Ken Campbell says the Tampa Bay Lightning aren't scaring anybody anymore, but a total teardown is unrealistic. Their approach to the trade deadline is crucial to their future.

One of the more popular questions making the rounds in the NHL these days is: Can you ever count out the Tampa Bay Lightning? And the unequivocal answer to that question is yes. Absolutely. 

This team doesn’t scare anybody anymore. Scary teams don’t give up a nine-spot to their cross-state rival, then lose to one of the worst teams in the NHL, on home ice, no less.

The fact is, the Lightning are further away from the Stanley Cup than they’ve been in years, and that distance is going to increase. Lightning GM Julien BriseBois, who has been the star of the NHL trade deadline in the past, might want to keep that in mind as the March 3 date approaches this season. The Lightning don’t have to become what the Chicago Blackhawks have become and what the Pittsburgh Penguins are destined to become. They can rebuild on the fly here.

A total teardown is entirely unrealistic given the players and contract terms the Lightning have, but if you continue to chase Stanley Cups that aren’t going to be there, you will become a team that bottoms out. And nobody in Tampa wants that.

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