The winning culture has long been established in Tampa. Now the team is moving forward with renewed energy and the same expectation; to win the Stanley Cup.
Training Camp is right around the corner but the Bolts were back on the ice a little early this summer. After a first round playoff exit and a full offseason to rest, the players are using the loss as a way to fuel them going forward.
GM Julien BriseBois said in July that Nikita Kucherov has been back on the ice 5-6 days a week since the start of summer.
The winning culture has long been established in Tampa. Stamkos, Point, Kucherov, Hagel, Cirelli, Paul, Hedman, Sergachev, Cernak and Vasilevskiy will all set the tone for the new players coming in.
"In my head, we should've won the Cup. Every year we should win the Cup, in my head. Yeah, obviously we're pissed off. We don't want to lose,” Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev told Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast Wednesday at the Player Media Tour.
"We'll see when camp starts how pissed off we are. The guys are very competitive even now. Usually before camp we skate together.”
"We'll do five drills and play a game. Usually it's like beer-league hockey. Now, it's intense. Some hitting, too. It's great. Competitive. No one is going to let me walk them on the blue line. It's not acceptable anymore."
The Lightning hade to say goodbye to several veteran pieces due to salary cap restraints. Together, the five departing players combined for 12 Stanley Cup final appearances and seven rings. Now the team is moving forward with new faces, renewed energy, and the same expectation; to win the Stanley Cup.
"We don't want to be the team that Toronto finally got to the second round, and they beat the Tampa Bay Lightning. They didn't go through the second round. But we didn't want to be that and lose to them."
Sergachev notes that head coach Jon Cooper has been serving up some much needed adjustments for the 2023-24 season.
"He's evolving in the game of hockey too," Sergachev says. "He wants to win, and we get that energy from him every camp. There's no sitting around. It's go, go, go.”
"We've got new changes coming this year. I'm not going to say where. You guys will figure it out easy when we play."
The Lightning will open the season up by hosting the Nashville Predators at Amalie Arena on October 10th.