Team: 2019-20 Tampa Bay Lightning

Initial Creation Date: Mar. 5, 2019

Published: Mar. 6, 2019

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

At this point, the boys aren’t just boys anymore. They’re brothers now. Living it up and realistically, probably having the best times of their lives right now as they continue to dominate, more than arguably any team has ever dominated before. Obviously, winning the Cup would be the cherry on top. And if that happens, especially if we win it in dominant fashion like we ran through the regular season, there won’t be a doubt in my mind that this team of brothers will work together (financially) to make sure this record-breaking squad doesn’t get dismantled for a very long time… I’m sure they all still want as much $ as they can get but fortunately, as far as tax rates go, Tampa is literally the smartest place to take a team friendly deal for players with a “Cups first, money second” mindset.

And if I had to bet, I’d say an overwhelming majority of players have this mindset. Why? As a hockey player myself, I can tell you there’s 2 things almost every hockey player grows up dreaming about. The first is winning the Stanley Cup. The second is getting drafted into the NHL. But this dream doesn’t come along until reality sinks in @ age 11 or so, and players start to realize that the NHL is tiny & only about 200 players get drafted every year… compared to the tens if not hundreds of thousands of other players fighting for the same slim chance of getting drafted. For the one’s who are fortunate enough of living the 2nd dream of get drafted into the NHL, the original dream of winning the Cup doesn’t disappear… And it doesn’t take an agent to realize that money can’t buy a cup, which is the ultimate point I’m trying to get across.

No amount of money compares to the taste of victory. If this team goes all way & gets a taste of Lord Stanley this June (or late May ?), you can expect some team friendly re-sign deals getting penciled into our cap not long after the parade.

1.

2.