#AskKrenner: On Sergachev, Cirelli, Perbix and more

Favorite moment in your career working for the bolts? #AskKrenner
Anna-saaaaaphia, @amput007
There have already been so many incredible moments since I joined this organization, so it's hard to pick just one. Getting the call from my boss and finding out I got the job, last year's playoff run, players hitting major milestones, all the amazing community initiatives. It's just an awesome place to work.

If I had to pick one, I would have to say the visit to the White House was my favorite moment. Seeing all the history and hearing the stories behind everything inside was an experience that not many are afforded, and that day is something I'll never forget.
My second favorite moment would probably be Game 7 in Toronto in Round One last year. That was such a great series with so much skill on both sides and the crowd at Scotiabank Arena was electric that night and throughout the whole round.
You don't get to see too many do or die games in the NHL, so to be able to see one in person in one of the biggest hockey cities in the entire world was awesome. With all the pressure in those games, it's really cool to watch and see who is going to step up when the lights are brightest and be a hero for their team.
Vasilevskiy, as he always does in big games, played terrific, but watching Nick Paul step up the way he did was a lot of fun. I remember when Rielly scored that game-tying goal in the second, that building was LOUD. Watching the Lightning handle everything the way they did was really impressive.
Paul had never played in the playoffs and was skating in a building that he watched so many games in as a kid. That was an unreal moment for him and that game-winning goal in the second was a beauty. Just another incredible pickup by Julien BriseBois.
Thoughts on the Sergachev breakout continuing throughout the season? Does his increase in TOI and points get him into the Norris conversation this year? Or moving forward?
Vince Pettofrezzo, @v_pizzle
From the second it was announced that the Lightning signed Sergachev to an eight-year extension, I thought it was a terrific decision. He's just going to continue to get better and better and better as time rolls on.
Starting next season, Sergachev will count for $8.5 million against the cap for the next eight seasons. There are 11 NHL defensemen that will have a higher cap hit next year - Alex Pietrangelo ($8.8M), Cale Makar ($9M), Dougie Hamilton ($9M), Roman Josi ($9.06M), Darnell Nurse ($9.25M), Seth Jones ($9.5M), Adam Fox ($9.5M), Charlie McAvoy ($9.5M), Zach Werenski ($9.58M), Drew Doughty ($11M) and Erik Karlsson ($11.5M). Those players and numbers give you an idea of the value and with COVID seemingly behind us, the cap should continue to go up. Just as Victor Hedman's cap hit looks like a bargain now, I think Sergachev's is going to look like a major bargain down the road.
Sergachev is the only player in NHL history to play over 75 playoff games and win the Stanley Cup two times by the age of 24. He won't be 25 until June of next year. This age is right around the same time that Lightning fans started to see Victor Hedman really come into his own and start putting up points at a high rate.
Sergachev has had the advantage of playing with and learning from guys like Hedman and Ryan McDonagh. He's nearly producing at a point-per-game pace right now with 27 points (5G, 22A) in 28 games. We've seen his ability to quarterback a power play and his offensive game, which has always been good, is continuing to grow.
He's leading the team in blocked shots and leads all Lightning defensemen in takeaways. Not just among defensemen, but among all players on the Bolts roster, Sergachev has the fourth-most points and second-most assists. He currently has the fifth-most points among NHL defensemen.
In a league where skating continues to be one of the most important facets of a player's game, Sergachev is well-equipped to succeed in the future. He's a naturally fluid skater with great closing speed and an ability to join the rush at any moment, which is becoming a staple in every NHL team's gameplan.
He sees the ice well, his gaps have been good, he makes good passes to generate offense and he's extremely, extremely hard on himself. He wants to continue to get better and he has.
We talked to Rob Zettler on Wednesday, and he had a lot of good things to say about Sergachev.
"He's hard on himself. He beats himself up a little bit, but that's just in his nature. He wants to be the best.
"He sees a lot in his game. He sees how he can improve his game. He watches every shift of every game. When I come in the next morning, he'll already have watched his shifts, for the most part. He understands what he's good at. He understands where he needs to get better or try to work on things to get better. He's actually really fun to talk to that way because I think he has a real genuine understanding of the game.
"He's always looking for more information and he's looking to get better. He's hard on himself. He self-critiques and he looks at his game, so for me, that makes my job easier. It makes Coop's job easier. We just want to help him be the best that he can be.
"He's got a lot of time with us here. I think he's got nine years coming up and it's well-deserved. He's on his way. The good part about him is I don't think he takes anything for granted. He'll continue to work to try to be the best."
Any time I've asked Sergachev about an accomplishment, whether it was his four-game point streaks earlier in the year or his four-point period against Washington, he will almost always find a way to talk about how he could be better. That's an exceptional quality to have for a guy that's going to be with Tampa Bay for many more years to come.
And to the last part of your question, yes, I 100% think he's capable of entering Norris conversation potentially this year, but definitely down the road. We'll see how the rest of the year pans out. Right now, I think Karlsson and Dahlin are the front-runners, and you could pick any of Sergachev, Morrissey, Makar or Fox to be that third nominee.
Is the black "Distrupt the Night" third uniform done with? #AskKrenner
Joe in the Hat, @joeinthehat
I can confirm the black "Disrupt the Night" jerseys are officially out of the uniform rotation for the Lightning permanently.
How impactful do you think Cirelli's return to the lineup as been and will continue to be?
Morgan, @morganbolts
It's been huge and will continue to be huge.
Before Cirelli returned to the lineup on December 3 vs. Toronto, the Lightning had scored 80 goals on the season with 68 of those goals being scored by forwards. Of those 68 goals, the current top six of Hagel, Point, Kucherov, Stamkos, Paul and Killorn had scored 58 of them. So, through the first 23 games of the season, those six players were accounting for 85.3% of Tampa Bay's goals scored by forwards.
Over the past six games, the bottom six has already scored seven goals, just three less than they had combined for in the prior 23 contests. Cirelli has been a major part of that.
Like Sergachev, Cirelli signed an extension over the offseason and is going to have a big role in the core of this team for a long time. But with the top two lines playing as well as they have over the past several weeks, it just makes the most sense to have Cirelli centering the third line. With that, the bottom six has been ignited. He already has six assists through six games.
On Colton's tip-in goal vs. Seattle, we saw Cirelli win a puck battle against Jaden Schwartz before feeding Sergachev for the shot from the point that Colton tipped home. He made a great play in the corner against Florida to fight off the check from Colin White and spin away before passing the puck perfectly onto Maroon's tape for his first goal of the year. Point's game-winning goal vs. Nashville all started with Cirelli winning the puck in the corner in the Lightning defensive zone. His pressure on Matthews in overtime of the Toronto game forced the turnover that led to him assisting on Killorn's game-winning goal. Having that big of an impact right off the bat is extremely impressive.
Cirelli has mostly been skating on a line with Colton and Maroon and the trio has generated 64.3% of the high-danger scoring chances when they're on the ice together at 5-on-5. That line has yet to surrender a goal at 5-on-5.
Prior to his return to the lineup, the Lightning penalty kill ranked 20th in the league at 77.8%. Since Cirelli's debut, Tampa Bay's PK is the second-best in the NHL at 93.8% and have allowed just one goal on the penalty kill.
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, no player on the Bolts roster has more takeaways than Cirelli's 138. Hedman (126) and Point (117) are the only other players with more than 100. Cirelli has skated in less games than both of them. In last year's playoffs, Cirelli led all players in the postseason with 30 takeaways.
In nearly every aspect of the game, Cirelli makes the Lightning a better team.
Could you discuss Perbix's success & what he has been doing right to stay in the line up. 2 "veteran" defenseman have been taking turns sitting out while he has stayed playing. How would you describe what he has done for the team thus far & why his spot seems to be solidified?
Morgan, @morganbolts
He's just extremely steady and poised. Primarily in the beginning of the season, we saw a lot of turnovers in the Lightning defensive zone, particularly some really high-danger turnovers with the puck ending up in prime scoring areas, often right in front of the net.
Perbix rarely turns the puck over. His poise with the puck has been extremely impressive, especially for a guy that has only played 23 games in the NHL. He's averaging 1.35 giveaways per 60 minutes right now. Of all Tampa Bay defensemen that have played 20 or more games this season, only Cernak is averaging less at 1.32.
When Perbix is on the ice, the Lightning are scoring 58.8% of all goals at 5-on-5. Ian Cole is the only defenseman on the roster with a better percentage of 59.46%.
He's positive in nearly every statistical category at 5-on-5. With Perbix on the ice at 5-on-5, the Bolts are generating 52.1% of the scoring chances and 53.4% of the high-danger scoring chances. He's also started 52 shifts in the defensive zone, which only Cernak and Sergachev have done more.
There's that old saying with defensemen that if you're not sticking out, you're doing a good job. Perbix doesn't stick out with bad turnovers, ill-advised pinches, etc. He's been really steady and as long as that continues, he'll get the ice time he deserves.
Special thanks to Natural Stat Trick for some of the advanced stats used in this answer.
how much do you think Vasy "heating up" is contributing to the team's recent success? #AskKrenner
Taylor, @taylor07stewart
It's been big. We all know that Vasilevskiy is a generational goaltender and will go down as a top-10, if not top-five, player at the position when his career is over.
But, for me, the real big difference has been the play in the defensive zone. At the start of the season, we saw a lot of really bad turnovers in the D-zone that really hung Vasy out to dry. Pucks were ending up right in the slot for opposing teams to get Grade-A looks at the net.
The Lightning have improved in leaps and bounds in that regard. Their puck management has been much better, breakouts have been way crisper, and they're doing a good job keeping things to the outside and not allowing teams to get into some of those high-danger scoring areas.
Under Jon Cooper, this team has always had the most success when they're taking care of their own end first. If they play good team defense, they have the firepower up front to go the other way and put the puck in the net. I think that has got a lot better over the past several weeks.
Any big holiday plans?
#1 BS Klutcherov @Tampafan86
Just spending time with family and friends. Over the past several years, working for a few different teams and organizations outside of Florida has always made it hard to get home for Christmas, especially with hockey season always going on around this time of year. That's one of the many reasons I was so ecstatic to get this job, to be close to my family again and spend time with all 10 of my crazy nieces and nephews. Hope you all have a great holiday!