Tampa Bay Lightning defensemen Victor Hedman, Mikhail Sergachev, and Erik Cernak have all won back-to-back Stanley Cups. You can add new Lightning defenseman Ian Cole to that rare list, as he was instrumental in helping the Pittsburgh Penguins win back-to-back Cups in 2016 and 2017. Now, the hard-working 33-year-old from Ann Arbor, Michigan, will be shoring up the defensive holes left by the losses of Ryan McDonagh and Jan Rutta, and the short-term absence of Zach Bogosian. Joining Cole are newly-acquired defensemen Philippe Myers and Haydn Fleury as well.
Can the Lightning’s proven veterans, along with the three new defensemen and Cal Foote, who is starting his third year with the team, improve upon last season’s defense and make it back to the Stanley Cup – and win it? One thing is for sure, the new players are defensive-defensemen, so what McDonagh and Rutta occasionally brought to the scoresheet may not be what Cole, Myers, and Fleury bring in 2022-23. However, if you ask goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, he’ll be more impressed with their shot blocking and goal crease awareness than shots on goal. They have offensive superstars to cover that area, after all.
Welcome to Tampa Bay
The Lightning now have a nice mix of younger defensemen along with proven veteran talent. Let’s examine the newest members of Tampa’s defense.
When Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois traded McDonagh to the Nashville Predators, he acquired Myers, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound defenseman. At 25 years old, he has played 142 career NHL games. He also has some postseason experience, playing 16 games with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2020, where he scored four points and had 50 hits. The Flyers then traded him the following season to the Predators where he ended up only playing 27 games but recorded 50 hits and 17 blocks.
Now, no one is imagining that Myers will take over for McDonagh, or even Rutta. He just doesn’t have the experience of playing as a top-four defenseman. However, with his size, he can be a presence on the ice for penalty kills and puck retrievals.
Related: Lightning’s 2022 Draft Recap: Another Classic BriseBois Class
When the announcement was made that the Lightning had signed Cole to a one-year contract worth $3 million, fans took notice. Having played against him as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes, the Lightning players, coaches and fans are not under-estimating the 6-foot-1, 225-pounder. Drafted 18th in the first round of the 2007 NHL Draft by the St….
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