So basically doing nothing and expecting to be better?

What choice do you have?

Retool

Who do you move on from? Hedman and Stamkos? It's bold but likely is a step back to step forward move.

No, you move on from Cernak, Perbix and possibly Paul or Jeannot. Try to get back picks and younger players. Use the money and sign free agents for shot-term deals.

None of those guys matter and do you think you'll find better value? Jeannot at 2+ million to fight people and do nothing else doesn't have value. Paul is pretty good and cheap, but will you find better options at his cap hit? Tampa could retool around Vasi, Kucherov, Point and Sergachev. They could recoup some pretty great assets by moving Hedman as well, (unless he's willing to sign a crazy cheap extension). But it's pretty clear the depth of this squad just isn't there anymore.

They have 2 issues. 1 is their bottom 6 playing longer together. Their 2 top lines are strong and their bottom 6 can keep the puck in the offensive zone. Cooper only kept them steady for about a month. Their main problem is getting their defensemen to clearout the front of the net. They have been lacking that consistent function since McDonough left. Dumba is gone. I don't know where Perbix disappeared to this year but he may be out. So yes keeping the same forwards together will improve this team immensely with zone time. Yes Sheary is gone to, Grab a draft pick

Cernak: He has a no trade clause starting next year, if we trade him it's now. He has good enough value to get us picks and a depth piece in return.
Perbix: We have Crozier and Raddysh that can play a similar role. His contract is good enough value to get a 3rd back.
Paul: He is a 3rd line center with solid value, trading him only make sens if we get a young center back in another deal.
Jeannot: Basically a cap dump, I love him and would like to keep him but, unfortunately in Tampa, he can't play higher than the 4th line it seems like.

Then you are just moving deck chairs. Moving non difference makers for different non difference makers does nothing to change the team. It's either going to be a slow decline into missing the playoffs ala Pittsburgh and Washington, or a bold retool. None of the core is getting younger.

I think some of you are missing an obvious fact. Panthers will win the Eastern Conference the way they are playing, They learned from us how to win over the years. They went to the finals last year. They are 4 lines deep with as good as goaltending as ours. Their defense boxes opponents out. The are the most penalized team with one of the top Penalty kills ? Are you kidding me? We would probably still be playing if it were Boston or Toronto. We played Panthers tough. Our depth wasn't as experience and our defense did not defend like they did.

It's not about winning now, we can't win but, we can't rebuild either. We don't have picks at all. The idea is to build cap space and the future without giving up on the present. Get value in return of players and sign free agents to replace them.

Maniaked, I disagree . When you have 5 of your 6 top 6 sign for 3 years. Top 4 defensemen( Sub Lillenberg in if you wish, he's a keeper) and a Top Goalie all in their hockey prime years and a few above prime, It is win now.) Putting Motte, Eyssemont, Chaffee, Glendenning into that bottom 6 with Paul helped them with their penalty kill , faceoffs and depth.

This team is good enough to make the playoffs and making it past the first round for sure. This year, we were unlucky to play Florida but, we are not winning another cup without retooling. The core is great but, we need to build around it. Depth scoring as been an issue as of late, the 3rd line is pretty bad and the 4th is fine. Same thing for our defense, a bunch of depth guys that can't defend that well. Going back with the same team would be a mistake in my opinion.

I mostly agree, but in addition to Sheary, I would look to move on from Jeannot and Perbix as well. It gives the team around 17.5 for 8 players. They could go out and get a solid top 4 RD, which they badly need. In addition, they can keep Stamkos and fill in the bottom 6 as needed with Syracuse promotions and cheap ufa signings. They likely lose Duclair or any other top 6 ufa F option, but would still have enough left over in most scenarios to add a ~3 million middle 6 F with upside to play on the 2nd line. Unless they move Cirelli(which, depending on the return is an option worth exploring due to their C depth), this is about the best they can do to improve the area that needs it the most( the blueline), as well as not sacrificing greatly on offense

You should trade Hedman

I see what you mean there but, the idea is to wait for is contract to end and resign him on a cheaper deal. The young core is signed for a long time, the veterans are probably going to take pay cuts because they are declining (except kuch). Then we gonna have more money to sign depth. The cap is also increasing every year which helps a lot.

FA's are not going to help. Will be over priced.