The District Magazine Vol. 1 Issue 2, Summer 2016 | Page 47

extension to the point that Yzerman was forced to
make a public statement that the captain was not
going to get traded prior to the trade deadline.

Ben continues to prove himself this year in the
Stanley Cup playoffs convincingly slamming the
door to eliminate the Red Wings.

The only player to ink a contract at this point
has been big defenseman Brayden Coburn, who
signed a three-year extension in February and
offers the Lightning some stability and veteran
experience on the backend.

The Lightning had a season of ups and
downs and had to battle adversity heading
into the playoffs. They lost arguably their best
defenseman, Anton Stralman, to a broken leg
and captain Steven Stamkos to a blood clot. The
team battled through the first round against the
same foe as last year, the Detroit Red Wings.
Lightning fever continues to grip the Bay area
as fans wait, watch, and wish that Lightning
really will strike twice. This group of players that
got so close to the ultimate goal still has some
unfinished business.

The dilemma facing Steve Yzerman is that
he has to save enough cap space to sign Victor
Hedman and Ben Bishop next year.
Bishop had 35 wins this regular season and led
the league among starting goalies with a 2.06
goals against average and was second in the
league with a .926 save percentage. The NHL
recently announced that he has been nominated
for the second time for the Vezina trophy. Big

#GoBolts
THE DISTRICT - TAMPA’S URBAN DWELLING MAGAZINE

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