Actually pretty good changes...

Agree whole heartedly... addition by subtraction. .. and folks rightfully pointing out there are 79 games left ..
but this started last year.. poor play last 10 to 15 games against good teams and carried over into Columbus series.. the team lacks leadership and balls .. and it is NOT going to change unless people change are made ..all the "supposed skill" in the world doesnt mean winning

This is simply not true. The Lightning finished 7-3-0. The Blues were 8-1-1, the Avalanche were 7-1-2, and the Canadiens, Predators, and Ducks were 7-2-1. The Blue Jackets and Red Wings also finished 7-3-0. Other than that, everyone was below the Lightning's last ten game record. So the Lightning were tied for sixth place in last ten game record. If you eliminate non-playoff teams, that rises to fourth, tied with the Blue Jackets for best in the Eastern Conference. Considering how difficult that stretch of the schedule was, that record was not going to come by a fluke. Obviously the Lightning had perhaps the worst playoffs in NHL history, but to claim they ended the season badly and just picked up where they left off in the playoffs is objectively not correct.

If you were at the games .. like me .. or watched closely .. you could SEE the issues end of last year ... all kinds of free wheeling and poor play.. just like last night .. on surface last night was an OT loss and Tampa got a point. Tells you ZERO on how team is playing and prepared ... people who actually PLAYED know how things flow on ice.

https://www.rawcharge.com/2019/10/7/20903092/tampa-bay-lightning-loss-to-carolina-hurricanes-on-sunday-most-lopsided-in-recent-nhl-history-so-bad

THIS is how bad it is/was

Clearly you don't watch the games. That stretch has continued into this one where the lightning are in games and winning games that they have no business being in, outshot, outplayed, outchanced, outhustled but find a way to either get a point or even win the game. Prime example was Sunday night, managed to pick up a point in a game that they should have lost 8-3. This happened a lot last year and it masked the teams biggest issues which were exposed in the playoffs obviously. I'm not sure what's missing from this team because on paper it seems like they have everything a championship contender could ever ask for, but this core has been together for multiple seasons now with 3 conference finals runs, a final appearance, and a presidents trophy and no Stanley cup to show for. Change is needed before we look back on this era of lightning hockey 10-15 years from now and wonder what could have been.