s second consecutive 4-1 postseason loss in the opening round to the Florida Panthers.

“When you win,” BriseBois said in his most recent interview this week, “you are perceived as being better than you actually are, and when you lose, you are being perceived as being worse than you actually are.”

This is a valuable lesson for anyone claiming that the Lightning need significant changes to their roster or coaching staff during this offseason, as well as any narrative that the team can no longer seriously pursue a Stanley Cup.

“The reality is,” BriseBois continued, “is that we have one heck of a great hockey team.”

Zero-sum hockey fans would argue that.

In a cynics’ perspective, a team either wins a championship (or the very least, contends for one) or it has failed to some degree. However, this version of the Lightning certainly did not fail to achieve success.

It is historically accurate to note that Tampa Bay has won a mere four postseason games in three seasons. However, it’s also precise statistically, as BriseBois noted, that this particular version of the Lightning was truly unique – in a positive way.

“We finished first in the league in goals for (292),” BriseBois said, “fourth in goals against (216), fifth in the power play (25.9 percent), and sixth in penalty kill (81.9 percent).”

Since the salary cap was implemented two decades ago, BriseBois explained, only eight teams have achieved statistically what Tampa Bay did this season. And for the record, four of those eight teams did not advance out of the opening round of the NHL Playoffs, and not one won the Stanley Cup.

“It’s really hard to win a championship,” BriseBois said. “You need a really good hockey team, but you also need breaks along the way.”

And the Lightning did not receive many of those against the Panthers.

It is customary following their final game, for NHL teams to come clean with the health status of their roster, and BriseBois did that. While every team deals with injuries, often significant ones, the fact is, Tampa Bay didn’t have injured forward Oliver Bjorkstrand (46 points, 21 goals this season) at all against the Panthers, and didn’t have forward Brandon Hagel (90 points, 35 goals) for half of the series due to suspension and injury (concussion).

Tampa Bay also was dealing with injuries to forwards Anthony Cirelli (grade 2 MCL sprain), Luke Glendening (right shoulder AC joint separation), Yanni Gourde (broken finger), Nikita Kucherov (left-hand injury), and Nick Paul (left wrist) while defensemen Victor Hedman (broken foot) and Erik Cernak (left knee contusion) were also hurt.

Particularly, in the case of Bjorkstrand and Hagel, those are not ancillary players to be missing, though BriseBois wasn’t going to make excuses.

“I am convinced that Florida has a bunch of injuries, too,” BriseBois said. “That is part of what you have to overcome to win a championship.

“It’s not an excuse for not winning that series.”

And herein lies a point to also consider. Tampa Bay nearly put itself in a position to do just that, regardless of the 4-1 final number.

The Lightning didn’t show up ready to play postseason hockey in a 6-2 loss in Game 1. However, Tampa Bay did show up in Game 2 and nearly won.

Tampa Bay allowed just one goal before an empty netter in a 2-0 loss.

“We barely gave up anything,” BriseBois said of that game.

The Lightning killed three penalties and fought off 21 of 22 shots, not counting the final one against an empty net.

Tampa Bay won convincingly 5-1 in Game 3 while in Game 4, for all but an 11-second historically bad defensive collapse, put itself in position to tie the series at two games apiece before falling 4-2.

 A tied series, coming back for Game 5 in Amalie Arena (though the Bolts have struggled at home in the postseason of late) puts this series in a different place than a hobbled Lightning team trying to stave off elimination.

Critics can point out that the power play (11.1 percent, 15th out of 16 playoff teams) deserted the Lightning throughout the series. In addition, there were moments, very brief moments, but moments still, where the team had glaring defensive breakdowns.

But it is also indisputable that the Lightning put themselves in a position to win three of the first five games of the series.

“Some of the goals,” BriseBois said of Florida’s scoring, “were fluky goals. But that is part of what you have to do in the Playoffs. You have to get pucks and bodies to the net. Sometimes they go in.

“You have to create your own luck.”

BriseBois intimated that he did not foresee major changes coming to this franchise for the second straight summer as they did in the summer of 2024, nor should they.

The NHL salary cap will increase by $7.5 million, and BriseBois has some decisions to make regarding his roster, but not any that would shake the core of the franchise.

“The reality is that only one team gets to lift the trophy at the end of the season,” BriseBois said. “In our business, it is important for us to be ambitious with our goals, but also realistic with our expectations.

“We are striving to win the Stanley Cup every year here, and I foresee that being the case for many years to come. But the reality is, even with having a great hockey team, even with having a legitimate Stanley Cup-contending team, year in and year out, most seasons will end in disappointment.”