One of the things to come out at yesterday’s Tampa Bay
Lightning media availability was Brenden Morrow saying that he has a desire to
play another season. The veteran
forward, who just completed his first year with Tampa, indicated that he would
like to give it another go. He’s reached
two Stanley Cup Finals in his career, but has yet to drink from the Cup
itself.
According to the beat writers who were at the availability,
Morrow indicated that he really enjoyed playing with Tampa this season. Putting two and two together, it almost seems
like the 36-year-old forward wants to re-sign with the team he called home in
2014-15.
But, re-signing Morrow would be a colossal mistake for GM
Steve Yzerman. The player who scored
three goals and eight points during the season has passed his best-before
date. He just wasn’t particularly good
during the regular season or playoffs for Tampa Bay. No amount of leadership, experience, and
intangibles can make up for on-ice performance that hurts the team. He might be the most calming voice in the
room, but that shouldn’t be enough to keep a player on the roster in this
salary cap world.
Here’s the crux of the argument: Morrow wasn’t good enough
for Tampa Bay. The numbers, both
‘advanced’ and traditional, don’t show him as Tampa’s worst skater, but I think
his year is a classic example of the numbers failing to paint a full
picture. He appeared to be a giveaway
machine. He had exactly zero scoring
touch. He didn’t do a ton to drive the play
forward. Even when he wasn’t bad, he was
just plain ineffective.
Further, he took an inordinate amount of penalties for a guy
who received such a small amount of ice time, which put considerable strain on
Tampa’s often-ineffective penalty killing unit.
During the playoffs, it seemed like he was good for at least one dumb
penalty per game. Fans just grew to
expect it.
Simply put, the Lightning have better options.
Along with Morrow and a handful of other players, Lightning
GM Steve Yzerman took the opportunity to speak with the media on
Wednesday. He said that we likely won’t
see many roster changes during the summer, and that he expects certain young
players to play more next season:
#yzerman doesn't anticipate many changes to his roster this offseason. Mentioned some young guys (Drouin, Vladdy, Nesterov) playing more
— Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) June 17, 2015
If those young guys are going to get more ice time, it
likely means that Morrow’s days as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning are
done. Jonathan Drouin deserves a bigger
role. Vladislav Namestinikov will earn
minutes as he continues to develop.
Nikita Nesterov is unquestionably worthy of a roster spot.
The fact of the matter is that there just isn’t room for a
player like Morrow, even if he says he’ll play for league minimum and accept
spot duty. They originally brought him
in for his experience. Well, after the
run they just had, every guy in that room now has experience. He’s not needed. And, as he enters his 37-year-old season,
he’s probably not going to regain his scoring prowess any time soon.
Hopefully Steve Yzerman saves his roster spots for younger,
better options. This Tampa team is
overflowing with talent. There’s no
sense in holding guys back or losing them so that Morrow can return for one
more run. The Lightning already lost
Richard Panik so Morrow could play.
Let’s stop the bleeding there.
Thanks for reading.
