Tampa Making Moves, Look To Compete
- Updated: October 30, 2020
This past season was another rough one for Bolts nation. Finishing 21st overall in the league the Bolts were still a doormat for the rest of the league to walk all over. There have been some positives. Svechnikov has been developing into a bonafide 1st line forward, Kubalik has shown to have the ability to score goals in bunches, and their young d-core has been developing nicely. The Bolts were so confident in their group of players that they have made moves in order to compete. Today we will be examining their most notable additions.
Bo Horvat
The biggest add of the offseason was acquiring a legitimate 1st line center in Bo Horvat. Horvat won’t be a Art Ross candidate by any means, but he provides an all around great player who can produce offence, play defense, and grind it out. Horvat will be paired with Svechnikov most likely and form a great duo that will cause havoc with both of them being players who thrive on playing a physical game.
Jeff Petry
The next biggest add has to be Jeff Petry. Petry gives McAvoy his first legitimate top pairing partner since P.K Subban. Petry will likely take the role of #1 d-man away from McAvoy this season as McAvoy is still young and developing. Petry plays an all-around game as he likes to hit, is a more than capable defender, and can produce offence. Petry will be leading the blueline this year and will likely thrive in the role.
Pavel Francouz
One of the more surprising moves for the Bolts was acquiring goaltender Pavel Francouz. Francouz looks to be a decent starting goalie on a league minimum contract. There were some concerns that Francouz wouldn’t be good enough to lead the Bolts to the playoffs, but with the Bolts providing Francouz with a big physical defense in front of him he will likely be more than a safe bet to be a guy who can help get the Bolts back into the playoffs.
Phillip Danault
Another big addition for the Bolts was acquiring Phillip Danault. Danault is one of the best defensive centers in the league and is an excellent playmaker as well. Danault is a great 2nd line center for any team. The Bolts are thrilled to bring him in as he is such a versatile player. His contributions will be key for the Bolts this season.
There are many more additions that the Bolts have acquired for this upcoming season. Among them are Ilya Mihkeyev, Ilya Kovalchuk, Lars Eller, Kasperi Kapanen, and Erik Haula. With all these adds one would expect that the Bolts prospect pool would be barren. However the opposite is true. The prospect pool still has Kaprizov, Romanov, Smith, Poulin, and so on so forth. A key with pretty much all of their adds is none of them are upcoming ufa’s, with the lone exception being Petry. With all this in mind it is clear that the Bolts plan of attack was to be competitive not only now but in the future as well.
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